Welcome to Leaving AA – When I first left AA I had no idea there was a community of people , like me , that had already left AA. I felt so alone. I had found the orange-papers.com,  https://www.orange-papers.info/ when I googled “was Bill Wilson a 13 stepper”. I read  the blog every night for hours. I poured over the facts and letters- things I never knew about AA.  This was some time in 2009. This was the beginning of my leaving. Next I found another blog called stinkin-thinkin.com which is now gone. But for a few years it was the biggest anti – or shall I say AA critical blog. However, Ilse Thompson who created it had never been an AA member. She is a great writer – I still miss this blog- it was instrumental in my leaving as Ilse helped me connect with other AA old timers who left and would talk to me over the phone.

While many people see  Alcoholics Anonymous as the only solution to alcoholism, it is also the breeding ground for abusive people. This is something that helped me leave.  Here is the story that began to really take me out of AA.

As the years have rolled by the stories I have been told and read on both blogs, Leaving AA and Stop 13step in AA  https://stop13stepinaa.wordpress.com/  are so many I can not keep count. From Rape- to assault-  financial scams,  torture,  child abuse, child molestation, major bullying – even murder began to be reported in the Newspapers. I was shocked at the level of abuse in AA – its meetings and community occurring in 2010. The murders were happening because the courts were ordering violent and sex offenders to the meetings … more about this later. The Sober Truth on CBS 48 hours did an episode about Karla Brada’s Murder. https://www.cbsnews.com/video/the-sober-truth-4/

It use to baffle me why I stayed in AA so long – but not anymore – AA is a very fast acting brainwashing machine – using the US and WE – the readings alone at every meeting are brainwashing tools. Chapter 5 as they drone on and  on, reading it in that strange way, in that odd tone – you know what I mean if you go to AA.

Now looking over the 12 steps- the 12 th step seems even more ludicrous then ever before – The step asks one to turn their “Will” and Their lives Over to the care of GOD – my will –  and my life – why ? Who they hell are these AA people to want my will to be turned over to some strangers – Seems pretty cult like to me – I was raised a Catholic – I was taught that we had free will – I think this step and its demands are extremely dangerous and… is a very sneaky way to indoctrinate – while pretending to be benign- and subtle – there is nothing subtle about AA and its mad steps to hell. After all – it captured me for 36 years- like Leah Remini’s 36 years  in Scientology. Too many years wasted. Too many service assignments given.

I can not change my past – but I can change the future and how the stronghold of AA has on our society. It needs to be undone  if not removed – from every professional system it is entangled with  and in I hope my site will be  landing spot for you and that you can know that you too are not alone. Male or female – it happens  to us all. Leaving AA will serve as a light against Alcoholics Anonymous abuse.

Even if the 12-step recovery program has worked for other people, maybe it has not worked for you and they blamed you – this is a very common complaint. Many financial scams occur as well.  You can watch my film The 13th Step on AMAZON Prime for free and see the many news articles.

In my process – of leaving – I became a GSR  ( General Service Representative) for my home group, to try and make AA safer before leaving. I created and held the first Make AA Safer Workshops in April 2010 in Culver City, CA.. We outed a rapist. We ruffled their feathers.  Stirred the pot filled with predators.

I discovered there were other options – AA is not the only game in town. Here is a short list of free support groups and programs. SMART Recovery (free personal meetings with 24/7 online support), Hams Harm Reduction, The Sinclair Method, Moderation Management, Secular Org for Sobriety, and Women for Sobriety.

All personal writings by Monica Richardson are owned and copyrighted by her and any replication of any information located on this Leaving AA site will result in legal actions. No pages written by Richardson maybe copy and pasted to any location on social media. Monica Richardson is a blogger and gives no advice on in process of Leaving AA if ones returns to drinking or not. This is a matter for you and a professional should discuss and consider seriously. This is my path- These were my years I wasted in AA. I was sober 37 years – a very long time . Not everyone can return to moderate drinking, but many can. I know many who can  and have after long stretches of ABS (Abstinence). Our Ex stepper community lies mostly on FACEBOOK now – join us there or blog away here anonymously.