Recovery from the Lie of Whiteness: Becoming Aware: A 12-Step Workbook

When Rev. Dr. David Alexander, the Spiritual Director of the Center for Spiritual Living in Atlanta, Georgia, expressed his vision for a 12-Step workbook on May 31, 2020 with an intention to start a grass roots consciousness movement to awaken white people to the "white lies", prejudices and biases which have built and sustained racism embedded in this country, I was inspired. As an Interfaith Minister whose doctoral work interpreted the 12 Steps of AA based on their universal principles, into the eight wisdom traditions, I knew I could bring over 20 years of experience - practicing, teaching, researching, writing, and guiding to this project. (www.12wisdomsteps.com)

Rev. Alexander and I attracted a team of inspired People of Color (Blacks and others) who were passionate about creating a workbook of exercises that would assist people both individually and in groups to utilize the 12 steps for this purpose, maintaining the integrity of the founders' 12 Step design to ensure its efficacy. Six writers from Atlanta and one from San Diego County, CA collaborated for six months to create an interactive methodology whereby whites can learn from the Black perspective: life experiences, history, beliefs, values, goals and dreams by comparing these with their own. These insights are gifts offered to whites; becoming the grist for the mill through which we can break through our assumptions, misconceptions, presuppositions and our lack of understanding about the collective and the individual "other" who doesn't look like us. As Martin Buber explains, this workbook helps us acquire a new worldview in which we see others in "I-thou" relationships – identifying common ground and focusing on our mutuality.

Andrea has had a rich and varied career across many fields in which management, and people/program development were a focus. After 30 years in business, she entered the social service sector first through volunteerism, and later developing and managing programs in addictions/recovery, mental health and corrections. She has been a highly successful grant writer for many agencies in the private and government sector. She earned degrees in Journalism, Communications, Addiction Counseling and Ministry. She is an ordained Interfaith Minister and completed her doctoral work by translating the principles of A.A. in eight faith traditions. http://www.12wisdomsteps.com that is being utilized in over 75 countries. She opened Stepping Stones in 2007, a supportive housing program that promotes early reunification of mothers with their children in foster care. Since moving to San Diego she co-authored a Restorative Justice-Reentry Prep program for the San Diego County jails. She is the So. Cal. Program Replication Coordinator for Insight Prison Project providing training and establishing the Victim Offender Education Program (VOEG) in three So. Cal. Prisons. She recently started CoSA (Circles of Support and Accountability) in conjunction with the San Diego Public Defenders. She has 22 accumulated years of experience in the field of addiction recovery, 12 step research, prison ministry and restorative justice programming.