A Skeptic's Guide to the 12 Steps

As the coronavirus pandemic pokes holes in all kinds of certainties, the concept of a higher power can be especially hard to swallow. If you're searching for the spiritual heart of the steps, but wonder about the God part, this book is for you.

By encouraging us to understand the spiritual journey of recovery despite our skepticism, Phillip Z. investigates each of the Twelve Steps to help us gain a deeper understanding of a higher power.

How many of us have felt like Phillip Z? He has a staunch belief in the Twelve Steps, yet struggles with the concept of a Higher Power. In A Skeptic's Guide to the 12 Steps, the author investigates each of the Twelve Steps to gain a deeper understanding of a higher power. He examines what may seem like "unsettling" concepts to us including surrendering one's will and life to God, and he encourages us to understand the spiritual journey of recovery despite our skepticism.

Phillip Z. is convinced that the 'Twelve Steps work - he's witnessed the results in his own life - but what exactly does a Higher Power have to do with maintaining abstinence? While the author works an O.A. program, A Skeptic's Guide to the Twelve Steps is for any recovering person who questions the traditional Judeo-Christian concept of God, or anyone seeking to enrich his or her own spirituality. In sharing his story of coming to believe in a Power greater than himself, the author, a psychologist, thoroughly investigates each of the Twelve Steps, combining solid Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions guidance with enlightenment from non-traditional sources, such as Jungian and transpersonal psychology, and Buddhism. Gradually, through an uncompromising intellectual and emotional self examination, and along with the support of a wise and seasoned sponsor, he comes to realize the source of spirituality within himself.