which lasted hours.
Sister Mary Ignatia
November 1964
Among the first friends of AA few are so beloved as Sister Mary Ignatia, subject of this moving tribute from an AA who was helped by her years ago. November is Gratitude Month in AA: here is an occasion to remember that the vital strands of spiritual influence, information and help that went into the making of our Fellowship were woven almost entirely by non-alcoholics. Those were the old days, nearly thirty years past. Our earliest friends, young then, are older now; many of them have gone from us. Sister Mary Ignatia this year celebrated her Golden Anniversary as a nun; over 25 years of this life of service to God have been dedicated to the care and recovery of alcoholics and to the carrying of the AA message to uncounted thousands at St. Thomas Hospital, Akron, Ohio.
–Original editor's note
A startlingly large number of AAs, if asked to name the person who had been the greatest help to them in achieving sobriety, would name a non-alcoholic, Sister Mary Ignatia of the Roman Catholic order of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine. How, we ask, could she, who had no experience of alcoholism itself, have had the compassion and complete understanding which she has shown for every tiny facet of the complex mess which the suffering alcoholic always is? The great spirit in her tiny earthly body has lived tirelessly, weaving golden threads of spiritual inspiration from one alcoholic to another, day after day, and year after year, whether her patient happened to be Protestant, Catholic, Jewish or of no religion at all.
Many have literally had body and soul, and early sobriety, held together by the never-ending strands of her love, concern, and dedication to the salvation of people like us. God moves in mysterious ways for all of us, but none of the wondrous mysteries of his grace could compare with the miracle of this tiny nun and her gift to our Fellowship.
Once as she stood contemplating a new alcoholic patient in miserable condition, a representative of the hospital, concerned with earthly practicalities, inquired whether adequate financial provision for the new patient had been made. The response, delivered with asperity, was, “I am interested in souls, not dollars.”
On another occasion, she stood looking reflectively out the window and said mostly to herself, “That was a big step I took from music (her early interest) to alcohol.” Indeed it was. Yet the greatest symphony of the finest master composer, in its most superb rendition, must seem small by comparison with the miracles in which her great spirit has played a vital part. Imagine a great stage on which might be assembled at one time, the thousands of recovered alcoholics whom she has helped. Then imagine a great auditorium in front of such a stage in which might be gathered the families, relatives, friends and other associates of those on the stage. That spectacle, were it possible, would surpass in beauty the greatest musical production of all time.
Our Lord told his disciples to go forth to preach the gospel and heal the sick. No servant of his has contributed more to the healing of alcoholism than she. Yet in her complete humility we can hear her saying as one of the ancient physicians did, “All I do is bind the wounds. God is the Great Physician.”
How does one express in words the gratitude and love so many of us feel toward Sister Mary Ignatia? The answer must be that it isn’t possible. Only through what we are and what we do can the reality of this gratitude and love be demonstrated to her.
“Now is eternity; this very moment is eternity.” That has been said by her to many of us, over and over again. For those of us who have learned to live one day at a time, often one minute at a time, perhaps this statement has a profound meaning which may not be shared by others. “Each moment of life is a gift from God, which when we are through with it, is deposited exactly as we left it, forever in eternity.”
Thanks to her, many of us have tried to improve the quality of deposits in God’s eternity, knowing full well that our maximum will be a pitifully small contribution.
Words, even by a master in their use, if we had one, could not express the gratitude and love we have for this great healer of our common disease. Rather, we shall, we must, try to show it through action, in our own lives and in efforts to help others.
Anonymous
What a Doctor Learned From AA (Ruth Fox)
January 1973
From AA members and other alcoholics, I have learned many lessons. Many other physicians who have listened with open minds have learned the same facts. But before I pass those lessons on to you, let me first, in the AA fashion, share my experience—and hopes—with you.
Some years ago, I found out that a member of my husband’s family had developed alcoholism, and I was horrified that no branch of medical science seemed able at that time to do much about it. Some of the drying-out misery could be eased occasionally, but no kind of medical treatment produced long-lasting sobriety.
And then, about 33 years ago, I heard my first AA speaker, Marty M. It changed my entire life and I shall always be grateful. I began to devote all my professional energies to helping alcoholics, and I tried to get every alcoholic I saw into AA. I still do.
In the first flush of my enthusiasm, I am sure I made many mistakes—like any AA newcomer, I guess. Often, I found myself carrying the patient, rather than carrying the message of recovery to the patient. But I learned better. And eventually, in order to do a better job with alcoholics, I went back into training and became a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst.
After a few years, I gave up psychoanalysis as a technique for treating alcoholism. I still think it can be useful for some alcoholics, after they have established some stable AA sobriety. But from my own experience, I have seen that simply understanding your problems certainly cannot turn any alcoholic into a social drinker! To quote an alcoholic psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who was once a patient of mine: “One martini, and all your insight goes right out the window!” He had had 17 years of psychoanalysis, but his drinking just kept getting worse.
As time went on, I learned that many alcoholics simply will not go to AA, as AA members know all too well. Moreover, some who go to AA may seem just as sincere as others and may seem to try just as hard as they can, but they do not seem to be able to stay sober. My AA friends tell me they meet alcoholics like this, too.
Pretty soon, I saw that I could probably get most of my patients into AA somehow, and they would recover. But what about those others—those who would not go near AA or seemed unwilling or unable to grasp the AA philosophy? Should I turn them away to die, or keep trying to find something that would help them, at least to some degree?
I decided to keep “pushing” AA as the cornerstone of my treatment, but also to keep on trying to find other kinds of help for the alcoholics unaffected by AA.
Aiming for an open-minded attitude, I began investigating all kinds of treatments for alcoholics. Among those I tried, but discarded, were LSD, hypnotherapy, psychoanalytically-oriented group therapy, megavitamin therapy, and encounter groups. All of these, when properly used by good therapists on properly selected patients, have helped some alcoholics, I know. But for my own practice, better results are achieved otherwise.
Now, supplementing a strongly prescribed big dose of AA, I use primarily counseling, Antabuse, psychodrama, and informational therapy—that is, simply teaching alcoholics facts and removing some of their old misinformation about alcohol and alcoholism.
Four questions I am still asked frequently, and some brief answers, are:
1.
