The Anonymous People is an outstanding documentary by a brilliant young film-maker, which comes at a time in the history of addiction treatment when a perfect storm (finally) is brewing. The more people in long-term recovery who are able to speak out, especially those in the public spotlight, the more positive change will come for those suffering from active addiction. A new and realistic balance between scientific and medical advances in treatment and the old-school approaches to sobriety must be found. As someone in long-term recovery, I know that AA has indeed helped millions and millions of people around the world to find sobriety. And will continue to do so. This film does not suggest otherwise. At the same time, we must recognize that while AA has been monumentally important, it statistically is no more successful than other approaches to abstinence. The fact remains that most who find long-term sobriety do so on their own. It is also vitally important that medical and pharmacological breakthroughs in addiction treatment be integrated into the mainstream and made more widely-available, and not undermined by the insurance industry, government, big pharma, and others, or scorned by some who believe "finding God" is the only way. While knowledge of a 12-step connection to spirituality surely has worked for many, it does not work for everyone. And to suggest to a newcomer in an AA meeting that it is not a "religious" program when the Big Book refers to "God" throughout is more than a bit difficult (and as any AA historian will tell you, Bill W. in fact wrote the original draft of the Big Book as a religious text, only to be persuaded to tone it down prior to publication). I, for one, have shed my cloak of anonymity. I am not proud of my addicted past, but I am proud of my recovery and what is has offered to me and those important to me. To those who would suggest this film is anti-AA, I would say I could not disagree more strongly. Hats off to Greg Williams! More please!
Review of The Anonymous People
