Tightrope-The Fourth Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous

Tightrope- The Fourth Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous

Over the years Alcoholics Anonymous has built up a lot of good will with various organizations. Many Churches have built co-operative relationships with Alcoholics Anonymous. Even conservative churches like the Catholic Church frequently allow Alcoholics Anonymous to meet at their facilities. However, there is a dark side to Alcoholics Anonymous that is seldom discussed. After all, it is not polite to criticize AA. I intend to be “not polite”.

Alcoholics Anonymous has changed. I have even seen it change in my own lifetime. My involvement dates from 1976 which is nearly 30 years now. The most recent change in Alcoholics Anonymous which people should be aware of is the inclusion of the story ,”Tightrope” in the Fourth Edition of The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Most people outside AA probably don’t even know what The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous is. It is the basic book of Alcoholics which contains the “program” and also personal stories of recovery. The first 164 pages of the The Big Book have not changed much since the original publication in 1939. But the personal stories have changed with every new generation. The first changes occurred in the Second Edition, which was published in 1955. The next changes occurred in the Third Edition in 1976 (The year my active involvement began). The most recent changes occurred in 2001 when the current fourth edition was published. And The Big Book is a major influence in the lives of millions of Alcoholics worldwide.

From personal experience I can tell you that the current edition is the one that has the most influence on AA’s, especially newer ones. For many years, I did not realize that many very significant changes had been made to the Third edition from the First edition. The Founders stories, Bills Story and Doctor Bobs Nightmare, were in the 3rd edition and I just did not give much thought as to whether it had been changed from previous editions. In fact, I seldom heard of previous editions;everybody used the Third edition.I was too busy trying to learn how to live a life of sobriety- no easy task for a chronic drunk and drug addict.

On the face of it, the changes made to the Big Book are to make it more relevant to the current generation. However, I see a more sinister agenda at work. Let me explain.

One of the stories in the “New improved” Fourth edition is the inclusion of the testimony of an openly gay unrepentant homosexual. This had never happened before. It is certain that Alcoholics Anonymous would never have gained the acceptance and co-operation of many religious people in its early years had they included that kind of story. This is not to say there were not stories of homosexuals in The Big Book. Marty Mann, sometimes called the The First Lady of Alcoholics Anonymous, was a closet Lesbian who never revealed the fact publicly except to close friends. Although her story was not in The First Edition, Bill Wilson did include it in the Second Edition. It is also included in the Third and Fourth editions. The story however does not reveal Marty Mann’s Lesbianism.

Alcoholics Anonymous has a tradition (Tradition 10) that says,
“Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the AA name out never be drawn into public controversy”. Many AA’ would say that still is the position of Alcoholics Anonymous. I say that is not true and the publication of “Tightrope” in The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous is the latest evidence.

The anonymous author of “Tightrope” admits that drinking helped him with the inner conflict he felt over his homosexual urges: “For me , the idea of being homosexual-the word gay wasn’t then in common use-was unthinkable. Drinking helped me forget and evade.’

The author also admits that when he finally acted on his homosexual desires that he felt guilt and shame: “ When I eventually decided to act on my desires, the guilt and shame- as well as the drinking—increased.” In other word, he drank to escape the pain of conscience.

His solution: “I wound up living two separate and distinct lives – that of the gay man with friends and interests to match and that of the straight man with a totally separate set of friends and interests. I had to walk this Tightrope…”

Of course his alcoholism continued on its path of self destruction. Now you might think that the ultimate resolution of his problem would be to admit he was wrong and experience the redeeming pain of guilt and shame over his homosexuality: to repent.You would be wrong.

While that might be the Christian resolution to the problem it is not the resolution presented in The Fourth Edition of The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.


The solution presented in “Tightrope” is an embrace of his homosexuality after he finds AA.

First of all, his sponsor turns out to be a “Christian Minister” who is accepting of his homosexuality.


Secondly he begins to be of “service”. “It was in this period that I started to turn to service beyond the group level. I had helped in founding the first gay AA group in my part of town”.


Lastly, everyone in AA accepts his homosexuality and everything turns out hunky dory, “ In all these positions, I never felt obligated to conceal or deny my sexuality. I have always felt that the representatives of groups in my area were concerned –only with how we carried the message of recovery, not with what I might do in my personal life”.

Apparently, the message of the Big Book is that what you do in your personal life doesn’t matter, and that homosexuality in Alcoholics Anonymous is ok.

Now,to be fair and balanced, let me turn to the story of the repentant homosexual alcoholic in The fourth edition of The Big Book of Alcoholics. You see there are repentant homosexual alcoholics. There is even a group called Homosexual Anonymous that uses the steps of Alcoholics Anonymous to recover from homosexuality.

Ok, back to the story of the repentant homosexual alcoholic. It is located on page- uh- lets see it located on page number--- hmm. Well, I can’t find it. I guess maybe they left it out. I wonder why?

So you see AA’s opinion on an outside issue is done in a subtle way. You see it in the story “Tightrope”. You see it in the Gay AA meetings. You see it in the Gay AA round ups. And you can see it on the GSO website. It’s done subtly though. Would you expect it to be otherwise?
“Now, the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God has made”- Genesis 3:1

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