8) Controversial Issue

In this day and age, it seems like the only way for drug addicts to recover and reach a lasting state of sobriety is to turn to religion. Alcoholics Anonymous and many rehabilitation centres claim that the twelve step program is the only way to be successful in recovering from addiction. The second step of the twelve step program is to come to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. All recovered addicts that I have had the opportunity to speak to list the Christian Church as the single most important part of their recovery. In James Frey’s memoir “A Million Little Pieces,” James goes against this program by refusing to accept that a higher being is going to make him better.

To an atheist like James Frey, the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is a violation of his beliefs. It wouldn’t make sense for a rehabilitation centre to insist that it’s patients give up their belief in God in order to recover and it shouldn’t happen the other way either. Why should a person have to rely on the strength of a deity to make them better when they are really using their own strength to recover?

James realizes that if he has gotten himself into a bad situation, he is also the only one that can get him out of it. He holds strongly to the belief that if he accepts that God will aid his recovery, that he will relapse and rationalize it by blaming it on God. Believing in God will give him a scapegoat. By removing this possibility of a safety net, James makes a covenant with himself that if he relapses, it will be entirely his fault and he will have only himself to bail him out.

By becoming religious in order to achieve sobriety, does one not simply trade their addiction for drugs with an addiction for god? To James, this is as bad as that thought of beginning to use crack again. He sees recovered addicts who have devoted their lives to God and can no longer even seem to think for themselves. They live their lives by the words of the bible and believe that God has a divine plan for them. To James it is simply unfathomable that a god would subject him to the terrors of addiction as part of a better plan for his life. James believes fully that he has made his own mistakes.

James’ recovery proves that it is possible to rid oneself of drug addiction without turning to religion. While the majority of treatment centres and support groups require belief in a higher being, it is not necessary to change one’s beliefs in order to recover. The reason that so many success stories come out of religion and the church is simply that they make an effort to help people in their time of need. While this is indeed admirable, if someone is able to realize the gravity of their own situation and decides to do take initiative, they are fully capable of becoming sober without forfeiting their beliefs.