The Big Book Unplugged: A Young Person's Guide to Alcoholics Anonymous

One of my teenaged children's observations when I share the experience, strength and hope Recovery has brought to me, is that I'm "not speaking teen language," so they don't always grasp what I mean. They know the Recovery journey has helped me, they mainly see it in my life, but the language makes it hard to translate to their own struggles, or to the struggles they see their friends experiencing. THE BIG BOOK UNPLUGGED does speak teen language (using some VERY clear language in fact, that may offend those to whom the book isn't geared, but speaks VOLUMES to its intended audience!), and is a clear, conversational format that picks the very best of the BIG BOOK of AA, and presents it in accessible language. Don't know why it took me so long to find this, but it's just what I have been looking for! Stories remain very personal, the big players in AA are presented in a human, contemporary context, which emphasizes our similarities, even though these founders began "way back there," and I was pleased with the comfortable use of humor and honesty. The style and language are so easy to process, that I would also recommend this book for those who wouldn't exactly view themselves as a "young person" and yet have trouble processing the BIG BOOK, both in size (we call it BIG for a reason!)and content. Having said that, I would wish maybe for a follow up book, or maybe a few more elements included in this volume, but then that would likely detract from it's slim, non-intimidating size. So overall, it's a great book and a great option!

I work in a substance abuse treatment center, and I have found that people that started drinking or using when they were young relate to this book easily. It puts things in simple terms and uses real stories to portray the points. I feel the language is foul at times, but the author does use it to make a point and relate to younger people. I'm buying this book for my father who has been sober for 15 years through AA, and is still working the program "one day at a time."