Seeds of Grace: A Nun's Reflections on the Spirituality of Alcoholics Anonymous

When Sister Molly Monahan, a Roman Catholic nun, came to Alcoholics Anonymous she expected to find sobriety. What she hadn't counted on was finding a more meaningful relationship with God than she had ever experienced in her religious order. "What could AA teach me about spirituality?" she asks. "Going to meetings did not feel like going to church, or going on a retreat, or sitting at the feet of some guru in pursuit of lofty spiritual goals. It felt like to defeat to me, as it does to most."

So of course Monahan was surprised to discover that alcoholism is indeed a "physical, mental, and spiritual disease," as the program states. Using the 12- step program as the basic structure, Monahan tells her own story of recovery alongside panhandlers, VPs, and soccer moms. Much more than a memoir, this is an elegant meditation on the power of the 12-step program, how it penetrates and guides the way that sober alcoholics live. What readers come to see, whether they are alcoholics or not, is that the AA program is indeed a significant spiritual contribution to the American landscape for all families, faiths, and walks of life. --Gail Hudson

Much attention has been paid in recent years to the spiritual underpinnings of that quiet fellowship known as Alcoholics Anonymous and its famous "12-step" recovery program. Monahan, a Catholic nun and self-described alcoholic who knows the program from the inside out, writes about AA's spirituality from a refreshing, insightful perspective. In doing so, she has remained true to AA's revered 11th and 12th traditions of maintaining anonymity by using a pen name. Weaving knowledge gleaned from more than 40 years as a religious woman into her personal experience of AA, which spans 17 years, she manages to mine the depths of the program without making its members, and especially herself, appear saintly or overly pious. At AA meetings, she writes, "I heard the truth of my own feelings, faults, and sneaky motivations played back for me with uncommon honesty." The narrative draws heavily from AA's "Big Book" and the 12 traditions and 12 steps that form the program's foundation. Monahan overlays AA's principles with the purgative, illuminative and unitive stages of growth in the spiritual life, explaining how she recovered not only her sobriety through AA, but her spirituality as well. This bookDpart candid memoir, part spiritual meditationDis sure to attract readers who are familiar with AA, as well as those who will be interested purely in its message of spiritual renewal. (Mar.) Forecast: This book has great crossover potential into several markets: 12-step recovery, spirituality, women's issues and health. Riverhead plans to protect the author's anonymity with online, print and radio interviews.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Is Alcoholics Anonymous a secret organization? What does it offer members? Can a book by a recovering alcoholic speak to those in and out of AA? The seamless reflections in this hopeful memoir not only reflect Monahan's (a pseudonym) experience as an alcoholic and as a believing, practicing Christian but explain AA better than any treatise or manual might. Most readers will come away from this concise sharing of wisdom with a deepened understanding of alcoholism and an appreciation of AA and without feeling as if they've been preached to. Some aspects in particular take time to comprehend, such as the idea that the disease of alcoholism affects a person first spiritually, then mentally, and finally physically and that recovery happens in the opposite order. Believers can find much to relate to as Monahan speaks clearly and without reservation about the essentials of life and of faith. Monahan's unique understanding of both the human and spiritual side of alcoholism forms an important, personal understanding of theology in action. All public library collections will be enhanced by the direct style and the weight and strength of Monahan's ideas. Leroy Hommerding, Fort Myers Beach P.L., FL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

As a nun, Molly Monahan (not her real name) thought she should know everything about maintaining spiritual health and well-being. But despite her training in prayer, her extensive reading in spirituality, and being steeped in the Catholic sacramental tradition, she became alcoholic. Suffering from a kind of soul sickness as well as alcoholism's emotional and physical ravages, she was filled with remorse, shame, and self-loathing until Alcoholics Anonymous turned her around. A Jesuit priest once called AA the most significant spiritual movement of the modern era. Monahan heartily agrees. In her reflections and commentary on her own experience, she attests no conflict between practicing Christianity and accepting the principles of AA. Indeed, with AA she discovered a deeper spirituality lite than the more structured form within her faith community. Far from being spirituality lite, as the media often present it, AA encourages a selfless spirituality. Through listening and brutal honesty about her emotions, Monahan reestablished spiritual and physical health. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

...an eloquent, moving testimony to the healing power of the truth...written by a wise woman with a large heart. -- James Carroll, author of An American Requiem