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Alcoholics Anonymous has provided millions of people with a chance at recovery from addiction. There is one aspect of membership for some members that most people, even addiction specialists, are not aware of, namely, the remarkable transformation that many AA members call a spiritual awakening. It’s a remarkable phenomenon for anyone interested in social science on the addictions.
The US taxpayers fund the overwhelming majority of addiction research in the world. Every year, Congress channels about $1 billion to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). An additional almost $0.5 billion is separately given to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), my own workplace for the past decade.
I discovered this addictive "waiting game" after watching our students staring, seemingly blankly, at their iPads, ready to spring when they see an opening. It might look like something out of The Manchurian Candidate, but while the central wheel twirls around, the player must gauge the perfect moment to add another spoke in the spaces remaining without knocking any of the existing elements. Any error sends you back to the adding all of the elements all over again.
Like Dots, the underlying gaming concept behind Aa couldn't be simpler. Any gesture on the screen inserts a spoke at the bottom of the spinning radius. But, by adding an element as you advance through each level, it quickly builds into a challenge as it becomes more difficult to insert a new one given the scant room available. Avoiding the impulse to "fire" spokes in a rapid-fire manner is the real test of patience and hand-eye coordination.
Aa is free, but the ability to skip and unlock levels are available as in-app purchases, as is a nominal charge to remove ads, which appear every few levels (just when a break can be welcome). The highest level you've mastered appears numerically in the center of the wheel, providing an immediate talking point based on skill.
General Adaptive Apps has a range of similar games using different shapes and objectives, but this seems to be their most popular incarnation. I think it might appeal to novice gamers getting new devices over the holiday, too.
Inspired by the School Library Journal cover controversy, I thought of how often in children's and young adult literature the extreme view of drinking is given. One drink leads to binge drinking and dangerous behaviour; all drinkers are bad, abusive, evil drunks; etc.
So I asked for suggestions of those books where an alcoholic (including recovering alcoholic) is portrayed as something other than the evil, abusive person. The two illustrative books being, The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (being in the program and recovery is a fact of life) and Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr (alcoholic parent as flawed, needing help, but not portrayed as evil or abusive).
My grandmother recommended "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" to me when I was young as the book that best explained what life was like with her father (who died from alcoholism at 43 - I actually posted about him today!).
You may recall that I was on the cover of November's School Library Journal with some lovely ladies. If you don't recall, dude, it was only last month!
Of course, I was interested in what people had to say about the cover. Heard some very nice things about the photograph. Had some great conversations with people about blogs and blogging inspired by the story. Was even recognized for being on the cover! (OK, it was at a school library conference but it still counts!)
And so it was with great eagerness I saw that yay, it was December, so the December SLJ would be online and I could read the letters!
Um. Yeah.
Here's the link to the letters: Some Readers Couldn't Stand Our November Cover. Now We Need A Drink. I know that people are more inclined to write a letter to complain than to praise, but it would have been nice had there been a positive letter amongst the others. And let me shout a big "THANK YOU" to those who are leaving positive comments to the letters article.
It's a little ironic that on the day I post a book review praising the portrayal of someone with alcoholism for being well-rounded and fair (Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr), I read these letters.
Having a drink in my hand? Really? (For the record... sugar water with colored dye to give the photo a bit of "pop" since we were largely in gray, white and black.) And as I read on, I thought of a line from one of my favorite movies.
"look at you... you have a baby. in a bar."
Being shocked at a baby in a bar? One thing. Being shocked at grown ups in a bar? A bit different; and I don't find anything inappropriate with either a librarian or a blogger being in a bar or having a drink. (Tho, speaking seriously -- don't drink and blog. You'll regret it. The post lives on in RSS).
And as for the "oh no substance abuse! drinking!"
I have friends and family who are Friends of Bill W. So, yeah, it's not something I take lightly. I'm not putting up anything else that will go against what that second "A" stands for. But remember -- keep coming back. It works if you work it!
Those Friends of Bill W. have seen the cover and liked it and got it. Got the Mad Men aspect, the idea of this being a visual representation of online community of people who rarely meet up in person. Anyway. So I asked someone close to me (anonymous, remember?) about this, forwarding the links, and I got this text back: "tell them u love the sober peeps too."
And I do! I love the sober peeps! And the peeps who aren't!
So, let's turn this into something POSITIVE.
Hey, guys, lets do what bloggers do and m
24 Comments on God Grant Me The Serenity..., last added: 12/4/2009
Funny, I thought SLJ was a professional magazine for adults. Some of those letters made it sound as if school librarians were leaving it out on the shelves for their middle school students to peruse. I had no idea the tween set was interested in how blogging and kids' lit is related.
I, for one, think it's a cute cover. I love the Mad Med-inspired look. It shows that libraries and librarians are up-to-date on current trends and fashions, which I always thought was part of our job.
I thought it was interesting that all the letters (at least all those I saw) were from school librarians. One of them even appears to be under the impression that ya'll are all school librarians as well. Reminds me how glad I am to be a public librarian...and to have wonderful (intelligent, logical, cooperative, and practical) local school librarians to work with.
Have to admit, I completely missed all the cool pop culture references; I just assumed it was a "this is bloggers being social" kind of moment.
Hey, why don't you all drop by my library sometime? We're having a wine tasting in January! (srsly, no kidding, it's a fund-raiser sponsored by our board, one of whom owns a local liquor store)
I have to admit that I missed the Mad Men reference because I am simply not that cool. I got a "This One's For You, Bloggers!" vibe out of it. Which, the issue was... one for the bloggers, I mean. At least that's what I thought. But fortunately, the letter writers are here to assure me that all along you were promoting alcohol use in schools. (?!) Who knew.
Oy.
Liz, you're a bigger (metaphorically) woman than I would be about this. Thanks for making it positive. I am now thinking of books for your list.
Is is terrible of me to think the letters are funny? What stupid things people get upset over! I liked the cover and have no problems displaying it in my school library. I can't help but wonder if the librarians who wrote those letters ever censor the cover of Time and Newsweek which also have the occasional controversial cover. I think what really irritates me is the implied assumption that kids are so dumb they will see a picture of adults holding drinks in their hands and immediately go out and become alcoholics.
I posted a similar comment to Monica's blog, but, I am in Atlanta, GA and people down here think teachers shouldn't drink AT ALL - now I do not adhere to those standards, I mean, I am 21 and am allowed by law to have a drink..sometimes even TWO - LOL - but come on - the magazine is aimed at ADULTS - I have yet to see a student pick up SLJ and say, gee I can't wait to read this month's issue. CHEERS to you, I loved the cover, you all looked FABULOUS!
I thought it was a reference to Fuse #8s KidLit Drink Nights. Jeez, people crack me up. I never even thought about it. Well, a little controversy will have more people reading the magazine. Good work, and yes, it's an awesome cover. Thanks for being awesome.
They should have taken the picture with you guys sitting at the reference desk with drinks in your hands. That way, so many people would have blown so many gaskets, the job market would break wide open.
Liz, that is an amazing cover! Those people need to get over themselves. The magazine is aimed at adults not children. Do we need to protect adults from seeing that other adults can enjoy themselves with a drink now and then? So sorry that your good feelings about this are now tainted. For the record - you ROCK!
Wow. Those sensitive SLJ readers. I'm sure there weren't any positive comments in the bunch because the overwhelming majority of us took a look, thought, "Oh, how cute," and then read the freakin' contents without obsessing over the cover. Was it SLJ readers who freaked out over a bustacious superhero librarian on the cover, too, or was that American Libraries?
As for well-rounded portrayals of alcoholics, I really appreciated the portrayal of the mom in Barbara Hall's Tempo Change, who is in recovery and for whom the Program is a really big, positive thing in her life.
Liz, I probably don't need to go there...in fact, I shouldn't...but I'm sure you already know what I would say. You guys are fab, the cover is fab, and SLJ is fab. And so great that you have their support ("Now we need a drink"). Hang in there and keep fighting the good fight!
Hmm. I'm one of the sober ones, and I didn't think anything of the cover other than, "Gosh, I wish I looked that good." It never occurred to me to be offended.
My favorite alcoholic in a book? Uncle Haskell in "Up a Road Slowly."
grannie elbow said, on 12/2/2009 11:55:00 AM
If you had been using up natural resources or eating meat or wearing fur you'd have gotten letters about that!
Chris said, on 12/2/2009 12:20:00 PM
Librarians are real human people - we drink! Some of us even smoke! I sometimes get double takes from customers I see at the gym, because I don't think they think of me as a real person. I think some people in the profession place this self-imposed burden that we have to be perfect little servants - here for the children, no cussin' or shoutin' aloud allowed! And I can't help but wonder if people would be protesting so much if it was guys holding drinks at a bar. Is there some kind of "loose women" double standard being applied here? Just my off the cuff observation.
I'm not a school librarian/media specialist, so I don't understand why students would see the cover of a professional magazine. Wouldn't something like that just be delivered to their mailbox at school?
It's not as if anyone appeared inebriated. I thought it was a nice cover.
(I wonder if some of the letter writers have an issue with a blogger on the cover?)
Gwenda, yes, that's the equivalent of a "but." "I don't mean x, but.." well, yes, you do mean x.
Miss Tammy, Jon, tanita, teacherninja, Ilene, Laura, Jennifer, thanks!
Jennifer, I'm in NJ, so alas, cannot drop by at what seems like a fun event.
Doret, mb, lisa, chelle, thanks for the title suggestions.
Paige, it does indeed raise bigger issues about what other "bad influence" items are not available. I find it especially troubling because while I respect that some peoples values are "no alcohol, ever", I am against one persons values being imposed on another. Which, in a way, is what is going on: "because I think any drinking is wrong, there should be no books/mags/etc that show drinking is anything other than wrong."
Kathy & Chris, it's a little scary how people think they can control the lives of "public servants" especially those who work with children. Teachers especially have a history of their lives being controlled, with teachers being fired for being pregnant, or divorced, or married. I guess that's why it's sad to see that viewpoint coming from within the profession, also. Here, that a person who happens to work with children should not drink in public.
Christine, now that's a strategy to create more jobs. Except the librarians would all be replaced by support staff, or, better yet -- volunteers. And at schools, parent volunteers.
Grannie, I actually had that exact same thought, lol!
lisnwyrk, thanks for the link.
Becky Hall said, on 12/3/2009 12:38:00 PM
I liked Joan Bauer's Rules of the Road and Best Foot Forward. Another is Lush by Natasha Friend. They all give realistic portrayals of the children of alcoholics.
Becky, thanks! Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to put together a post with all the suggested titles.
One other thing: Please think of leaving your comments at the SLJ letters itself. I have no idea if the folks at SLJ click thru to read these posts; but without your comments at their website saying "I liked it, I didn't find it inappropriate" those initial six letters stand unchallenged and give the appearance of being the only feedback SLJ has recieved.
I missed the pop culture reference; I chocked it up to Fuse8's KidLit Drink Night ... not for the drinks but for the social opportunity of talking shop. Does SLJ publish all the letters it receives? I gotta believe that there were some kudos to y'all that deserved mention.
As for books, I'm not sure if it completely fits, but I'd add Albert Borris' Crash Into Me. The other is Thanksgiving at the Inn, which I just recently finished, which is a great father-son story.
I'm sick and tired of the so called Scrotum Wars! The book is good, damned good and so it mentions a dog's scrotum in the first chapter, y que? This being a bilingual type blog - ahem Tanates is the word of the day. Now that I've pissed off the people I wanted to piss off and amused the ones I wanted to amuse, on to the review!
The Higher Power of Lucky Author: Susan Patron Illustrator: Matt Phelan Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Richard Jackson Books ISBN-10: 1416901949 ISBN-13: 978-1416901945
Lucky is a ten year old girl living in Hard Pan, California (pop 43) in the California desert. Her mother was electrocuted to death and Lucky’s absentee father has sent for his previous wife Brigitte all the way from France to be guardian to Lucky until a foster family can be found as he has no interest in being a father to her. Brigitte misses France and Lucky is afraid she’ll soon return, leaving Lucky in an orphanage without her beloved dog, HMS Beagle and far away from the town and people she loves.
Lucky is a complex and interesting character. She’s smart, determined, funny and caring. She’s got a lot to work through and she is determined to find a way, to find her higher power. She tries to get control of her life by putting together a survival backpack and through her scientific experiments. Lucky can be brave. She chases a snake ut of the dryer that is scaring Brigitte, but as the same time she fears Brigitte will leave because of the snake.
Lucky also eavesdrops on various Anonymous meetings like Smokers Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous in her quest to find her higher power, that elusive thing that will solve all her problems.
The Higher Power of Lucky is a fascinating glimpse of life in the small towns of the Californhia desert. For me, whose father lived up in Lucerne Valley, another California small high desert town, the book really resonated. The local characters in Lucky’s Hard Pan were a lot like people my father knew and hung out with. All in all, The Higher Power of Lucky is an amazing story. Matt Phelan’s line drawings are perfect with the story and give Lucky and her pals such a wonderful look.
Awards: ALA Newbery Medal
ALA Notable Children's Books
Kirkus Editor's Choice Book Description from the Publisher: Lucky, age ten, can't wait another day. The meanness gland in her heart and the crevices full of questions in her brain make running away from Hard Pan, California (population 43), the rock-bottom only choice she has.
It's all Brigitte's fault -- for wanting to go back to France. Guardians are supposed to stay put and look after girls in their care! Instead Lucky is sure that she'll be abandoned to some orphanage in Los Angeles where her beloved dog, HMS Beagle, won't be allowed. She'll have to lose her friends Miles, who lives on cookies, and Lincoln, future U.S. president (maybe) and member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers.
Just as bad, she'll have to give up eavesdropping on twelve-step anonymous programs where the interesting talk is all about Higher Powers. Lucky needs her own -- and quick.
But she hadn't planned on a dust storm.
Or needing to lug the world's heaviest survival-kit backpack into the desert.
0 Comments on Weighing in on the Scrotum Wars - The Higher Power of Lucky as of 3/13/2007 10:06:00 PM
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by Susan Patron (being in the program and recovery is a fact of life) and 
by Debby Dahl Edwardson
by Benjamin Alire Saenz
by Sherman Alexie
by Barbara Hull
by Irene Hunt
Because of Winn Dixie
My grandmother recommended "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" to me when I was young as the book that best explained what life was like with her father (who died from alcoholism at 43 - I actually posted about him today!).