I have not had a drink for 33 years. I know a fair amount about AA. One fact is that one of the principles of AA is to maintain anonymity at the level of "press

I have not had a drink for 33 years. I know a fair amount about AA. One fact is that one of the principles of AA is to maintain anonymity at the level of "press, radio and film" This principle has been stretched quite a bit in recent years, but if I was a member, I would not state it in print. I think one of the best description of how/why AA works is by Charlie Munger (Warren Buffet's Partner) in his book "Poor Charlie's Almanack" He describes the various mental models that we humans use, and talks about how AA uses the "Lollapalooza Effect" to help alcoholics beat their addiction. One big issue with AA, as brought out in the article here, is that there is no official AA regulatory branch. In any given cluster there is self policing, but a new person must be aware that this society is a great place for Con artists to hide out also. I know many people who have stopped drinking and gone on to great lives. I also have a great collection of stories about crazy people and cons I have met along the way. TLDR summary: AA really works, but especially at the beginning- be careful.