“Members of Alcoholics Anonymous cannot and will not permit themselves to forget their brokenness and vulnerability. Their wounds are acknowledged, accepted, and kept visible. The capacity of one alcoholic to empathize with another is still a recognized as “building a transmission line to him”. The apparent (or presumable) effectiveness of AA’s members in the care and treatment of their fellow alcoholics is one of the great success stories of our time, and graphically illustrates
the power of wounds, when used creatively, to lighten the burden of pain and suffering. AA offers lifelong emotional support to those who explicity acknowledge their problem and admit their helplessness to face life’s stresses and temptations to regression alone.” – David Olsen, Executive Director of Samaritan Counseling Center