Confess to an A.A. friend or sponsor that you're an agnostic, atheist, or secular humanist, and you're likely to be told to read the "We Agnostics" chapter of the Big Book. Unfortunately, that chapter has little to help a skeptic make sense of the Twelve Steps. Many of use find it to be patronizing, insulting, and its “Fake it till you make it” advice less than helpful. Here are some alternatives:
Among the literature approved by A.A., perhaps the book of greatest interest to the agnostic in recovery is the slender volume, Living Sober (AA World Services, New York 1975). It's written from a secular perspective and offers much useful information to the newly sober with practical techniques for maintaining abstinence. Only two of the thirty-one chapters involve the use of prayer or the 12 Steps, and little to offend the agnostic sensibility.
Caroline Knapp's Drinking: A Love Story (Bantam/Doubleday, New York, 1996) has proved enormously popular in our groups. A modern recovery classic, this book works very well for reading aloud in agnostic meetings.
Wilfred Sheed's In Love with Daylight: A Memoir of Recovery (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1995) follows a skeptic’s journey through the drinking life, his efforts to quit and struggles with traditional A.A. dogmas of the rehab experience. Short passages here also make for good reading in a group context and the author’s irreverence is often well received.
Augusten Burroughs is another skeptic who finds humor along with poignance in the recovery process. Dry: A Memoir (St. Martins, New York, 2003) is a good choice for both humor and insight and a pleasurable read as well.
Getting Better: Inside Alcoholics Anonymous by Nan Robertson (William Morrow, New York, 1988) is a classic. It includes both comprehensive historical material about A.A. and an inspiring personal story of recovery from the Pulitzer Prize winner.
Under Your Own Power: A Guide to Recovery for Non-Believers by Ronald L. Rogers & Chandler Scott McMillin (Putnam, New York, 1992) provides a sympathetic framework for those trying to avail themselves of the structure provided by A.A.’s Twelve Steps without resorting to religion or spirituality.
The Alternative 12 Steps: A Secular Guide to Recovery by Martha Cleveland & Arlys G. (Health Communications, Deerfield Beach, FL, 1992) may be too "new age" for some, but stresses proactive non-religious recovery. The Third Step, for example, is translated as "Make a decision to be open to spiritual energy as we take deliberate action for change in our lives."
Out-of-print books can be found at web sites such as Advanced Book Exchange, Alibris, and BookFinder.
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