Alcoholics Anonymous Field Visit Report Alcoholics Anonymous is a self-help organization made up of men and women, young and old, who come together to share their experiences with alcohol and express their hope and strength to each other so that they can overcome the disease of alcoholism and then help others recover. AA was first founded by two men in 1935. A man from New York, Bill W., who was a stockbroker and another man from Ohio, Dr. Bob, who was a surgeon. At one point Bill had wondered how one of his friends had achieved abstinence, and his friend had told him that he had achieved it through religion. His friend explained that it was based on the principles established in a movement known as the Oxford Movement. “This movement advised people to live by certain principles, and these were told to Bill by his friend.” (Block, page 150). His friend gave him a series of steps to follow, but he could not follow them because he had lost religion in his life long ago. After going through many trips to the hospital, Bill had finally admitted that alcohol had defeated him. He began to spend more time on these steps and began to feel better and better. Bill had tried to help others and although his attempts were unsuccessful, his efforts seemed to improve his prospects. After his improvements in life came his improvements in work. He took a business trip to Ohio after about a year of sobriety, but what he had wanted to do had failed. Then he had a great desire to drink again, so he decided to come up with the alternative of seeking out and talking to another alcoholic to prevent him from having that first drink. He was able to get in touch with Dr. Bob and so AA began......halfway......beyond higher education. (Hayman, page 177). Alcoholism is a disease that cannot be cured but can be stopped. Although it is difficult, more research should be done to determine under what circumstances and what types of alcoholics will benefit from Alcoholics Anonymous. Once more research is done to define the gap between men and women, young and older alcoholics will be clearer. Bibliography: Kinney, Jean; Leton, Gwen. Loosen your grip. Mosby-Year Book, Inc., St. Louis, 1995. (Page 268).Ray, Oakley; Ksir, Charles. Drugs, society and human behavior. Mosby-YearBook Inc., St. Louis, 1996. (Page 253).Hayman, Max. Alcoholism: Mechanism and Management. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, 1966. (Pages 171-177). Block, Marvin A. Alcoholism: Its Facets and Phases. The John Day Company, New York, 1962, 1965. (Pages 145-153)