Hoot 'N Gin

Book excerpt: When Virginia and Michael begin recovery from alcoholism in Alcoholics Anonymous, they correspond several times a week. They view letter writing and their deepening relationship as a lifeline in the chaos of change. Letters selected from over 2000 written during the next five years chronicle the raw material of their recovery. As their recovery becomes increasingly mired in conflict between the deception required to maintain their relationship and "rigorous honesty" required to attain lasting sobriety, Hoot and Gin (alter egos) spontaneously emerge in the writing. With the mobility of mental apparitions, these "kids" are traded back and forth by their adult counterparts, nurturing, modeling new behaviors, broaching sensitive subjects, and teaching the healing art of laughing at self. They help the adults move through stuck places and give up stubborn resistance to change. For anyone contemplating recovery or living with an alcoholic, who is questioning how Twelve Steps can have any practical application to a situation as complicated as theirs, Hoot 'n Gin reveals how two skeptical people eventually find all twelve are gifts, not punishment. This trip through the Twelve Steps demonstrates how the act of letter writing can augment a recovery program by encouraging introspection, lending support, and measuring progress.