“Hello, my name is…and I’m an alcoholic.”
Though that introductory confession has evolved into a pop culture catchphrase (and occasional punchline), it remains an identifying characteristic of addiction support groups, most specifically Alcoholic Anonymous. AA—where the addicts in The Motherfucker with the Hat seek treatment—is the most prominent addiction recovery program in the world; the grass-roots organization estimates that there are approximately 116,000 groups and more than two million members in over 180 countries. In addition to promoting total abstinence from vices as the only way to truly recover from dependency, AA employs a methodology rooted in fellowship and character development, with a heavy emphasis on spiritual growth, to successfully conquer addiction.
Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism serves as the primary text for AA’s program. Originally published in 1939, the self-help guide—generally known as “The Big Book”—is the original source of the seminal “twelve-step method,” a set of guiding principles outlining a course of recovery. In The Motherfucker with the Hat, playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis alludes to The Big Book’s aim to empower an addict to “find a power greater than himself” in order to solve his problems. AA sponsor Ralph D tries to pacify his volatile sponsee Jackie, telling him, “First off, you need to calm down…No, not ‘Jackie’ calm. Higher Power calm.”
The non-specific language is deliberate: In 2010, the original manuscript of The Big Book revealed edits designed to increase the book’s accessibility to non-religious addicts, such as deleting references to church worship and using the phrase “God of your understanding” in lieu of “God.” Even in modern treatment culture, the inclusivity of the text prevails. Joseph Califano, founder of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, notes that “virtually every rehabilitation program in the country today includes a requirement to join an AA group …The concept of the 'higher power' was important because it made the whole spiritual aspect available to Catholics, Jews, and others.”
Regardless of the treatment option, recovery isn’t about indoctrinating addicts or fully eliminating their desire to consume alcohol and drugs. The Motherfucker with the Hat is quick to dispel the notion that sobriety absolves us of our flaws: in fact, rehabilitation often brings them front and center. The pride, delusion, and self-pity of the play’s addicts—derived from a life perched on societal edge—are their most insurmountable obstacles. Recovery, in any format, frequently requires major lifestyle changes, or even a modification of one’s core values, as a way of preventing the relapse of substance abuse problems. As Ralph D tells his sponsee, “This program, Jackie, it’s a practice—not a theory.”
—Lauren Halvorsen