The Literature Committee has created two new subcommittees in the last year. One of these is the Language Subcommittee, chaired by Alexandra E from Sweden. That subcommittee is creating recommendations for language in our literature that is spiritually inclusive, loving and not directive, and that includes the experience of our entire fellowship.
The other subcommittee is called Literature in Development. Its purpose is to recommend changes in existing literature, to respond to ballot proposals for changes or new literature, and to respond to comments made in Fellowship Review of new or existing literature.
Two of the projects that arose from ballot proposals are changes in the Big Red Book (BRB) and creating a second set of ACA Steps that are more gentle and loving. Here is an update on the status of the work on the BRB .
BIG RED BOOK REVISIONS
A ballot proposal in 2021 resulted in the adoption of the following motion: We move that a new literature subcommittee begin planning a revised edition of the Big Red Book, with new testimonials and updated content, to be more inclusive of all experience of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion/spirituality, and a broader range of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
Literature in Development has created a working group to address this proposal. It will work with the Language Subcommittee for recommendations on inclusive language. It has also created a Survey working group to survey the fellowship about members’ experiences with the current BRB and suggestions for better inclusion.
The timing of an update to the BRB will be affected by two additional issues:
- How will a new version affect completed and ongoing translations of the current version of the BRB?
- How, if at all, will new literature in process (the Loving Parent Guidebook, the Connections book on sponsorship and fellow travelers, the new Service Manual, and Getting Started, a book designed for the first 18 months of recovery) be incorporated into the BRB?
The Subcommittee feels that we should not update the BRB twice, both from a workload and a financial perspective. And, we recognize that we need to give the fellowship time to work with new literature before we can answer the second question.
We welcome volunteers to join any of the Literature in Development working groups. Or just come to a meeting to observe. We meet each fourth Saturday of the month at 12:00 Noon Eastern US time. Contact [email protected].
Christine B