ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the rhetorical construction of women’s recovery from alcoholism through a narrative analysis of the foundational text of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), known commonly as the “Big Book.” We establish Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham’s theory of “respectability politics” as a useful frame to examine the rhetoric surrounding “the woman problem” as well as the recovery stories told by women in AA. Attention to the narrative parameters of what is included by women in the book exposes the way the rhetorical constraints of respectability articulated by women influence women attempting recovery. We center our analysis around three themes: what it means to be a “lady,” prioritizing the family over self, and the articulation of class status. This chapter concludes by recognizing that excavating the misogyny that is sedimented into the culture and foundational texts of AA is a valuable addition to conversations concerning women and recovery.
