I first learned of him at an AA Meeting, of all places. I thought he was cute because, when it was his turn to share, he was very angry about some of the younger men who were outside vaping. And he kept saying, "I mean, this just bananas. Bananas!" I went to talk to him after the meeting was over but he didn't seem interested in talking.
Then I found out that Mr. Estavan was the head of a special group within Alcoholics Anonymous. That in an of it self is not abnormal. For instance we have something called the Pacific Group (although that is without a doubt a cult). Larry's group was very similar. I found out where the special meetings were and that I was allowed to attend one. So, I did...
The name sounded pretty innocent. It was called "Reformed AA". I kind of liked that idea since there was a lot in the Big Book, written in the 1930s,that struck me as out of date. For instance there is a chapter there called, "For the Wives".
At the "Reformed" Group meetings, there was a lot of material read out loud which was written by Larry Estavan. If found it intriguing at first, but that was before I found out about their policy. Specifically the policy was a lot like the one in Scientology called "Fair Game" where they go publicly go after anyone who criticizes the group. Another policy that was like Scientology, where they called outsiders "Suppresive Persons" was to label anyone who criticized the group as "Frauds".
Also (forgive my jumping around) whenever someone in the group was sharing, if Larry didn't like what they were saying he would interrupt by saying, "Oh baloney" and a few times he even called them a "Fraud" and told them not to come back, until they were ready to admit they were frauds. He used to say those persons were "Busted".
I was a member of this group for my entire first year of sobriety and I overlooked some of these red flags, because frankly this program was working for me. But when I found out about Larry making people work for him for free as part of their "making amendments" I became concerned. When I voiced this concern I was told I was "busted" and had committed "fraud". I wasn't allowed to come back.
I'm not coming back. I wonder if anyone else here has had similar experiences with Larry Estavan.
Then I found out that Mr. Estavan was the head of a special group within Alcoholics Anonymous. That in an of it self is not abnormal. For instance we have something called the Pacific Group (although that is without a doubt a cult). Larry's group was very similar. I found out where the special meetings were and that I was allowed to attend one. So, I did...
The name sounded pretty innocent. It was called "Reformed AA". I kind of liked that idea since there was a lot in the Big Book, written in the 1930s,that struck me as out of date. For instance there is a chapter there called, "For the Wives".
At the "Reformed" Group meetings, there was a lot of material read out loud which was written by Larry Estavan. If found it intriguing at first, but that was before I found out about their policy. Specifically the policy was a lot like the one in Scientology called "Fair Game" where they go publicly go after anyone who criticizes the group. Another policy that was like Scientology, where they called outsiders "Suppresive Persons" was to label anyone who criticized the group as "Frauds".
Also (forgive my jumping around) whenever someone in the group was sharing, if Larry didn't like what they were saying he would interrupt by saying, "Oh baloney" and a few times he even called them a "Fraud" and told them not to come back, until they were ready to admit they were frauds. He used to say those persons were "Busted".
I was a member of this group for my entire first year of sobriety and I overlooked some of these red flags, because frankly this program was working for me. But when I found out about Larry making people work for him for free as part of their "making amendments" I became concerned. When I voiced this concern I was told I was "busted" and had committed "fraud". I wasn't allowed to come back.
I'm not coming back. I wonder if anyone else here has had similar experiences with Larry Estavan.