SAFETY GUIDE01
Warning signs of predatory behavior in recovery
Recognize coercion, protect your boundaries, and get support. No one earns access to your body or your private life by helping you get sober.
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS & PUBLISHED REPORTING
Read the accounts.
Demand answers.
Allegations of coercion and abuse deserve scrutiny. Read the firsthand accounts, examine the reporting, and challenge demands for silence.
SAFETY & ACCOUNTABILITY02
Predators in 12-step meetings: groups must act
When help becomes leverage, a recovery group must respond. RECO’s warning about exploitation is a call for clear boundaries and meaningful protection.
REPORTING & COMMENTARY03
Midtown’s abuse allegations demand answers
The Carr headline brings renewed attention to Midtown. Keep the reported abuse, survivors’ accounts, and Carr’s denial in view.
SOURCE NOTE04
TMATM’s Midtown ties demand scrutiny
A source identifies the podcast’s founders and current host Ravi as Midtown members. Listeners deserve clear answers about those ties.
READING & LISTENING05
Do not let Midtown’s reported history disappear
Read Marc Fisher’s 2007 Washington Post report. Keep the allegations, responses, and historical context in the public record.
READING & LISTENING06
Midtown’s warning signs were in print in 2007
Newsweek reported allegations of coercion, disputed accounts, and barriers to leaving. The historical record demands scrutiny.
READING & LISTENING07
Belonging must never demand obedience
@alabamaamanda describes shunning, pressure over medical care, and the cost of leaving Midtown. Her account demands attention.
READING & LISTENING08
Listen to the Midtown account behind “Creepaholics Anonymous”
The Dream features @alabamaamanda on Midtown and recovery. Follow her account and question the conditions attached to belonging.
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS09
Reports of harm deserve a response
Two anonymous readers describe distress and concerns about harm. Listen, protect their identities, and establish the facts.
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS10
Leaving Midtown should not mean losing everything
@mandiptalkspredators describes entering at 15 and losing housing and friendships on departure. Those barriers demand attention.
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS11
“AA didn’t fail me. Midtown did.”
Seven years in Midtown: @alabamaamanda alleges coercive rules, grooming, and punishment for questioning leadership.
PERSONAL ACCOUNTS12
A group has no right to control your family or relationships
@complexis describes eight years in an AA group she calls a cult, including restrictions on family contact and dating.
READING NOTE13
Read the Midtown investigation. Demand answers.
The Guardian’s historical investigation deserves scrutiny. Follow the reporting and keep its findings and limits in view.
FROM THE ARCHIVE14
Stop defending a group by dismissing reports of harm
The original 2023 response to Midtown’s online defenders, with a renewed demand to address specific allegations.
FROM THE ARCHIVE15
Midtown and “Mike Q.”: confront the reported record
The original 2023 article examines historical reporting on sexual coercion, control, and the response to people who spoke out.
FROM THE ARCHIVE16
Recognize the tactics of control. Challenge them.
Robert Jay Lifton’s eight criteria provide a framework for examining demands for obedience, isolation, and control.
Editorial updates are dated October 23, 2026. The three original September 2023 texts are preserved within clearly labeled archive sections. New articles carry their own publication dates.