Yes , I have, i visited the sea gullah islands of south carolina (FRIPP ISLAND) S.C. in 2000. They had a group that used the tapes.

They grp was full of seniors with tons of time.

When I first started this journey I did a road trip from the Bay Area to Portland with the tapes. As I was brand new to the program I think they helped me immensely. They were loaned to me and I listened to them and gave them back. I think they should be required listening for all newcomers. That's how much they helped me. Being on I-5 alone with nothing else to do lets you take time and listen to all of them in a sitting...Don't remember which conference it was, but it was 8 cassettes. Made the trip fly by....and it helped form the foundation of the journey I'm on today...

The tapes are just gr8. I've heard them a number of times as I often listen the 4th/5th step tapes with people I take through the steps. They are available free on the net. just make a google search for "joe & charlie" & they're there on one of those sites.
Do download them & listen to them often.

Hi!

I received the copies of the Joe and Charlie Big Book Study a few months ago. And they totally changed my life.
I went to my first meeting about two years ago.
But only when i got these tapes i finally could understand how this program works.
And i went from accepting the 12 steps as the only possible way to get where i want to be, to truly loving it and immense greatfulness that "god put this thing together so we can have it today" as Charly says.
I had found out, as the Atheist that I was, I couldnt work the program because I was not able to find a conception of God, that satisfied me.
And then, when i learned where the twelve steps came from, i started for the first time to look into a 5000 year old conception of god with an open mind, and to deal openminded with all the arguments that had always kept me from even talking about this conception of God.
Joe and Charly say, that we do not have to wait until finishing step 9 before we get something out of it, every step, done properly has certain results.
I am just done with my step 4 now, looking really forward to all the others, but my life has already changed into a much better one.
They also say "alcohol was about a symptom".
And thats true! For all the other addictions its the same recovery program which is the only thing that works.
So what is the underlying illness?
I beleave now, it is that we are seperated from god.
My (pobably not very humble) suggestion to all the oldtimers is, that after experiencing god having taken away the obsession of the mind, it is important to see, that our own conception of god MAY BE INADEQUATE. And the daily prayer should not only be asking for gods will and the power to carry that out, but also asking god for a way to get to know him better.

so,
many thanks!
listen to Joe and Charly!
They make a lot of quotes out of that "other big big book"

regards,
Peter from Austria

Hey Charles,
A few years ago, I think it might have been 2005, I was fortunate enough to go to the "Big Book Comes Alive" Seminar in Sacramento Ca. Presented by Joe & Charlie. It was one of the most amazing spiritual experience/ awakenings I have ever had. The way they present the book, and the (for lack of a better word), aura of the fellowship there was amazing. At the time I had about 2 years sober and I have been on fire ever since.
I think Joe & Charlie's last Seminar might be this weekend in Torrence Ca. My sponsor and a few of my friends are headed down there. I am excited for them. If you can't go the tapes are the next best thing. My suggestion is to be somewhere where you are away from distractions. Have your book out and only do about 2 to 4 hours at a time.
"We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny."

Although there are many things I like about Joe & Charlie and their tapes, there are also many things I don’t like about Joe & Charlie’s tapes. The main thing that disturbs me about Joe & Charlie’s tapes are the derisive and wholly inaccurate statements they make concerning Modern AA and the Myths and Misinterpretations that they propagate regarding the alleged 50 to 75% success rate of early AA. ( To see related article click here on link here hindsfoot.org/recout01.pdf )

The truth is that early AA never had an over-all success rate of 50 to 75%, what early AA did have was an estimated 50 to 75% success rate “of those that really tried”. It is thought that perhaps only 2 out of every 5 people that had any exposure to early AA “really tried”. ( and that might be being more than generous) What this means is that approximately 60% of all of the people who were approached by AA did not really try to work the AA program and consequently did not get sober. Of the remaining 40% or let’s say 50% (to be generous) of the people that were really trying, an estimated 50% of those people got sober right away and an additional 25% of the remaining 50% are thought to have achieved a stable recovery after some relapses. The bottom line is there was never an over-all success rate of 50 to 75%. Never, ever, ever!

Joe & Charlie (on their tapes) grossly exaggerate the success rates of early AA, and then
Joe & Charlie use the most dismal statistics that they can find regarding AA’s current success rates and try to persuade us to believe that the enormous deficit is due to AA being ‘watered down by treatment concepts’ which they argue has caused a lack of emphasis to be placed on the ‘original program’ as outlined in the first 164 pages of the Big Book. The problem with this argument is 1. AA’s success rate was never as high as they are trying to make you believe and 2. AA’s current success rate is not nearly as low as they would like you to believe. In fact according to AA’s latest Tri-Annual Survey in 2007, there has never been a higher concentration of long term recovery in AA. The average active member of AA now has 8 years of sobriety. This is unmatched by any other period in AA History!

( see related article click here hindsfoot.org/lorarch.html )

So while I admire Joe & Charlie’s very sincere love for the Big Book, their sense of humor and their ability to make a great presentation using persuasive rhetoric and their own charisma. I cannot overlook the fact that they have achieved their Guru status and have made lots of $$$ hawking their tapes and workshops due to their distortion of the facts and their persuading us to believe that they have a means of raising AA’s overall success rate. I believe that Joe & Charlie have an agenda to reform AA and to shape it according to their own preferences and beliefs. And if the truth is to be known, in many ways they have been very successful. Overall I think their influence has been very divisive and controversial. Also, I sincerely doubt they have raised AA’s success rate in any demonstrable way. They have managed to divide AA into different camps or schools of thought and they have managed to achieve Guru Status and at the same time establish a very lucrative speaker tape and workshop business.

That’s My Two Cents,

Jim F. DOS Oct. 4th 1987