“A notable in medical circles from coast to coast, Dr. Earle flatly stated that despite his medical knowledge, which included psychiatry, he had nevertheless been obliged humbly to learn his A.A. from a butcher.” (Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age)
Initially, biographical similarity helped identification.
Swiftly, that fell away as a necessity for identification.
But there can still remain an instinctive understanding when there is significant similarity in particular in background, education, and age, and it can be gratifying to sometimes hear the story of someone one identifies with beyond the mechanical nuts and bolts of the addiction.
One should perhaps guard against narrowing one’s focus or attention to such individuals, however, or allowing special cliques to form.
As a 21-year-old, I learned recovery from a herbalist and a middle-aged housewife. I was neither of these things.
I like meetings with a mind-boggling variety of people.