Those who critique the notion of powerlessness have a point. It is true that some people understand powerlessness to be a life style rather than a step towards empowerment by God. But it is not true that the goal of recovery is merely to acquire the strength to be autonomous and self-reliant. The pursuit of self-reliance and autonomy can easily lead us back into isolation, denial and silence. I am convinced that God wants more for us than self-reliance.
Recovery means more than achieving the hollow purity of personal autonomy.
Self-reliance and autonomy are for many of us just fancy words for the survival skills we learned in dysfunctional homes. We learned to manage by ourselves. We learned not to need anyone. It is an achievement to survive, of course, and there are times when these skills can be put to good use. But recovery means moving past self-reliance and autonomy into intimacy and community.