About Alcoholics Anonymous

AA Preamble

The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes.

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.

Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

The Twelve Steps

Here are the steps we took . . .

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The Twelve Traditions

To those now in its fold, Alcoholics Anonymous has made the difference between misery and sobriety, and often the difference between life and death. A.A. can, of course, mean just as much to uncounted alcoholics not yet reached.

Therefore, no society of men and women ever had a more urgent NEED for continuous effectiveness and permanent unity. We alcoholics see that we must work together and hang together, else most of us will finally die alone.

The ‘Twelve Traditions’ of Alcoholics Anonymous are, we in A.A. believe, the best answers that our experience has yet given to those ever urgent questions, “How can A.A. best function?” and, “How can A.A. best stay whole and so survive?”

One – Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.

Two – For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority – a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants, they do not govern.

Three – The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.

Four – Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups, or A.A. as a whole.

Five – Each group has but one primary purpose – to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.

Six – An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

Seven – Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

Eight – Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.

Nine – A.A., as such, ought never be organized, but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

Ten – Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues, hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

Eleven – Our public relations policy is based upon attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films.

Twelve – Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

Primary Purpose Statement

The primary purpose of any A.A. group is to carry the A.A. message to alcoholics. Experience with alcohol is one thing all A.A. members have in common. It is misleading to hint or give the impression that A.A. solves other problems or knows what to do about drug addiction.

(The A.A. Group page 18 )

A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature

What Are the Three Legacies?

Recovery, Unity and Service.

These are derived from the accumulated experience of A.A.’s earliest members that has been passed on and shared with us: the suggestions for Recovery are the Twelve Steps; the suggestions for achieving Unity are the Twelve Traditions; and A.A. Service is described in The A.A. Service Manual/Twelve Concepts for World Service, and Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age.

(The A.A. Group page 40 )

A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature

Problems Other Than Alcohol

“Perhaps there is no suffering more horrible than drug addiction, especially that kind which is produced by morphine, heroin, and other narcotics. Such drugs twist the mind, and the awful process of withdrawal racks the sufferer’s body. Compared with the addict and his woes, we alcoholics are pikers…”

“Sobriety — freedom from alcohol — through the teaching and practice of the Twelve Steps is the sole purpose of an A.A. group. Groups have repeatedly tried other activities, and they have always failed. It has also been learned that there is no possible way to make nonalcoholics into A.A. members. We have to confine our membership to alcoholics, and we have to confine our A.A. groups to a single purpose. If we don’t stick to these principles, we shall almost surely collapse. And if we collapse, we cannot help anyone…”

“I see no way of making nonalcoholic addicts into A.A. members. Experience says loudly that we can admit no exceptions, even though drug users and alcoholics happen to be first cousins of a sort. If we persist in trying this, I’m afraid it will be hard on the drug user himself, as well as on A.A. We must accept the fact that no nonalcoholic, whatever his affliction, can be converted into an alcoholic A.A. member.”

-Bill W. A.A. Co-Founder

What Is An Alcoholic?

If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely, or if when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably alcoholic.

(Alcoholics Anonymous Page 44)

A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature

The difference between an “Open” meeting and a “Closed” meeting.

Closed meetings are for A.A. members only, or for those who have a drinking problem and “have a desire to stop drinking.”
Open meetings are available to anyone interested in Alcoholics Anonymous’ program of recovery from alcoholism. Nonalcoholics may attend open meetings as observers.

(The A.A. Group page 13)

A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature

Singleness of Purpose

(For Professionals)

Some professionals refer to alcoholism and drug addiction as “substance abuse” or “chemical dependency.” Nonalcoholics are, therefore, sometimes introduced to A.A. and encouraged to attend A.A. meetings. Nonalcoholics may attend open A.A. meetings as observers.