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Select a guide above to begin reading.
Or explore Early Influences below.
↓Select a guide to view in the reader below.
Select a guide above to begin reading.
Or explore Early Influences below.
↓These works helped shape AA's alcohol recovery approach in the pre-Big Book era.
Short version: This book is meant to be used alongside Alcoholics Anonymous, the Big Book, and the 12 Steps — never instead of them. It is a companion guide, not a substitute, not a new program, and not a new fellowship.
Alcoholics Anonymous and the book commonly called the Big Book have helped millions of people recover from alcoholism and addiction. This guide is written with deep respect for that history and with the understanding that:
Wherever there is any question, this guide assumes that the Big Book is king in matters of AA's program.
The purpose of this book is to offer additional explanations, examples, and practical suggestions that can help a person better understand and apply the 12 Steps in daily life. It is intended for people who are:
This guide aims to clarify the spiritual ideas behind the Steps by describing the experience of obsession, compulsion, surrender, inventory, amends, and service in straightforward, modern language.
This book is meant to be used in ways that support, not replace, traditional Step work. You might use it:
This guide does not replace a sponsor. It is strongly suggested that anyone who uses this book also works with a sponsor or experienced member of AA (or another 12-Step fellowship) and follows the directions in the Big Book.
Alcoholics Anonymous has a set of Traditions that guide how AA as a whole relates to outside enterprises and literature. In keeping with the spirit of those Traditions:
Readers are encouraged to keep coming back to AA meetings, to seek sponsorship, and to place the 12 Steps and the Big Book at the center of their recovery if they choose AA as their path.
Many people in other 12-Step fellowships (such as those for other substances or behaviors) will also find this material useful. The same principle applies: this guide is meant to support and deepen your experience of the Steps as they are outlined in your fellowship's primary text, not to replace that text or those Steps.
Alcoholics Anonymous, AA, and the Big Book are registered trademarks of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Their mention here is solely for descriptive purposes. This book and this website are not endorsed by, affiliated with, or sponsored by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.