It displays the text of the first 164 pages of the book "Alcoholics Anonymous." His moral teaching-most excellent. Those of us belonging to a religious denomination which requires confession must, and of course, will want to go to the properly appointed authority whose duty it is to receive it. By every form of self-deception and experimentation, they will try to prove themselves exceptions to the rule, therefore nonalcoholic. We families of Alcoholics Anonymous keep few skeletons in the closet. We do not want to be the arbiter of anyones sex conduct. We couldnt duck the issue. Many of us thought it necessary to go much further. Why cant he stay on the water wagon? Once we have taken this step, withholding nothing, we are delighted. If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it-then you are ready to take certain steps. The most incompatible people discover they have a basis upon which they can meet. Its strong language-but isnt it true? 11 pt type - divide your word count by 425. With many individuals the methods which I employed are successful, but I have never been successful with an alcoholic of your description.. I drink like that.. Should it happen again, regard it in a different light. Maybe the doctor has been called in, and the weary round of sanitariums and hospitals has begun. We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish. We alcoholics are sensitive people. If anyone who is showing inability to control his drinking can do the right- about-face and drink like a gentleman, our hats are off to him. We have seen others slip when the family came back too soon. Unless ones family expresses a desire to live upon spiritual principles we think we ought not to urge them. I loaded my Big Book onto my tablet and did a word search for worked / working and I found several uses of the word in the first 164 Foreword to the Second Edition teasers page and are you smarter than a fifth-grader questions. Then he had gone to Europe, placing himself in the care of a celebrated physician (the psychiatrist, Dr. Jung) who prescribed for him. We talked of intolerance, while we were intolerant ourselves. Sub-sede: Rua Prudente de Moraes, 911 No-not now. I dare to disagree with the words of Bill Wilson. They will always materialize if we work for them. The barriers he had built through the years were swept away. Assume on the other hand that father has, at the outset, a stirring spiritual experience. Except for seamless and commendably transparent gender-balancing (e.g., sans the grotesque "s/he" or the infamous Oxfordian "Mother/Father God"), some replacements of obsolete 1930s slang, and a few substitutions of the phrase "Higher . Golf permitted drinking every day and every night. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely. He becomes a religious enthusiast. Perhaps this is a typical attitude. The best way to get in touch with Alcoholics Anonymous is through your local telephone book by simply looking up Alcoholics Anonymous in the White Pages. Somehow I managed to drag my mattress to a lower floor, lest I suddenly leap. He is always more or less insanely drunk. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. Is it not because each wants to play the lead? We think each family which has been relieved owes something to those who have not, and when the occasion requires, each member of it should be only too willing to bring former mistakes, no matter how grievous, out of their hiding places. I was to test my thinking by the new God-consciousness within. It was fortunate, for my old business associates remained skeptical for a year and a half, during which I found little work. Treatment seemed wise, for I showed signs of delirium tremens. Three: This husband has gone much further than husband number two. Passing all understanding is the patience mothers and wives have had with alcoholics. Marvelous results often follow such a reunion. To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book. Search out another alcoholic and try again. It was years since I could remember his coming to New York in that condition. Though his family be at fault in many respects, he should not be concerned about that. They can hardly fail to approve these simple principles, though the head of the house still fails somewhat in practicing them. (Bill wrote on the very last page of the first 164 pages: We realize we know only a little). The publication of this book has not been authorized or endorsed by, and does not imply affilia-tion with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. or the General Service Office of Alcoholics Anonymous. If you do stay, let him steer the conversation in any direction he likes. To spend too much time on any one situation is to deny some other alcoholic an opportunity to live and be happy. Big Book, page 164. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of Gods will into all of our activities. Inwardly he would give anything to take half a dozen drinks and get away with them. Here was the threat of commitment, the loss of family and position, to say nothing of that intense mental and physical suffering which drinking always caused him. Since the first edition appeared, in 1939, it has helped millions of men and women recover from alcoholism. A man so involved often feels very remorseful at times, especially if he is married to a loyal and courageous girl who has literally gone through hell for him. If you propose such a procedure to him, it may be necessary to advance the cost of treatment, but we believe it should be made plain that any expense will later be deducted from his pay. He simply could not believe that his brother-executive suffered from a serious illness. Many of us have heard of the Ninth Step Promises from page 83-84 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. He has not had a drink since. It is the proper use of the will. The family of an alcoholic longs for the return of happiness and security. He is remorseful after serious drinking bouts and tells you he wants to stop. This is a point we wish to emphasize and re- emphasize, to smash home upon our alcoholic readers as it has been revealed to us out of bitter experience. He could not, or would not, see our way of life. We wouldnt treat sick people that way. There is a complete failure of the kind of defense that keeps one from putting his hand on a hot stove. FOREWORD TO FIRST EDITION This is the Foreword as it appeared in the rst printing of the rst edition in 1939. I have seen men come out of asylums and resume a vital place in the lives of their families and communities. Inerrant means without error, and it is a concept religious scholars have tried to apply to the Christian bible, without success. Both saw that they must keep spiritually active. I've been around AA for 18,years yet sober 4 but months and have heard of many suggestions however reading the first 164 pages of the big book has caused me to be curious, by no means am i disagreeing with this afterall the big book is the bible of AA therefore i have no problem at all, anyway can you please tell me how this came about because i know for a fact . In time they will see that he is a new man and in their own way they will let him know it. He may tell mother, who has been religious all her life, that she doesnt know what its all about, and that she had better get his brand of spirituality while there is yet time. You can secure their confidence when others fail. And why? It also varies if you include words and phrases such as "Requires", "Had to", "Imperative . So that was it-last summer an alcoholic crackpot; now, I suspected, a little cracked about religion. Momentarily we did-then would come oblivion and the awful awakening to face the hideous Four Horsemen-Terror, Bewilderment, Frustration, Despair. Be patient. Sometimes these excuses have a certain plausibility, but none of them really makes sense in the light of the havoc an alcoholics drinking bout creates. Some time later, and just as he thought he was getting control of his liquor situation, he went on a roaring bender. The experiment of quitting for a period of time will be helpful, but we think we can render an even greater service to alcoholic sufferers and perhaps to the medical fraternity. The distinguished American psychologist, William James, in his book Varieties of Religious Experience, indicates a multitude of ways in which men have discovered God. They experienced a few distressing failures, but in those cases they made an effort to bring the mans family into a spiritual way of living, thus relieving much worry and suffering. The Little Big Book avoids sexist language, and welcomes people of all lifestyles and faiths. This is the baffling feature of alcoholism as we know it-this utter inability to leave it alone, no matter how great the necessity or the wish. 151-164) PERSONAL STORIES. The rule is we must be hard on ourself, but always considerate of others. But, for the most part, the original text . There was much talk about the mental state preceding the first drink. MOST OF us have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics. Dad is not so spiritual after all, they say. We realize that some people are as fanatical about sex as others are loose. However, some of the stories after the first 164 pages have been updated and changed as time has passed. If we havent the will to do this, we ask until it comes. That company may harbor many actual or potential alcoholics. The doctor intimated strongly that he might be worse than he realized. Many times we talk to a new man and watch his hope rise as we discuss his alcoholic problems and explain our fellowship. Actually, we used to have no reasonable conception whatever. The ticker still clattered. Picture Books: Targeted for 2 to 8-year-old kids, this type of book typically has between 400 - 800 words. In that state, the wrong-doing of others, fancied or real, had power to actually kill. But we must try to repair the damage immediately lest we pay the penalty by a spree. Many of us, former patients, go there to help. I wanted to throw up my hands in discouragement, for I saw that I had failed to help my banker friend understand. Alcoholics Anonymous, also known as the "Big Book," presents the A.A. program for recovery from alcoholism. All Rights Reserved. To some extent we have become God-conscious. But you should not deprive your family or creditors of money they should have. Even in the present century, American newspapers were afraid to print an account of the Wright brothers first successful flight at Kitty Hawk. The Anonymous Press PO Box 1212 Malo We believe that is useful to remind ourselves of this fact. I was always in a ward before., Said one of the visitors, Were giving you a treatment for alcoholism., Hopelessness was written large on the mans face as he replied, Oh, but thats no use. The truth is the number of words per page depends on a variety of factors such as the type of font, the font size, spacing elements, margin spacing, and paragraph length to name This is the key text that the Alcoholics Anonymous program is founded on, the first 164 pages of the Big Book. So our rule is not to avoid a place where there is drinking, if we have a legitimate reason for being there. Live and let live is the rule. God has abundantly supplied this world with fine doctors, psychologists, and practitioners of various kinds. We all had to place recovery above everything, for without recovery we would have lost both home and business. Simply because it is impossible to explain what we see, feel, direct, and use, without a reasonable assumption as a starting point. Our friend was a ministers son. He may demand that the family find God in a hurry, or exhibit amazing indifference to them and say he is above worldly considerations. If the family cooperates, dad will soon see that he is suffering from a distortion of values. I had no trouble refusing drinks, and began to wonder if I had not been making too hard work of a simple matter. Our homes have been battle-grounds many an evening. Why this ready acceptance? That floored me. To him the alcoholic has often seemed a fool of the first magnitude. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest. It quiets the imperious urge, when to yield would mean heartache. is a dependable reference source for essential literature used in Every sentence in the Big Book (pp.1-164) and the 12&12 is indexed alphabetically. Todays life is measured against that of other years and, when it falls short, the family may be unhappy. Potentially, anyone's -- in the U.S.A. After the sermon, he quietly got up and made an explanation. We have begun to comprehend their futility and their fatality. 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