From the books ... Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book) and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (12 & 12)
Click
to display the full page from the Big Book1.
... drinking.
12&12 p.44,
Step Four
Alcoholics especially should be able
to see that instinct run wild in themselves is the underlying cause of their
destructive drinking.
2.
... drinking.
12&12 p.45,
Step Four
We shall claim that our serious character defects, if we think we have
any at all, have been caused
chiefly by excessive
drinking.
3.
... drinking.
12&12 p.79,
Step Eight
4.
... drinking.
12&12 p.84,
Step Nine
After coming from our first meeting, or perhaps after we have finished reading the book "Alcoholics Anonymous," we usually want to sit down with some member of the family and readily admit the damage we have done by our drinking.
5.
... drinking).
12&12 p.118,
Step Twelve (Note)
Not a part of A.A., this worldwide fellowship
consists of spouses and
other relatives or friends of alcoholics
(in A.A. or still drinking).
6.
... drinking."
12&12 p.139,
Tradition Three
7.
... drinking."
12&12 p.144,
Tradition Three
8.
... drinking.
BB p.20,
There Is A Solution
9.
... drinking.
BB p.21,
There Is A Solution
10.
... drinking.
BB p.30,
More About Alcoholism
11.
... drinking.
BB p.31,
More About Alcoholism
12.
... drinking.
BB p.32,
More About Alcoholism
Though there is no way of proving it, we believe that early in our
drinking careers most of us
could have stopped drinking.
13.
... drinking.
BB p.32,
More About Alcoholism
14.
... drinking.
BB p.35,
More About Alcoholism
His family was re-assembled, and he began to
work as a salesman for the
business he had lost through drinking.
15.
... drinking.
BB p.36,
More About Alcoholism
16.
... drinking.
BB p.36,
More About Alcoholism
17.
... drinking.
BB p.72,
Into Action
18.
... drinking.
BB p.73,
Into Action
19.
... drinking.
BB p.91,
Working With Others
20.
... drinking.
BB p.109,
To Wives
21.
... drinking.
BB p.110,
To Wives
He enjoys drinking.
22.
... drinking.
BB p.111,
To Wives
23.
... drinking.
BB p.115,
To Wives
Unless they actually need protection from their
father, it is best not to take sides in any argument he has with them
while drinking.
24.
... drinking.
BB p.116,
To Wives
We thought, on the whole,
we were pretty good women, capable of being nicer if our husbands stopped drinking.
25.
... drinking.
BB p.134,
The Family Afterward
26.
... drinking.
BB p.138,
To Employers
27.
... drinking.
BB p.139,
To Employers
28.
... drinking.
BB p.141,
To Employers
29.
... drinking.
BB p.148,
To Employers
30.
... drinking.
BB p.151,
A Vision For You
31.
... drinking.
BB p.155,
A Vision For You
32.
... drinking.
BB p.156,
A Vision For You
33.
... drinking.
BB p.156,
A Vision For You
34.
... drinking.
BB p.562(564),
Appendix I, The A.A. Tradition
35.
... drinking.
BB xxx(xxviii),
The Doctor's Opinion
36.
... drinking.
BB p.175,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
37.
... drinking.
BB xiv,
Foreword to First Edition
38.
... drinking.
Grapevine,
Preamble
39.
... drinking abruptly.
BB p.179,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
40.
... drinking again.
BB xvi,
Foreword to Second Edition
The broker had gone to Akron on a business venture which had collapsed, leaving him greatly in fear that he might
start drinking again.
41.
... drinking again,
and all would be lost ...
BB p.80,
Into Action
He saw that he had to place
the outcome in God's hands or he would soon start drinking again, and all would be lost anyhow.
42.
... drinking alone,
never drinking in the morning, ...
BB p.31,
More About Alcoholism
Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to
brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a
solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational
books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums --
we could increase the list
ad infinitum.
43.
... drinking altogether.
BB p.39,
More About Alcoholism
44.
... drinking always
caused him.
BB p.36,
More About Alcoholism
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.
45.
... drinking and
abuse if he really wants ...
BB p.108,
To Wives
Especially when he has before him a way to stop his drinking and abuse if he really wants to pay the price.
46.
... drinking and
alcoholism.
12&12 p.33,
Step Two
They are abetted in this blindness by a world which
does not understand the difference between sane drinking and alcoholism.
47.
... drinking, and
for all kinds of crazy ...
12&12 p.46,
Step Four
For most of us, self-justification was the maker of excuses; excuses, of course, for
drinking, and for all kinds
of crazy and damaging conduct.
48.
... drinking and
his failure at life; that ...
12&12 p.50,
Step Four
By now the newcomer has probably arrived at the following conclusions: that his character defects, representing instincts gone astray, have been the primary cause of his drinking and his failure at life; that unless he is now willing to work hard at the elimination of the worst
of these defects, both sobriety and peace of mind will still elude him; that all the
faulty foundation of
his life will have to be torn out and built anew on bedrock.
49.
... drinking, and
I was forty pounds under ...
BB p.7,
Bill's Story
50.
... drinking, and
no human being could seem ...
12&12 p.63,
Step Six
51.
... drinking and
padding my expense account -- self ...
BB p.65,
How It Works
My employer -- unreasonable, unjust,
overbearing; threatens to fire me for
drinking and padding my expense account -- self esteem (fear); security.
52.
... drinking, and
that it must stop.
BB p.141,
To Employers
53.
... drinking, and
then by an allergy of ...
12&12 p.22,
Step One
The tyrant alcohol wielded a double-edged sword over us: first we were smitten by an insane urge that condemned us to go on drinking, and then by an allergy of the body that insured we would ultimately destroy ourselves in the process.
54.
... drinking and
used a great deal more ...
BB p.174,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
This had little effect
however for I kept on drinking
and used a great deal more hard liquor than in former years.
55.
... drinking, and
very seldom did I receive ...
BB p.176,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
During the subsequent
fifteen years I had sense enough never to go to the hospital if I had been drinking, and very seldom did I receive patients.
56.
... drinking and
we certainly do not intend ...
BB p.38,
More About Alcoholism
57.
... drinking, and
who have been most affected ...
12&12 p.84,
Step Nine
We shall at once think of a few people who know all about our
drinking, and who have been most affected by it.
58.
... drinking and
you want to help him, ...
BB p.141,
To Employers
59.
... drinking any
good, for not one drinker ...
BB p.103,
Working With Others
We would not even do the cause of temperate drinking any good, for not one drinker in a thousand likes to be told anything about alcohol by
one who hates it.
60.
... drinking, are
miracles of mental health.
BB p.133,
The Family Afterward
61.
... drinking as
an institution.
BB p.103,
Working With Others
62.
... drinking as
intensive work with other alcoholics.
BB p.89,
Working With Others
Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics.
63.
... drinking assumed
more serious proportions, continuing all ...
BB p.3,
Bill's Story
64.
... drinking at
least a case and a ...
BB p.177,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
65.
... drinking, bearing
in mind meanwhile what we ...
12&12 p.23,
Step One
Why don't you try some more controlled drinking, bearing in mind meanwhile what we have
told you about alcoholism?"
66.
... drinking became
so much worse that the ...
BB p.174,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
There my drinking became so
much worse that the boys in the fraternity house where I lived felt forced to send for my father, who made a long journey in the vain endeavor to get me straightened around.
67.
... Drinking beer
only, limiting the number of ...
BB p.31,
More About Alcoholism
Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to
brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a
solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational
books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums --
we could increase the list
ad infinitum.
68.
... drinking before
your fire.
BB p.110,
To Wives
69.
... drinking behavior
which our friends probably know ...
12&12 p.55,
Step Five
Then, for good measure, we
add dramatic descriptions of that part
of our drinking behavior
which our friends probably know about anyhow.
70.
... drinking both
gin and sedative.
BB p.7,
Bill's Story
71.
... drinking bout.
BB p.90,
Working With Others
72.
... drinking bout
creates.
BB p.23,
There Is A Solution
Sometimes these excuses have a certain plausibility, but none of
them really makes sense in the light of the havoc an alcoholic's drinking bout creates.
73.
... drinking bouts
and tells you he wants ...
BB p.109,
To Wives
74.
... drinking can
do the right-about-face and drink ...
BB p.31,
More About Alcoholism
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.
75.
... drinking can
dream of taking.
12&12 p.24,
Step One
For practicing A.A.'s remaining eleven Steps means the adoption of attitudes
and actions that almost
no alcoholic who is still drinking can dream of taking.
76.
... drinking career
he begins to lose all ...
BB p.21,
There Is A Solution
He may start off as a moderate drinker; he may
or may not become a continuous hard drinker; but at some stage of
his drinking career he begins to lose all control of his liquor consumption, once he starts to drink.
77.
... drinking career
of almost every alcoholic has ...
BB p.123,
The Family Afterward
Now and then the family will be plagued by spectres from the past, for
the drinking career of almost every alcoholic has been marked
by escapades, funny, humiliating, shameful
or tragic.
78.
... drinking career
up to the time you ...
BB p.91,
Working With Others
79.
... drinking careers.
12&12 p.122,
Step Twelve
80.
... drinking careers
have been characterized by countless ...
BB p.30,
More About Alcoholism
Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could
drink like other people.
81.
... drinking careers
most of us could have ...
BB p.32,
More About Alcoholism
Though there is no way of proving it, we believe that early in our
drinking careers most of us
could have stopped drinking.
82.
... drinking caught
up with me again and ...
BB p.4,
Bill's Story
83.
... Drinking cold
small beer.
BB p.1,
Bill's Story
84.
... drinking days.
12&12 p.46,
Step Four
First off, they can be told
that the majority of A.A. members have suffered severely from self-justification during
their drinking days.
85.
... drinking does
complicate sex relations in the ...
BB p.81,
Into Action
86.
... drinking, don't
waste time trying to persuade ...
BB p.90,
Working With Others
87.
... drinking during
business hours, drinking only at ...
BB p.31,
More About Alcoholism
Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to
brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a
solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational
books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums --
we could increase the list
ad infinitum.
88.
... drinking even
then was no mere habit, ...
12&12 p.23,
Step One
By going back in our own drinking histories, we could show
that years before we realized it we were out of control, that our drinking even then was no mere habit, that it was indeed the beginning of a
fatal progression.
89.
... drinking, even
with your own parents.
BB p.114,
To Wives
90.
... drinking every
day and every night.
BB p.3,
Bill's Story
91.
... drinking experience
you can be uniquely useful ...
BB p.89,
Working With Others
Ministers and doctors
are competent and you can learn much from them if you wish, but it happens that because of your own drinking experience you can be
uniquely useful to other alcoholics.
92.
... drinking experiences.
BB p.157,
A Vision For You
93.
... drinking experiences
and recoveries.
12&12 p.17,
Foreword
The remainder of the book
was devoted to thirty stories or case histories in which the alcoholics described
their drinking experiences and recoveries.
94.
... drinking exploits.
BB p.145,
To Employers
One instance comes to mind in which a malicious individual
was always making friendly little jokes about an alcoholic's
drinking exploits.
95.
... drinking foolishly
and heavily at the present ...
BB p.39,
More About Alcoholism
That may be true of certain
nonalcoholic people
who, though drinking foolishly and heavily at
the present time, are able to stop or moderate, because their brains and bodies have not
been damaged as ours were.
96.
... drinking for
a few months, you may ...
BB p.146,
To Employers
After your man has gone along without drinking for a few months, you may be able to make use of his services with other employees who are giving you the alcoholic
run-around -- provided, of course, they
are willing to have a third party in the picture.
97.
... drinking for
a while, making several trips ...
BB p.32,
More About Alcoholism
98.
... drinking for
good.
BB p.112,
To Wives
99.
... drinking, for
he may be angry.
BB p.113,
To Wives
100.
... drinking for
long.
BB p.155,
A Vision For You
When our friend related
his experience, the man
agreed that no amount of will power he might muster could stop his drinking for long.
101.
... drinking, for
obviously this is the crux ...
BB p.35,
More About Alcoholism
So we shall describe some
of the mental states that
precede a relapse into
drinking, for obviously
this is the crux of the problem.
102.
... drinking forever.
BB p.105,
To Wives
103.
... drinking forever.
BB p.116,
To Wives
104.
... drinking forever?
BB p.142,
To Employers
105.
... drinking fraternity,
but not in the eyes ...
BB p.172,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
I was graduated "summa
cum laude" in the eyes of the drinking fraternity, but not in the eyes of the Dean.
106.
... drinking game,
commence to describe yourself as ...
BB p.91,
Working With Others
107.
... drinking got
bad and people began to ...
12&12 p.57,
Step Five
Even before our drinking got bad and people began to cut us off, nearly all of us suffered
the feeling that we didn't quite belong.
108.
... drinking habits.
12&12 p.178,
Tradition Ten
Maybe the society could
have survived the abolition controversy, but it didn't have a chance from the moment it determined to reform America's drinking habits.
109.
... drinking habits,
symptoms, and experiences to encourage ...
BB p.91,
Working With Others
Tell him enough about your
drinking habits, symptoms, and experiences to encourage him to speak of
himself.
110.
... drinking had
become much worse, money was ...
12&12 p.120,
Step Twelve
When our drinking had become
much worse, money was only an urgent requirement which could supply us with the next drink and the temporary comfort of oblivion it brought.
111.
... drinking had
to come before sobriety, and ...
12&12 p.94,
Step Ten
How heartily we A.A.'s can
agree with him, for we know
that the pains of drinking
had to come before sobriety, and emotional
turmoil before serenity.
112.
... drinking has
aggravated the defects of others.
12&12 p.78,
Step Eight
Moreover, it is usually
a fact that our behavior
when drinking has aggravated the defects
of others.
113.
... drinking has
made us slow to pay.
BB p.78,
Into Action
114.
... drinking has
placed him on the wrong ...
BB p.129,
The Family Afterward
Dad may feel that for years his drinking has placed him on the wrong side of every argument, but that now he has
become a superior person with God on his side.
115.
... drinking have
been repaired in four.
BB p.156,
A Vision For You
As we shall see, he now means a great deal to his community, and the major liabilities of thirty years of hard drinking have been repaired in
four.
116.
... drinking, he
accepted a sum of money ...
BB p.80,
Into Action
While drinking, he accepted a sum of money from a bitterly-hated business rival, giving him no receipt for it.
117.
... drinking, he
had not paid alimony to ...
BB p.79,
Into Action
118.
... drinking, he
had placed his toe on ...
BB p.137,
To Employers
After two weeks of drinking, he had placed his toe on the trigger of a loaded shotgun -- the barrel was in
his mouth.
119.
... drinking; he's
my friend; she's a gossip ...
BB p.65,
How It Works
Mrs. Jones -- she's a nut, she snubbed me; she committed her husband for
drinking; he's my friend;
she's a gossip -- personal relationship; self esteem (fear).
120.
... drinking histories,
we could show that years ...
12&12 p.23,
Step One
By going back in our own drinking histories, we could show
that years before we realized it we were out of control, that our drinking even then was no mere habit, that it was indeed the beginning of a
fatal progression.
121.
... drinking, I
made up my mind that ...
BB p.173,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
This went from bad to worse until sophomore spring when, after a prolonged period of drinking, I made up my mind that I could not complete my course, so I packed my grip and went South to spend a month on a large farm owned by a friend of mine.
122.
... drinking, I
think you ought to resign."
BB p.148,
To Employers
123.
... drinking, if
we have a legitimate reason ...
BB p.101,
Working With Others
So our rule is not to avoid a
place where there is drinking, if we have a legitimate reason for being there.
124.
... drinking in
my kitchen.
BB p.8,
Bill's Story
125.
... drinking in
the morning, drinking only at ...
BB p.31,
More About Alcoholism
Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to
brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a
solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational
books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums --
we could increase the list
ad infinitum.
126.
... drinking is
but a beginning.
BB p.19,
There Is A Solution
127.
... drinking is
but the first step away ...
BB p.122,
The Family Afterward
128.
... drinking is
necessary in his business.
BB p.109,
To Wives
He is positive he can handle his liquor, that it
does him no harm, that drinking is necessary in his business.
129.
... drinking is
not going to spoil your ...
BB p.111,
To Wives
Be determined that your husband's drinking is not going to spoil your relations with your children or your friends.
130.
... drinking is
of absolutely no avail.
BB p.24,
There Is A Solution
At a certain point in the
drinking of every alcoholic, he passes into
a state where the most powerful desire to stop drinking is of absolutely no avail.
131.
... drinking is
stopped the man tends to ...
BB p.134,
The Family Afterward
Couples are occasionally dismayed
to find that when drinking is
stopped the man tends to be impotent.
132.
... drinking is
the great obsession of every ...
BB p.30,
More About Alcoholism
The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker.
133.
Drinking isolates
most homes from the outside ...
BB p.131,
The Family Afterward
134.
... drinking just
because we were maladjusted to ...
BB xxvi(xxiv),
The Doctor's Opinion
It did not satisfy us to be told that we could not control
our drinking just because we were maladjusted to life, that
we were in full flight from
reality, or were outright mental defectives.
135.
... drinking liquor
for good and all, and ...
BB p.181,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
But if you really and truly
want to quit drinking liquor for good and all, and sincerely
feel that you must have some
help, we know that we have an
answer for you.
136.
... drinking many
times isolates the wife of ...
BB p.119,
To Wives
It is probably true that
you and your husband have been living too much alone, for drinking many times isolates the wife of an alcoholic.
137.
... drinking many
years beyond the point where ...
BB p.34,
More About Alcoholism
As we look back, we feel we had gone on drinking many years beyond the point where we could quit on our
will power.
138.
... drinking may
be constant or it may ...
BB p.109,
To Wives
139.
... drinking means
conviviality, companionship and colorful imagination.
BB p.151,
A Vision For You
140.
Drinking occasionally,
and understanding your own reactions, ...
BB p.139,
To Employers
Drinking occasionally,
and understanding your own reactions, it is possible for you to become
quite sure of many things which, so far as the alcoholic is concerned, are not always
so.
141.
... drinking of
every alcoholic, he passes into ...
BB p.24,
There Is A Solution
At a certain point in the
drinking of every alcoholic, he passes into
a state where the most powerful desire to stop drinking is of absolutely no avail.
142.
... drinking on
the basis of self-knowledge.
BB p.39,
More About Alcoholism
But the actual or potential alcoholic,
with hardly an exception, will be absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self-knowledge.
143.
... drinking only
a few years, but they ...
BB p.33,
More About Alcoholism
Several of our crowd, men of thirty or less, had been drinking only a few years, but they found themselves as helpless as those who had
been drinking twenty years.
144.
... drinking only
at home, never having it ...
BB p.31,
More About Alcoholism
Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to
brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a
solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational
books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums --
we could increase the list
ad infinitum.
145.
... drinking only
at parties, switching from scotch ...
BB p.31,
More About Alcoholism
Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to
brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a
solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational
books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums --
we could increase the list
ad infinitum.
146.
... drinking only
natural wines, agreeing to resign ...
BB p.31,
More About Alcoholism
Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to
brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a
solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational
books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums --
we could increase the list
ad infinitum.
147.
... drinking, or
getting over a bout, an ...
BB p.140,
To Employers
When drinking, or getting
over a bout, an alcoholic, sometimes
the model of honesty when
normal, will do incredible things.
148.
... drinking or
is recovering in A.A.
BB p.104,
To Wives (Note)
But many of the suggestions given here may be adapted to help the person who lives with a woman alcoholic -- whether she
is still drinking or is recovering in A.A.
149.
... drinking, or
lack of it.
BB p.139,
To Employers
150.
... drinking or
not.
12&12 p.88,
Step Ten
151.
... drinking or
not?
BB p.147,
To Employers
152.
... drinking or
not.
BB p.158,
A Vision For You
He proved to be a devil-may-care young fellow whose parents could not make out whether he wanted to stop drinking or not.
153.
... drinking, or
who are just getting over ...
BB p.142,
To Employers
For most alcoholics who are drinking, or who are just getting over a spree, a certain amount of physical treatment is desirable,
even imperative.
154.
... drinking ourselves
into forgetfulness or had plunged ...
12&12 p.123,
Step Twelve
It mattered little whether we had sat on the shore of life drinking ourselves into forgetfulness or had plunged in recklessly
and willfully beyond
our depth and ability.
155.
... drinking placed
him constantly in the wrong.
BB p.131,
The Family Afterward
Even when he wanted to assert himself he could not,
for his drinking placed him
constantly in the wrong.
156.
... drinking problem.
BB p.19,
There Is A Solution
157.
... drinking problem,
we hope that you may ...
BB xii,
Preface
If you have a drinking problem, we hope that you may
pause in reading one of the forty-two personal stories and think: "Yes, that happened to me"; or,
more important, "Yes, I've felt like that"; or, most important, "Yes, I believe this program can work for me too."
158.
... drinking problem,
what character defects contributed to ...
12&12 p.51,
Step Four
Surveying his business or employment
record, almost any alcoholic can ask questions like these: In addition to my
drinking problem, what character defects contributed to my financial instability?
159.
... drinking resembles
his normal nature but little.
BB p.21,
There Is A Solution
160.
... drinking scenes;
we must not go into ...
BB p.101,
Working With Others
People have said we must not go where liquor is served; we must not have it in our homes;
we must shun friends who drink; we must avoid moving pictures which show drinking scenes; we must not go into bars; our friends must hide their bottles if we go to their houses; we mustn't think or be reminded about alcohol at
all.
161.
... drinking seemed
to be a major extra-curricular ...
BB p.172,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
After high school came four years in one of the best colleges in the country
where drinking seemed to be
a major extra-curricular activity.
162.
... drinking, sighing
about the good old days.
BB p.102,
Working With Others
163.
... drinking six
weeks before.
BB p.137,
To Employers
164.
... drinking so
long as we place dependence ...
BB p.98,
Working With Others
Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: Job or no job
-- wife or no wife -- we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God.
165.
... drinking societies,
and soon became one of ...
BB p.173,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
On account of my enormous capacity for beer, I was elected to membership in one of the
drinking societies, and
soon became one of the leading spirits.
166.
... drinking, tell
him that possibly he can ...
BB p.92,
Working With Others
If he sticks to the idea
that he can still control
his drinking, tell him that possibly he can -- if he is not too alcoholic.
167.
... drinking that
only an act of Providence ...
12&12 p.21,
Step One
It is truly awful to admit that, glass in hand, we have warped our minds into such an obsession for destructive drinking that
only an act of Providence
can remove it from us.
168.
... drinking their
morning coffee.
12&12 p.144,
Tradition Three
169.
... drinking, there
must be no reservation of ...
BB p.33,
More About Alcoholism
If we are planning to stop
drinking, there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion that someday we will be immune to alcohol.
170.
... drinking; they
usually know it anyway, whether ...
BB p.78,
Into Action
Telling them what we are trying to do, we make no bones about our drinking; they usually know it anyway, whether we think so or not.
171.
... drinking, they
were strangers.
BB p.107,
To Wives
When drinking, they were strangers.
172.
... drinking, though
he was brilliant, alert, and ...
BB p.137,
To Employers
I had been obliged to discharge him for drinking,
though he was brilliant, alert, and one of the best organizers I have ever known.
173.
... drinking time,
we acted as if the ...
12&12 p.120,
Step Twelve
In our drinking time, we acted as if the money supply was inexhaustible, though
between binges we'd sometimes go to the other extreme and become almost miserly.
174.
... drinking to
escape; they were drinking to ...
BB xxx(xxviii),
The Doctor's Opinion
These men were not drinking to
escape; they were drinking
to overcome a craving
beyond their mental control.
175.
... drinking to
overcome a craving beyond their ...
BB xxx(xxviii),
The Doctor's Opinion
These men were not drinking to
escape; they were drinking
to overcome a craving
beyond their mental control.
176.
... drinking twenty
years.
BB p.33,
More About Alcoholism
Several of our crowd, men of thirty or less, had been drinking only a few years, but they found themselves as helpless as those who had
been drinking twenty years.
177.
... drinking until
he was thirty-five.
BB p.35,
More About Alcoholism
178.
... drinking until
we have done our utmost ...
BB p.77,
Into Action
Simply we tell him that we
will never get over drinking until we have done our utmost to straighten out the past.
179.
... drinking was
not yet continuous, it disturbed ...
BB p.2,
Bill's Story
180.
... drinking we
never hurt anybody but ourselves.
12&12 p.79,
Step Eight
181.
... drinking we
occasionally remained sober for a ...
BB p.34,
More About Alcoholism
In the early days of our
drinking we occasionally remained
sober for a year or more, becoming serious drinkers again later.
182.
... drinking we
were sometimes bad actors.
12&12 p.55,
Step Five
We search for an easier way -- which usually consists of the general
and fairly painless admission that when drinking
we were sometimes bad actors.
183.
... drinking went
out of hand and we ...
12&12 p.47,
Step Four
We thought "conditions" drove us to drink, and when we tried to correct these conditions
and found that we couldn't to our entire satisfaction,
our drinking went out of hand and we became alcoholics.
184.
... drinking were
easily pushed aside in favor ...
BB p.36,
More About Alcoholism
Yet all reasons for not
drinking were easily pushed aside in favor of the foolish idea that he could take whiskey if only he mixed it
with milk!
185.
... drinking, what
need is there for a ...
12&12 p.45,
Step Four
If we were pretty nice people all along, except for our drinking, what
need is there for a moral inventory now that we are sober?
186.
... drinking, who
exhibited splendid judgment and determination ...
BB p.40,
More About Alcoholism
The story he told is most instructive, for here was
a chap absolutely convinced he had to stop
drinking, who had no excuse for drinking, who exhibited splendid judgment and determination in all his other concerns, yet was flat on his back nevertheless.
187.
... drinking, who
had had most all the ...
BB p.180,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
But this was a man who had experienced many years of frightful drinking, who had had most all the drunkard's experiences
known to man, but who had been
cured by the very means I had been trying to employ, that is to say the spiritual approach.
188.
... drinking, who
had no excuse for drinking, ...
BB p.40,
More About Alcoholism
The story he told is most instructive, for here was
a chap absolutely convinced he had to stop
drinking, who had no excuse for drinking, who exhibited splendid judgment and determination in all his other concerns, yet was flat on his back nevertheless.
189.
... drinking will
be used politically.
BB p.145,
To Employers
190.
... drinking will
require a transformation of thought ...
BB p.143,
To Employers
191.
... drinking with
him yourself when he doesn't ...
BB p.110,
To Wives
192.
... drinking with
much greater earnestness than I ...
BB p.173,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
193.
... drinking without
developing the phenomenon of craving.
BB xxx(xxviii),
The Doctor's Opinion
All these, and many others,
have one symptom in common: they cannot start
drinking without developing the phenomenon of craving.
194.
... drinking wrought
all kinds of damage that ...
BB p.127,
The Family Afterward
195.
... drinking, you
have little control over the ...
BB p.44,
We Agnostics
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.
196.
... drinking, you
need not be alarmed.
BB p.120,
To Wives
197.
... drinking, you
were withdrawing from life little ...
BB p.102,
Working With Others
Passages from the Big Book Alcoholics Anonymous
and the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
are reprinted with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.
The A.A. Preamble, copyright ©
The A.A. Grapevine, Inc., is reprinted with permission.
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