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.
... man.
12&12 p.122,
Step Twelve
2.
... man.
12&12 p.152,
Tradition Five
3.
... man.
BB p.8,
Bill's Story
4.
... man.
BB p.26,
There Is A Solution
5.
... man.
BB p.28,
There Is A Solution
Here was the terrible dilemma in which our friend
found himself when he had
the extraordinary experience, which as we have already told you, made him a free man.
6.
... man.
BB p.67,
How It Works
7.
... man's.
BB p.67,
How It Works
8.
... man.
BB p.80,
Into Action
He subsequently denied having received the
money and used the incident as a basis for discrediting the man.
9.
... man.
BB p.96,
Working With Others
10.
... man.
BB p.111,
To Wives
11.
... man.
BB p.128,
The Family Afterward
12.
... man.
BB p.141,
To Employers
Had they fired me first, and
had they then taken steps to
see that I was presented
with the solution contained in this book, I
might have returned to them six months later, a well man.
13.
... man.
BB p.147,
To Employers
14.
... man.
BB p.158,
A Vision For You
15.
... man a
chance.
BB p.148,
To Employers
We think we are sensible
when we urge that you stop
this waste and give your worthwhile man a chance.
16.
... Man a
grim jest.
BB p.11,
Bill's Story
Judging from what I had seen in Europe and since, the
power of God in human affairs was negligible, the Brotherhood of Man a grim jest.
17.
... man accepts
your offer, it should be ...
BB p.143,
To Employers
If your man accepts your offer, it should be pointed
out that physical treatment is but a small part of the picture.
18.
... man afterward,
and stopped drinking abruptly.
BB p.179,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
19.
... man agreed
that no amount of will ...
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.
20.
... man alone,
if possible.
BB p.91,
Working With Others
21.
... man, an
A.A. with the necessary experience.
12&12 p.157,
Tradition Six
22.
... man an
injustice.
BB p.138,
To Employers
23.
... man and
God.
12&12 p.57,
Step Five
24.
... man and
God the daily basis of ...
12&12 p.72,
Step Seven
We never thought of making honesty, tolerance, and true love of man and God the daily basis of living.
25.
... man and
his family, you should take ...
BB p.100,
Working With Others
26.
... man and
his wife placed their large ...
BB p.160,
A Vision For You
27.
... man and
in their own way they ...
BB p.134,
The Family Afterward
28.
... man and
over one hundred others appear ...
BB xxv(xxiii),
The Doctor's Opinion
29.
... man and
say approximately this, "Look here, ...
BB p.147,
To Employers
After reading this book, a junior executive can go to such a man and say approximately this,
"Look here, Ed.
30.
... man and
watch his hope rise as ...
BB p.45,
We Agnostics
Many times we talk to a new man and watch his hope rise as we discuss his alcoholic problems and explain our
fellowship.
31.
... man and
woman came to A.A. because ...
12&12 p.186,
Tradition Twelve
32.
... man and
woman who has joined A.A. ...
12&12 p.35,
Step Three
Every man and woman who has joined A.A. and intends to stick has, without realizing it, made a beginning on Step Three.
33.
... man at
last.
BB p.75,
Into Action
Carefully reading the
first five proposals we ask if we have
omitted anything, for
we are building an arch through which we shall walk a free man at last.
34.
... man at
retirement, he went to pieces ...
BB p.33,
More About Alcoholism
35.
... man at
work long beyond a reasonable ...
BB p.137,
To Employers
Because of the employee's special ability, or of his own strong personal attachment to him, the employer has sometimes
kept such a man at work long beyond a reasonable period.
36.
... man away,
he'll soon die.
12&12 p.142,
Tradition Three
37.
... man be
a real alcoholic, the happy ...
BB p.23,
There Is A Solution
38.
... man be
agnostic or atheist, make it ...
BB p.93,
Working With Others
If the man be agnostic or
atheist, make it emphatic that he does not have to agree with your conception
of God.
39.
... man's brain
be cleared before he is ...
BB xxvi(xxiv),
The Doctor's Opinion
More often than not, it is imperative that a man's brain be cleared before he is approached,
as he has then a better chance of understanding and accepting what we have to offer.
40.
... man brimming
over with self-reliance and contentment.
BB xxxi(xxix),
The Doctor's Opinion
From a trembling, despairing, nervous wreck, had emerged a man brimming over with self-reliance and contentment.
41.
... man, but
who had been cured by ...
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.
42.
... man by
name, and partly recognized his ...
BB xxxi(xxix),
The Doctor's Opinion
43.
... man can
also stop or moderate, although ...
BB p.21,
There Is A Solution
If a sufficiently strong reason -- ill health, falling in love, change of environment,
or the warning of a doctor -- becomes operative, this man can also stop or moderate, although he may
find it difficult and troublesome and may even
need medical attention.
44.
... man can
build a house until he ...
12&12 p.100,
Step Eleven
45.
... man can
inform you.(*)
BB p.162,
A Vision For You
This practice enables
us to lend a hand, at the same time avoiding certain alluring distractions
of the road, about which any traveling man can inform you.(*)
46.
... man can
say that he does believe, ...
BB p.47,
We Agnostics
As soon as a man can say that he does believe, or is
willing to believe, we
emphatically assure
him that he is on his way.
47.
... man cannot
help himself except by helping ...
BB p.572(574),
Appendix V, The Religious View on A.A.
The Episcopal magazine, The Living Church, observes editorially: "The basis
of the technique of Alcoholics Anonymous
is the truly Christian
principle that a man
cannot help himself except by helping others.
48.
... man's chance
of recovery.
BB p.145,
To Employers
49.
... man coming
in the door couldn't get ...
12&12 p.161,
Tradition Seven
50.
... man coming
in the door the break ...
12&12 p.168,
Tradition Eight
51.
... man could
be so weak, stupid and ...
BB p.139,
To Employers
When dealing with an alcoholic, there may be a natural annoyance that a
man could be so weak, stupid and irresponsible.
52.
... man could
never fly?
BB p.51,
We Agnostics
53.
... man could
never fly?
BB p.55,
We Agnostics
54.
... man couldn't
do.
12&12 p.29,
Step Two
55.
... man did
not fully realize what it ...
BB p.155,
A Vision For You
Painfully aware of being somehow abnormal, the man did not fully realize what it meant to be alcoholic.(*)
56.
... man did
slip and was fired.
BB p.139,
To Employers
57.
... man do
or say that was different ...
BB p.180,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
The question which might naturally come into your mind would be: "what did the man
do or say that was different from what others
had done or said?"
58.
... man does
not want to stop, he ...
BB p.141,
To Employers
If you are sure your man does
not want to stop, he may as well be discharged, the sooner the better.
59.
... man drinks
so much that his job ...
BB p.148,
To Employers
60.
... man exert
himself there.
BB p.127,
The Family Afterward
61.
... man's experience
to think that they can ...
BB p.33,
More About Alcoholism
Young people may be encouraged by this man's experience to think that
they can stop, as he did, on their own will power.
62.
... man's face
as he replied, "Oh, but ...
BB p.157,
A Vision For You
63.
... man familiar
with the subject.
12&12 p.170,
Tradition Eight
64.
... man's family
into a spiritual way of ...
BB p.159,
A Vision For You
They experienced a few
distressing failures, but in those cases they made an effort to bring the man's family into a spiritual way of living, thus relieving much worry and suffering.
65.
... man's family
is sure to be great.
BB p.99,
Working With Others
66.
... man's family
that he has been a ...
BB p.100,
Working With Others
67.
... man's fault.
12&12 p.79,
Step Eight
Those who did would sometimes assure us that,
after all, a lively bender was only a good man's fault.
68.
... man followed
the usual pattern, he would ...
BB p.138,
To Employers
The only answer I could make
was that if the man followed the usual pattern, he would go on a bigger bust than ever.
69.
... man for
an executive position.
BB p.137,
To Employers
My downfall cost the business community unknown thousands of dollars, for it takes real money to train a man for an executive position.
70.
... man from
needless provocation and unfair criticism.
BB p.146,
To Employers
The employer cannot play
favorites, but he can always defend a man from needless provocation and unfair
criticism.
71.
... man from
temptation is doomed to failure.
BB p.101,
Working With Others
In our belief any scheme of combating alcoholism which proposes to shield the sick man from temptation is doomed to
failure.
72.
... man had
ability, good sense, and high ...
BB p.26,
There Is A Solution
73.
... man had
first crushed grapes.
12&12 p.22,
Step One
74.
... man has.
BB p.47,
We Agnostics
When people presented
us with spiritual approaches, how frequently did we all say,
"I wish I had what that man
has.
75.
... man has
a charming wife and family.
BB p.35,
More About Alcoholism
76.
... man has
gone along without drinking for ...
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.
77.
... man has
probably been trying to conceal ...
BB p.140,
To Employers
78.
... man, he
remained bone dry for twenty-five ...
BB p.32,
More About Alcoholism
An exceptional man, he
remained bone dry for twenty-five years and retired at the age of fifty-five, after a successful and happy business career.
79.
... man himself.
BB p.55,
We Agnostics
For faith in a Power greater than ourselves,
and miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man himself.
80.
... man in
everlasting ignorance -- that principle is ...
BB p.568(570),
Appendix II, Spiritual Experience
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance -- that principle is contempt prior to investigation." -- Herbert Spencer
81.
... man in
mind.
BB p.141,
To Employers
82.
... man in
our ranks, why wouldn't he ...
12&12 p.157,
Tradition Six
83.
... man in
the bed was told of ...
BB p.157,
A Vision For You
The man in the bed was told of the acute poisoning from which he suffered, how it deteriorates the body of
an alcoholic and warps
his mind.
84.
... man in
the hospital and visit him ...
BB p.159,
A Vision For You
85.
... man in
the street says, "I don't ...
12&12 p.174,
Tradition Nine
86.
... man instincts
to help him to stay ...
12&12 p.64,
Step Six
He did not design man to destroy himself by alcohol, but He did give man instincts to help him to stay alive.
87.
... man into
your home for a few ...
BB p.96,
Working With Others
88.
... man is
affected, the wife must become ...
12&12 p.118,
Step Twelve
89.
... man is
anxious to proceed at once, ...
BB p.95,
Working With Others
90.
... man is
better, the doctor might suggest ...
BB p.91,
Working With Others
91.
... man is
done drinking.
BB p.138,
To Employers
92.
... man is
presented with this volume it ...
BB p.144,
To Employers
When the man is presented
with this volume it is best
that no one tell him he must abide by its suggestions.
93.
... man is
sure to be impressed with ...
BB p.77,
Into Action
94.
... man is
unthinking when he says that ...
BB p.82,
Into Action
95.
... man, it
is Fred.
BB p.39,
More About Alcoholism
96.
... man's life
so as to shield him ...
BB p.120,
To Wives
97.
... man like
himself, a spiritual life which ...
BB p.129,
The Family Afterward
He will perceive that his
spiritual growth is lopsided, that for an average man like himself, a spiritual life which does
not include his family obligations may not be so perfect after all.
98.
... man like
you has begun to solve ...
12&12 p.27,
Step Two
99.
... man-made millennium
lies just ahead.
12&12 p.70,
Step Seven
The immense resources
now being harnessed promise such a quantity of material blessings that
many have come to believe that a man-made millennium lies just ahead.
100.
... man's magnificent
attributes.
BB p.53,
We Agnostics
101.
... man may
be trusted.
BB p.146,
To Employers
Your man may be trusted.
102.
... man may
criticize or laugh at himself ...
BB p.125,
The Family Afterward
A man may criticize or laugh at himself and it will affect others favorably, but criticism or ridicule coming from another often produces the contrary effect.
103.
... man must
decide for himself.
BB p.144,
To Employers
104.
... man must
walk day by day in ...
BB p.100,
Working With Others
105.
... man's natural
desires cause him great trouble, ...
12&12 p.42,
Step Four
When thus out of joint, man's natural desires cause him great trouble, practically
all the trouble there is.
106.
... man needs
hospitalization, he should have it, ...
BB p.91,
Working With Others
107.
... man no
flavor for his fare and ...
BB p.69,
How It Works
One school would allow man no flavor for his fare and the other would have us
all on a straight pepper
diet.
108.
... man, normal
so far as we can ...
BB p.35,
More About Alcoholism
109.
... man, not
too closely followed by those ...
BB p.11,
Bill's Story
To Christ I conceded the
certainty of a great
man, not too closely followed by those who claimed Him.
110.
... man of
means, I knew that if ...
BB p.176,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
Not being a man of means, I knew that if I did not
stay sober enough to earn money, I would run out of liquor.
111.
... man of
recognized ability and both my ...
BB p.171,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
My father was a professional man of recognized ability and
both my father and mother were most active in church affairs.
112.
... man of
thirty was doing a great ...
BB p.32,
More About Alcoholism
113.
... man on
religious grounds?
12&12 p.153,
Tradition Five
114.
... man's opinion
based on his own experience, ...
12&12 p.27,
Step Two
115.
... man or
a woman has a spiritual ...
12&12 p.106,
Step Twelve
When a man or a woman has a
spiritual awakening,
the most important meaning of it is that he has now become able to do, feel, and believe that which he could not do before on his unaided strength and resources
alone.
116.
... man, or
even a first-rater in the ...
12&12 p.122,
Step Twelve
In later life he finds that real happiness is not to be found in just trying to be a number one man, or even a first-rater in the heartbreaking struggle for money, romance, or self-importance.
117.
... man or
woman.
12&12 p.29,
Step Two
118.
... man or
woman could be excluded from ...
BB xix,
Foreword to Second Edition
It was thought that no alcoholic man or woman could be excluded from
our Society; that our leaders might serve but never govern; that each group was to be autonomous and there was to be no professional class of therapy.
119.
... man or
woman, for example, should be ...
12&12 p.38,
Step Three
120.
... man plays
God, sounds good in the ...
12&12 p.37,
Step Three
This brave philosophy,
wherein each man plays God, sounds good in the speaking, but it
still has to meet the acid test: how well does it actually work?
121.
... man's pride
in his own achievements.
12&12 p.70,
Step Seven
Much of the everyday talk we hear, and a great deal of what we read, highlights man's pride in his own achievements.
122.
... man proceeds
to tell you shocking things?
BB p.145,
To Employers
123.
... man recounts
that he tumbled out of ...
BB p.56,
We Agnostics
124.
... man, religion
and that instinct for association ...
BB p.569(571),
Appendix III, The Medical View on A.A.
Dr. Foster Kennedy, neurologist:
"This organization of Alcoholics Anonymous
calls on two of the greatest reservoirs of
power known to man, religion and that instinct for association with one's fellows ... the 'herd instinct.'
125.
... man, risen
so majestically from a single ...
12&12 p.25,
Step Two
How he does cherish the thought that man, risen so majestically
from a single cell in the primordial ooze, is the spearhead of evolution
and therefore the only god
that his universe knows!
126.
... man should
be fired just because he ...
BB p.148,
To Employers
127.
... man should
be on his mettle to ...
BB p.146,
To Employers
128.
... man should
be sure of his recovery.
BB p.99,
Working With Others
129.
... man should
be thoroughly probed on these ...
BB p.142,
To Employers
130.
... man sinking
into the mire that is ...
BB p.132,
The Family Afterward
When we see a man sinking into the mire that is
alcoholism, we give him
first aid and place what we have at his disposal.
131.
... man so
involved often feels very remorseful ...
BB p.81,
Into Action
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.
132.
... man so
obstinate.
12&12 p.151,
Tradition Five
133.
... man still
lives, and is a free ...
BB p.26,
There Is A Solution
134.
... man tends
to be impotent.
BB p.134,
The Family Afterward
Couples are occasionally dismayed
to find that when drinking
is stopped the man tends to be impotent.
135.
... man that
alcoholics of our type are ...
BB p.30,
More About Alcoholism
136.
... man that
he can get well regardless ...
BB p.98,
Working With Others
137.
... man, the
kind who recovers, will not ...
BB p.149,
To Employers
138.
... man, the
revelation was sudden.
BB p.57,
We Agnostics
139.
... man, the
sort of chap we would ...
BB p.118,
To Wives
We women carry with us a picture of the ideal man, the sort of chap we would like our husbands to be.
140.
... man, "the
very image.
BB p.157,
A Vision For You
141.
... man there,
I would be amazingly lifted ...
BB p.15,
Bill's Story
142.
... man, this
emerging from isolation through the ...
12&12 p.62,
Step Five
This feeling of being at
one with God and man, this emerging from isolation through the open and honest sharing of our terrible burden of guilt, brings us to a resting place where we may prepare ourselves for the following Steps toward a full and meaningful sobriety.
143.
... man thought
he had neatly evaded or ...
BB p.45,
We Agnostics
But his face falls when we speak of spiritual matters, especially when
we mention God, for we have
re-opened a subject which our man thought he had neatly evaded or entirely ignored.
144.
... man through
his family.
BB p.91,
Working With Others
145.
... man to
destroy himself by alcohol, but ...
12&12 p.64,
Step Six
He did not design man to destroy himself by alcohol, but He did give man instincts to help him to stay alive.
146.
... man, want
to know the necessities before ...
BB p.140,
To Employers
147.
... man wants
to recover and that he ...
BB p.142,
To Employers
After satisfying yourself that your man wants to recover and that he
will go to any extreme to do so, you may
suggest a definite course of action.
148.
... man was
brought in to be treated ...
BB xxxi(xxix),
The Doctor's Opinion
149.
... man we
are calling upon admits his ...
BB p.78,
Into Action
Sometimes the man we are
calling upon admits his own fault, so feuds of years' standing melt away in an hour.
150.
... man we
hated will arise.
BB p.77,
Into Action
151.
... man we
know had remarried.
BB p.79,
Into Action
152.
... man, we
saw, could believe in God ...
12&12 p.31,
Step Two
153.
... man we
understood not at all.
12&12 p.32,
Step Two
154.
... man which
is eminently fair and square.
BB p.148,
To Employers
155.
... man who
at fifty-five years found he ...
BB p.33,
More About Alcoholism
156.
... man who
can and will get well ...
BB p.142,
To Employers
157.
... man who
cannot or will not work ...
BB p.96,
Working With Others
158.
... man who
drinks others are involved -- the ...
BB p.104,
To Wives
But for every man who drinks others are involved -- the wife who trembles in fear of the next debauch; the mother and father who see their son wasting away.
159.
... man who
first uttered the prayer.
12&12 p.101,
Step Eleven
160.
... man who
for several hundred years now ...
12&12 p.99,
Step Eleven
161.
... man who
had experienced many years of ...
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.
162.
... man who,
having a headache, beats himself ...
BB p.23,
There Is A Solution
They sound like the philosophy of the man who,
having a headache, beats
himself on the head with a
hammer so that he can't feel
the ache.
163.
... man who
is getting over alcoholism must ...
BB p.127,
The Family Afterward
We know there are difficult wives and families, but the man who is
getting over alcoholism must remember he did much to make them so.
164.
... man who
is making the approach has ...
BB p.18,
There Is A Solution
That the man who is making
the approach has had the same difficulty, that he obviously knows what he is
talking about, that his whole deportment shouts at the new prospect that he is a man
with a real answer, that he
has no attitude of Holier Than Thou, nothing whatever except the sincere desire to be helpful; that
there are no fees to pay, no axes
to grind, no people to please, no lectures to be endured -- these are the conditions we have found
most effective.
165.
... man who
is off on a spiritual ...
BB p.130,
The Family Afterward
Nothing will help the man who is off on a spiritual tangent so much as the wife who adopts a sane spiritual program, making a better practical use of it.
166.
... man who
is placing business or professional ...
BB p.130,
The Family Afterward
Though some of his manifestations are alarming and disagreeable, we think
dad will be on a firmer foundation than
the man who is placing business or professional success
ahead of spiritual development.
167.
... man who
is sincerely trying to grow ...
12&12 p.63,
Step Six
He goes on to explain that
any person capable of enough willingness and honesty
to try repeatedly Step Six on all his faults -- without any reservations whatever -- has indeed come a long way spiritually, and is therefore entitled to be
called a man who is sincerely trying to grow in the image and likeness of his own Creator.
168.
... man who
is still sick.
BB p.164,
A Vision For You
169.
... man who
is unwilling to admit that ...
BB xxx(xxviii),
The Doctor's Opinion
170.
... man who
lolls in the Florida sunshine ...
BB p.61,
How It Works
He is like the retired business man who lolls in the Florida sunshine in the winter complaining of the sad state of the nation; the minister who sighs over the sins of the twentieth century; politicians and reformers who are sure all
would be Utopia if the rest
of the world would only behave; the outlaw safe cracker who thinks society has wronged him; and the alcoholic who has lost all
and is locked up.
171.
... man who
thought he was an atheist.
BB p.55,
We Agnostics
172.
... man who
took time to pass it ...
BB p.181,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
173.
... man, who
tries to run his life ...
12&12 p.103,
Step Eleven
The A.A., or indeed any man, who tries to run his life rigidly by this kind of prayer, by this self-serving demand of God for replies, is a particularly disconcerting individual.
174.
... man whose
experience closely tallied with his ...
BB p.160,
A Vision For You
Impressed by those who
visited him at the hospital, he capitulated entirely
when, later, in an upper room of this house, he heard the story of some man whose experience closely tallied with his own.
175.
... man will
fare better if placed in ...
BB p.143,
To Employers
Your man will fare better if placed in such physical condition that
he can think straight and
no longer craves liquor.
176.
... man will
take, as a rule, one ...
BB p.125,
The Family Afterward
177.
... man with
a better position.
BB p.146,
To Employers
An alcoholic who has recovered, but holds a relatively unimportant job, can talk to a man with a better position.
178.
... man with
a real answer, that he ...
BB p.18,
There Is A Solution
That the man who is making
the approach has had the same difficulty, that he obviously knows what he is
talking about, that his whole deportment shouts at the new prospect that he is a man
with a real answer, that he
has no attitude of Holier Than Thou, nothing whatever except the sincere desire to be helpful; that
there are no fees to pay, no axes
to grind, no people to please, no lectures to be endured -- these are the conditions we have found
most effective.
179.
... man with
the double stigma knocked for ...
12&12 p.143,
Tradition Three
Not long after the man with the double stigma knocked for admission, A.A.'s other group received into its membership a salesman
we shall call Ed.
180.
... man with
this book in your hand.
BB p.163,
A Vision For You
181.
... man, woman,
and child, is the fundamental ...
BB p.55,
We Agnostics
Actually we were fooling ourselves, for deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God.
182.
... man would
be crazy, wouldn't he?
BB p.38,
More About Alcoholism
183.
... man, yet
dazed from his hospital experience, ...
BB p.160,
A Vision For You
Many a man, yet dazed from his hospital experience,
has stepped over the threshold of that home into
freedom.
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.
Permission to reprint does not in any way imply affiliation with or
endorsement by either Alcoholics Anonymous or The A.A. Grapevine, Inc.
Copyright © 2005-2012, Recovery Press LLC; All Rights Reserved.