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.
... now.
12&12 p.26,
Step Two
2.
... now.
12&12 p.27,
Step Two
I can't say upon what occasion or upon what day I came to believe in a Power greater than myself, but I
certainly have that belief now.
3.
... now.
12&12 p.89,
Step Ten
4.
... now.
12&12 p.140,
Tradition Three
5.
... now.
BB p.6,
Bill's Story
No -- not now.
6.
... now.
BB p.8,
Bill's Story
But that was over now.
7.
... now.
BB p.16,
Bill's Story
8.
... now.
BB p.43,
More About Alcoholism
My old manner of life was by no means a bad one, but I would not exchange
its best moments for the worst I have
now.
9.
... now.
BB p.55,
We Agnostics
10.
... now.
BB p.58,
How It Works
Our stories disclose in
a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now.
11.
... now!
BB p.59,
How It Works
May you find Him now!
12.
... now.
BB p.124,
The Family Afterward
Showing others who suffer how we were given help is the very thing which makes life seem so worth while to us now.
13.
... now.
BB p.137,
To Employers
Here were three exceptional men lost to this world because I did not understand alcoholism
as I do now.
14.
... now?
BB p.154,
A Vision For You
15.
... now.
BB p.157,
A Vision For You
16.
... now.
BB p.157,
A Vision For You
17.
... now.
BB xii,
Preface
"Bill's Story," "Doctor Bob's Nightmare," and one other personal history from the first edition were retained intact; three were edited and one of these was retitled; new versions of two stories were written, with
new titles; thirty completely new stories were added; and the story section was divided into three parts, under the same headings that are used now.
18.
... now a
most effective member of Alcoholics ...
BB p.135,
The Family Afterward
Though he is now a most effective member of Alcoholics Anonymous,
he still smokes and drinks coffee, but neither his wife nor anyone else stands in judgment.
19.
Now about
health: A body badly burned ...
BB p.133,
The Family Afterward
Now about health: A body badly burned by alcohol does not
often recover overnight nor do twisted thinking and depression vanish in a twinkling.
20.
Now about
sex.
BB p.68,
How It Works
Now about sex.
21.
... now about
the man who first uttered ...
12&12 p.101,
Step Eleven
22.
... now about
to ask forgiveness for ourselves, ...
12&12 p.78,
Step Eight
If we are now about to ask forgiveness for ourselves, why shouldn't we
start out by forgiving them, one and all?
23.
... now accept
and adjust to either without ...
12&12 p.112,
Step Twelve
24.
... now accounted
no less than a medical ...
BB xvi,
Foreword to Second Edition
He had also been greatly helped by the late Dr. William D. Silkworth, a New York specialist in alcoholism who is now accounted no less than a medical saint by A.A. members, and whose story of the early days of our Society appears in the next pages.
25.
... now among
our members.
BB p.28,
There Is A Solution
26.
... now, and
a further look at what ...
12&12 p.101,
Step Eleven
It ought to be followed
by a good look at where we stand now, and a further look at what might happen in our lives were we able to move closer to the ideal we have
been trying to glimpse.
27.
... now, and
it would -- if only you'd ...
12&12 p.136,
Tradition Two
28.
... now and
then?
BB p.142,
To Employers
If he says yes, does he really mean it, or down inside does he think he is fooling you, and
that after rest and treatment he will be able to get away with a few drinks now and then?
29.
Now and
then a serious drinker, being ...
BB p.151,
A Vision For You
Now and then a serious drinker, being dry at the moment says, "I don't miss it at all. Feel better. Work better. Having a better time."
30.
Now and
then, A.A. members have bought ...
12&12 p.170,
Tradition Eight
Now and then, A.A. members have bought farms or rest homes where badly beat-up topers could find needed care.
31.
... now and
then and he is as ...
BB xxxii(xxx),
The Doctor's Opinion
32.
... now and
then, began to evaporate.
12&12 p.75,
Step Seven
The notion that we would still live our own lives, God helping a little now and then, began to evaporate.
33.
Now and
then, grateful benefactors had endowed ...
12&12 p.161,
Tradition Seven
Now and then, grateful benefactors had endowed
clubhouses, and as a result there was sometimes
outside interference in our affairs.
34.
Now and
then the family will be ...
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.
35.
Now and
then we may be granted ...
12&12 p.98,
Step Eleven
36.
... now at
Step Three.
BB p.63,
How It Works
37.
... now available
in pamphlet form at nominal ...
BB p.570(572),
Appendix III, The Medical View on A.A.
(This address is now available in pamphlet form at nominal cost through most A.A. groups or from Box 459, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163, under the title "Three Talks to Medical Societies by Bill W." -- formerly called "Bill on Alcoholism" and earlier "Alcoholism the
Illness.")
38.
... now backing
education -- liquor trade association style.
12&12 p.158,
Tradition Six
39.
... now be
so sure that we weren't ...
12&12 p.59,
Step Five
If all our lives we had more
or less fooled ourselves, how could we now
be so sure that we weren't
still self-deceived?
40.
... now be
yours.
BB p.119,
To Wives
You feel he should now be
yours.
41.
... now, because
if I did not drink ...
BB p.175,
Doctor Bob's Nightmare
I was between Scylla and
Charybdis now, because if I did not drink my
stomach tortured me,
and if I did my nerves did the same thing.
42.
... now become
able to do, feel, and ...
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.
43.
... now become
possible.
12&12 p.17,
Foreword
This established identification with alcoholic readers and proved to them that the virtually impossible
had now become possible.
44.
... now become
the rapacious creditor, bleeds us ...
12&12 p.21,
Step One
Alcohol, now become the rapacious creditor, bleeds us of all
self-sufficiency and
all will to resist its demands.
45.
... now becomes
just how and by what ...
12&12 p.34,
Step Three
Therefore our problem
now becomes just how and by what specific
means shall we be able to let Him in?
46.
... now began
to be called Alcoholics Anonymous, ...
BB xvii,
Foreword to Second Edition
The fledgling society,
which had been nameless, now began to be called Alcoholics Anonymous, from the title
of its own book.
47.
... now begins
to mean the nourishing ingredient ...
12&12 p.74,
Step Seven
Where humility had formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie, it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient which can give
us serenity.
48.
... now being
harnessed promise such a quantity ...
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.
49.
... now believe,
or am I even willing ...
BB p.47,
We Agnostics
50.
... now beset
the group.
12&12 p.133,
Tradition Two
51.
... 'Now boys,
please go heavier on the ...
12&12 p.163,
Tradition Seven
52.
... now clamored
for material security.
12&12 p.121,
Step Twelve
53.
... now clearly
see that we have been ...
12&12 p.76,
Step Seven
We now clearly see that we have been making unreasonable demands
upon ourselves, upon others, and upon God.
54.
... now come
to a close.
12&12 p.125,
Step Twelve
55.
Now comes
the biggest question yet.
12&12 p.111,
Step Twelve
56.
Now comes
the election.
12&12 p.134,
Tradition Two
57.
... now commence
to ransack memory for the ...
12&12 p.81,
Step Eight
Having carefully surveyed this whole area of human relations, and having decided exactly what personality traits in us
injured and disturbed
others, we can now commence to ransack memory for the people to whom
we have given offense.
58.
... now conceive
the psychiatrist's job to be ...
BB p.569(571),
Appendix III, The Medical View on A.A.
I now conceive the psychiatrist's job to be
the task of breaking down the patient's inner resistance so that
which is inside him will flower, as under the activity of the A.A. program."
59.
"Now," concludes
the oldtimer, "suppose I'd been ...
12&12 p.153,
Tradition Five
60.
... now declare
that none but a Higher ...
12&12 p.25,
Step Two
Having reduced us to a state of absolute helplessness, you now declare that none but a Higher Power can remove our obsession.
61.
... now depend
upon Somebody or Something else.
12&12 p.39,
Step Three
62.
... now do
for some stricken acquaintance and ...
BB p.161,
A Vision For You
He and his wife would leave
elated by the thought of
what they could now do for some stricken acquaintance
and his family.
63.
"Now do
tell!
12&12 p.143,
Tradition Three
"Now do tell!
64.
... now endeavoring
to be helpful to him.
BB p.94,
Working With Others
Outline the program of
action, explaining how
you made a self-appraisal, how you straightened out your past and why you are now endeavoring to be helpful to him.
65.
... now enters
maturity, it has begun to ...
12&12 p.18,
Foreword
66.
... now felt
they had to give to ...
BB p.158,
A Vision For You
So, you see, there were three
alcoholics in that town,
who now felt they had to give to others what they had found, or be sunk.
67.
... now fully
understanding how much he himself ...
12&12 p.119,
Step Twelve
The alcoholic, realizing what his wife has
endured, and now fully understanding how
much he himself did to damage her and his children, nearly always takes up his marriage responsibilities with a willingness to repair
what he can and to accept what he can't.
68.
... now go
back to husband number one.
BB p.110,
To Wives
69.
... now going
on.
BB xx,
Foreword to Second Edition
Alcohol being no respecter of persons, we are an accurate cross section of America, and in
distant lands, the same democratic evening-up process is now going on.
70.
... now growing
up among them.
BB xxviii(xxvi),
The Doctor's Opinion
We feel, after many years of experience, that we have found nothing which has contributed more to the rehabilitation of these men than the altruistic movement now growing up among them.
71.
... now has
a group, and he is ...
12&12 p.133,
Tradition Two
He visits preachers, doctors, editors, policemen, and bartenders ... with the result that Middletown
now has a group, and he is
the founder.
72.
... now has
a so-called rotating committee, very ...
12&12 p.134,
Tradition Two
In either case, the group now has a so-called rotating committee, very sharply limited in its authority.
73.
... now has
been rated as a saint.
12&12 p.99,
Step Eleven
74.
... now he
has become a superior person ...
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.
75.
... now, he
reflects that he may not ...
12&12 p.132,
Tradition Two
Alone now, he reflects that he may not be able to stay sober, or even alive, unless he passes on to other alcoholics what was so freely given him.
76.
... now, I
fared forth in high hope.
BB p.7,
Bill's Story
77.
'Now I
get it!
12&12 p.153,
Tradition Five
'Now I get it!
78.
Now I
had what it takes!
BB p.6,
Bill's Story
Now I had what it takes!
79.
... now, I
suspected, a little cracked about ...
BB p.9,
Bill's Story
So that was it -- last summer an alcoholic crackpot; now, I suspected, a little cracked about religion.
80.
Now I
was to plunge into the ...
BB p.8,
Bill's Story
81.
Now if
this is not turning one's ...
12&12 p.35,
Step Three
82.
... now in
its fold, Alcoholics Anonymous has ...
BB p.561(563),
Appendix I, The A.A. Tradition
To those now in its fold, Alcoholics Anonymous
has made the difference
between misery and sobriety, and often the difference between life and death.
83.
... now includes
twelve new stories; eight were ...
BB xii,
Preface
Part III now includes twelve new stories; eight were removed (in addition to
the two that were transferred to Part I).
84.
... now is
that we exult in some ...
12&12 p.66,
Step Six
85.
... now is
to be at the place ...
BB p.102,
Working With Others
Your job now is to be at the place where you may be of maximum helpfulness to
others, so never hesitate to go anywhere if you can be helpful.
86.
... now it
appears that there are certain ...
12&12 p.40,
Step Three
87.
... now joined.
BB p.17,
There Is A Solution
88.
... now know
more about alcoholism.
BB p.141,
To Employers
89.
Now let's
ponder the need for a ...
12&12 p.48,
Step Four
Now let's ponder the need for a list of the more glaring personality defects all of us have in varying degrees.
90.
Now let's
take the guy full of ...
12&12 p.31,
Step Two
91.
... now made
more acute because he cannot ...
12&12 p.39,
Step Three
He relies upon the assurance that his many troubles, now made more acute because he cannot use alcohol to kill the pain, can be solved, too.
92.
... now make
up more than one-fourth of ...
BB xxii,
Foreword to Third Edition
Women now make up more
than one-fourth of the membership; among newer members, the proportion is nearly one-third.
93.
... now means
a great deal to his ...
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.
94.
... now measure
up to that cherished vision.
BB p.118,
To Wives
It is the most natural thing in the world, once his liquor problem is solved, to feel that he will now measure up to that cherished vision.
95.
... now on
a different basis; the basis ...
BB p.68,
How It Works
96.
... now ought
to be willing to try ...
12&12 p.76,
Step Seven
It is really saying to us
that we now ought to be willing to try humility in seeking the removal of our other shortcomings just as we
did when we admitted that we were powerless over alcohol, and came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves
could restore us to sanity.
97.
... now, our
lives have been largely devoted ...
12&12 p.74,
Step Seven
98.
... now overwhelmed
us, especially when we remembered ...
12&12 p.79,
Step Eight
But the prospect of actually visiting or even writing the people concerned now overwhelmed us, especially when we remembered in what poor favor we stood with most of
them.
99.
... now propose
bothers us an awful lot ...
12&12 p.137,
Tradition Two
But I think I speak for everyone here when I say that what you now propose bothers us an awful lot more.'
100.
... now ready
to let God remove from ...
BB p.76,
Into Action
101.
... now recognized,
our defects were still there.
12&12 p.58,
Step Five
102.
... now remembered
what my alcoholic friends had ...
BB p.41,
More About Alcoholism
I now remembered what my
alcoholic friends had
told me, how they prophesied that if I had an alcoholic mind, the time and place would come -- I would drink again.
103.
... now remove
from me every single defect ...
BB p.76,
Into Action
I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in
the way of my usefulness
to you and my fellows.
104.
... now reread
this prayer several times very ...
12&12 p.99,
Step Eleven
As beginners in meditation, we might now reread this prayer several times very slowly, savoring every word and trying to take in the deep meaning of each phrase and idea.
105.
... now restored
as citizens of the world, ...
12&12 p.177,
Tradition Ten
Nor does it mean that the members of Alcoholics Anonymous, now restored as citizens of
the world, are going to back away from their individual responsibilities to act as they see the right upon issues of our time.
106.
... now returned
home, leaving behind his first ...
BB p.159,
A Vision For You
He now returned home, leaving behind his first acquaintance, the lawyer and the devil-may-care chap.
107.
... now ruined
or damaged.
BB p.123,
The Family Afterward
But the head of the house has
spent years in pulling down the structures of business,
romance, friendship,
health -- these things are
now ruined or damaged.
108.
... now see
and accept actual reality.
12&12 p.122,
Step Twelve
109.
... now see
it, being very careful not ...
BB p.83,
Into Action
We ought to sit down with the family and frankly analyze the past as we now see it, being very careful not to criticize them.
110.
... now see
scores of members.
BB p.162,
A Vision For You
Then, in this eastern city,
there are informal meetings such as we have described to you, where you may now see scores of members.
111.
... now see
that when we began to ...
BB p.37,
More About Alcoholism
We now see that when we began to drink deliberately, instead
of casually, there was little serious or effective thought during the period of premeditation of what the terrific consequences
might be.
112.
... now seen
in Tradition Three, was simplicity ...
12&12 p.141,
Tradition Three
113.
... now sees
many men who have such ...
BB p.14,
Bill's Story
114.
... now shows
any mark of dissipation.
BB p.133,
The Family Afterward
115.
... now --
sober -- paid our own way.
12&12 p.160,
Tradition Seven
116.
... now, still
smarting from that admission, he ...
12&12 p.25,
Step Two
117.
... now take
them all -- every one?
BB p.76,
Into Action
118.
... now taking
shape in Asia.
BB xv,
Foreword to Second Edition
119.
... now tapped
a source of power much ...
BB p.163,
A Vision For You
120.
... now that
almost no A.A. in our ...
12&12 p.171,
Tradition Eight
It is significant, now
that almost no A.A. in our Fellowship breaks anonymity at the public level, that nearly all these fears have subsided.
121.
Now, that
attitude is far removed from ...
12&12 p.174,
Tradition Nine
122.
... now that
God can remove whatever self-will ...
BB p.71,
How It Works
123.
... now that
through you several families have ...
BB p.153,
A Vision For You
124.
... now that
we are sober?
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?
125.
... now that
we ought never to name ...
12&12 p.174,
Tradition Nine
It is clear now that we ought never to name boards to govern us, but it is equally
clear that we shall always need to authorize workers to serve us.
126.
Now that
we're in A.A. and sober, ...
12&12 p.92,
Step Ten
Now that we're in A.A. and sober, and winning back the esteem of our friends and business associates, we find that we
still need to exercise special vigilance.
127.
Now, the
domestic problem: There may be ...
BB p.98,
Working With Others
128.
... now the
General Service Office.
12&12 p.140,
Tradition Three (Note)
(*) In 1954, the name of the
Alcoholic Foundation, Inc., was changed to the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous,
Inc., and the Foundation office is now the General Service Office.
129.
... now the
General Service Office.
12&12 p.148,
Tradition Four (Note)
(*) In 1954, the name of the
Alcoholic Foundation, Inc., was changed to the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous,
Inc., and the Foundation office is now the General Service Office.
130.
... now the
General Service Office.
12&12 p.162,
Tradition Seven (Note)
(*) In 1954, the name of the
Alcoholic Foundation, Inc., was changed to the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous,
Inc., and the Foundation office is now the General Service Office.
131.
... now the
General Service Office.
12&12 p.168,
Tradition Eight (Note)
(*) In 1954, the name of the
Alcoholic Foundation, Inc., was changed to the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous,
Inc., and the Foundation office is now the General Service Office.
132.
... now the
General Service Office.
12&12 p.173,
Tradition Nine (Note)
(*) In 1954, the name of the
Alcoholic Foundation, Inc., was changed to the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous,
Inc., and the Foundation office is now the General Service Office.
133.
... now the
General Service Office.
12&12 p.182,
Tradition Eleven (Note)
(*) In 1954, the name of the
Alcoholic Foundation, Inc., was changed to the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous,
Inc., and the Foundation office is now the General Service Office.
134.
... now the
newcomer has probably arrived at ...
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.
135.
... now the
same question raised in Tradition ...
12&12 p.146,
Tradition Four
136.
... now the
time has come when he ...
12&12 p.77,
Step Eight
To a degree, he has already done this when taking moral inventory, but now the time has come when he ought to redouble his efforts to see how many people he has hurt, and in what ways.
137.
... now the
words "Of myself I am ...
12&12 p.75,
Step Seven
But now the words "Of myself I am nothing, the Father doeth the works" began to carry bright promise and meaning.
138.
Now these
are about to be cast ...
BB p.72,
Into Action
139.
Now these
are commonplace observations on drinkers ...
BB p.20,
There Is A Solution
140.
Now, this
house will hardly accommodate its ...
BB p.161,
A Vision For You
Now, this house will hardly accommodate its weekly visitors, for they
number sixty or eighty as a rule.
141.
... now, though,
the chances are that he ...
12&12 p.39,
Step Three
By now, though, the chances are that he has become convinced that he
has more problems than alcohol, and that some of these refuse to be solved by all
the sheer personal determination and courage he can muster.
142.
... now time,
the struggling groups thought, to ...
BB xvii,
Foreword to Second Edition
It was now time, the struggling groups thought, to place their message and unique experience before the world.
143.
... now upon
the sea and ponder what ...
12&12 p.100,
Step Eleven
Let us look now upon the sea and ponder what its mystery is; and let us lift our eyes to the far horizon, beyond which we shall seek all those wonders still unseen.
144.
... now want
to make a decision to ...
12&12 p.38,
Step Three
So it is by circumstance rather than by any virtue that we have been driven to A.A., have admitted defeat, have acquired the rudiments
of faith, and now want to make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to a Higher Power.
145.
... now was
a river which led to ...
12&12 p.109,
Step Twelve
The persistent use of meditation and prayer, we
found, did open the channel so that where there had been a trickle, there now was a river which led to sure power and safe guidance from God as we were increasingly better able to understand Him.
146.
... now was
good enough for us.
12&12 p.29,
Step Two
147.
... now we
begin to have a spiritual ...
BB p.75,
Into Action
148.
Now we
come to another kind of ...
12&12 p.29,
Step Two
149.
Now we
go out to our fellows ...
BB p.76,
Into Action
150.
Now we
need more action, without which ...
BB p.76,
Into Action
151.
... now we
see ourselves as chips off ...
12&12 p.123,
Step Twelve
152.
Now we
try to put spiritual principles ...
BB p.116,
To Wives
153.
... now we've
got him strapped down tight.(*)
BB p.156,
A Vision For You
Understand he was once a
well-known lawyer in town, but just now we've got him strapped down tight.(*)
154.
Now, what
about the rest of the ...
12&12 p.109,
Step Twelve
155.
Now, what
of prayer?
12&12 p.102,
Step Eleven
Now, what of prayer?
156.
... now willing
that you should have all ...
BB p.76,
Into Action
When ready, we say something like this: "My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad.
157.
Now willing
to commence the search for ...
12&12 p.50,
Step Four
158.
... now willing
to work hard at the ...
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.
159.
... now, with
the help of God as ...
12&12 p.113,
Step Twelve
Can we now, with the help of
God as we understand Him,
handle them as well and as
bravely as our nonalcoholic friends
often do?
160.
Now you
are getting back into the ...
BB p.102,
Working With Others
161.
... now you
are making your second visit ...
BB p.96,
Working With Others
162.
... now you
know that he can stop ...
BB p.116,
To Wives
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.