Responsibility Is Our Theme
“How much and how often did we fail?” By Roger C. Bill W spoke at the General Service Conference held in New York City in April, 1965. The Conference theme was “Responsibility To Those We...
Tagged: AA
Bill W: The Documentary Reviewed
By Tim C. Bill W., the documentary now showing in cinemas throughout the country, is a delightfully presented look at the story of William G. Wilson, the original public face of Alcoholics Anonymous. The...
Finding Our Way
An agnostic discovers his place in the Fellowship By Jerry S. Austin, Texas Copyright © The AA Grapevine. Published in October 2012. Reprinted with permission. After being in and around the AA program for more than...
The Origins of the 12 Steps
By Roger C. One alcoholic talking to another (Step 12) It all began in the waning months of 1934. Bill W, an incorrigible inebriate nearing the end of his rope, was visited at his...
Atheist
The AA Grapevine published this article by J. L. of Oakland, California, which it called Atheist, in its January 1980 issue. At the time J. L. was eight years sober. When J. L. reached 16 years of...
Mindfulness and the 12 Steps
Review by Roger C. There would appear to be much in common between Buddhist thought and the 12 Step recovery program practiced by some in AA. A number of books have made the connection...
An Atheist’s Guide to 12-Step Recovery
by Frank M. You’re a thoughtful and well considered atheist. And you’ve noticed recently that you might be dying from the crap you put in your body. A little. Maybe that’s just the hangover...
Do You Think You’re Different? – Jan’s Story
In 1976 Alcoholics Anonymous World Services (AAWS) began publishing a 37 page pamphlet entitled “Do You Think You’re Different?” AAWS has printed and distributed this pamphlet year after year and it is now available online...
A Higher Power of My Understanding
By Gabe S. I first encountered Alcoholics Anonymous when I found myself in rehab in December 2010. I had, after many months of resistance, followed the advice of my psychiatrist and my good friends...
Quadrants of Knowledge
By Joe C. The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no...
God As We Understood Him
WARNING: The following essay, although sincerely and thoughtfully written, is very offensive to Scientologists, smokers, Christians, spirituality, and especially to Zeus. To history’s other 2,000 + Gods, past and present – I have offended...
One Year Old!
By Roger C. It all began with an uncivil act. It was a thoughtless act without compassion or concern for the wellbeing of other women and men in the fellowship suffering from the same...
Never Fear Needed Change
By Joe C. As the Christian calendar rolled over to 2012, another AA member asked me why I thought AA was no longer growing. Like me, he remembers the 1970s and 1980s when perpetual...
The Courts, AA and Religion
By Linda R. Inside AA, one hears members frequently repeat the well-known phrase “AA is spiritual, not religious.” AA takes pride in saying it’s not religious. But what do outsiders, such as the court...
