Do I have to say "I'm an alcoholic"? Is "Hi, I'm ___, and I'm an alcoholic" in the Big Book?
In short:
- No, and no. The 1939 text asks for an admission made "to our innermost selves" (p. 30), not out loud at a meeting, and it describes no way of introducing yourself.
- Bill W. wrote in 1946 that in most groups a newcomer "doesn't even have to admit he is an alcoholic" (P-17, "Who Is a Member of Alcoholics Anonymous?", 1946). He can join on the suspicion that he may be one.
- The introduction "My name is ___, and I'm an alcoholic" turns up in the Big Book only in a few personal stories in Parts II and III of the fourth edition (2001), not in the 1939 text. Pass It On (1984) says Bill probably picked the custom up from the Oxford Group, and P-43 says groups differ in how it's done.
- The book is firm about one thing: nobody should label another person an alcoholic. "Let him draw his own conclusion." (p. 92).
What the 1939 text asks
- An inner admission. "We learned that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics." (p. 30). The book calls this the first step in recovery, and the concession is to oneself.
- Self-diagnosis. "We do not like to pronounce any individual as alcoholic, but you can quickly diagnose yourself." (p. 31). See How do I know if I'm an alcoholic?
- No labeling by others. When talking with a prospect, the member describes himself as an alcoholic (p. 91) but is told to "be careful not to brand him as an alcoholic" (p. 92). If the man insists he can still control his drinking, "tell him that possibly he can—if he is not too alcoholic" (p. 92).
- Step One says "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable." (p. 59). The Step doesn't say to whom; Chapter 3's description of "the first step in recovery" (p. 30) is a concession to oneself.
Nowhere in pages 1–164 does the book describe members introducing themselves at a meeting, or require anyone to say anything there.
The 1946 Long Form and Bill's essay
The Long Form of Tradition Three says A.A.'s membership "ought to include all who suffer from alcoholism" (p. 563); the later short form (by 1950) asks only for a desire to stop drinking (p. 562). Neither asks for an admission. Bill's 1946 essay goes further: "Nowadays, in most groups, he doesn't even have to admit he is an alcoholic." (P-17, "Who Is a Member of Alcoholics Anonymous?", 1946). He can join "on the mere suspicion that he may be one" (same essay).
Where the custom appears
- Personal stories in the fourth edition. A search of the whole fourth-edition text finds the meeting introduction only in a few stories in Parts II and III, the sections that hold later members' stories: a newcomer who, because everyone around the table was saying they were alcoholics, said his name and "Hi, I'm an alcoholic" (p. 401); a "big clown" at a meeting shouting "My name is Frank, and I'm an alcoholic" (p. 414); a woman who, at her first meeting on her own, said "I am an alcoholic" after years of saying "I'm with him" at her father's meetings (p. 515). These are members' own experience, not the program text.
- Pass It On (1984) lists it among early customs: members introduced themselves with "My name is Bill W. I'm an alcoholic." (Pass It On, 1984). Bill probably got it from the Oxford Group meetings of the mid-1930s, where members in a circle said "My name is so-and-so" to identify themselves.
- P-43 (The Twelve Traditions Illustrated, © 1971, this printing updated 2023), on Tradition Four: in one part of the U.S. a speaker who begins "My name is Ann, and I am an alcoholic" gets respectful silence; in another everybody shouts "Hi, Ann!"; elsewhere she may use her full name. "In each neighborhood in every part of the world reached by A.A., the local group is free to work out its own customs." (P-43).
What this means
Saying "I'm an alcoholic" at a meeting is a custom, with roots in the Oxford Group, that varies from place to place. The Big Book asks for something different and more private: an honest admission to yourself, reached by your own conclusion. A.A.'s membership statement asks only for a desire to stop drinking, and Bill's 1946 essay says that in most groups even the admission isn't required to join.
Read it yourself
- Chapter 3, "More About Alcoholism" (pp. 30–43): https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/en_bigbook_chapt3.pdf
- Chapter 7, "Working With Others" (pp. 89–103): https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/en_bigbook_chapt7.pdf
- P-17, A.A. Tradition — How It Developed: https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/literature/assets/p-17_AATraditions.pdf
- Related: What is the only requirement for A.A. membership? · How do I know if I'm an alcoholic? · What does Step 1 say? Powerless over what?
Sources
| Source | Pages | First published |
|---|---|---|
| Alcoholics Anonymous, Chapters 3, 5, 7 | 30–31, 59, 91–92 | 1939 |
| Alcoholics Anonymous, Appendix I, Tradition Three | 562–563 | Long Form 1946; short form by 1950 |
| P-17, "Who Is a Member of Alcoholics Anonymous?" | — | 1946 |
| Alcoholics Anonymous, personal stories, Parts II and III | 401, 414, 515 | in the fourth edition (2001); not in the 1939 text |
| Pass It On | — | 1984 |
| P-43, The Twelve Traditions Illustrated, Tradition Four | — | © 1971; this printing updated 2023 |
Big Book page numbers are from the fourth edition (2001). Our copy of Pass It On has no printed page numbers, so it's cited by book and year.
Recovery Starts is independent and not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous. Quotations are brief and cited; the Big Book, Pass It On and P-43 are © A.A. World Services, Inc.; the P-17 articles are © AA Grapevine, Inc.
These pages answer questions about A.A. from A.A.'s own published literature, read in full, with every quote checked word for word against the page it cites. Recovery Starts is independent and not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous. What we read, and when each source was written.