# Is "keep it simple" in the Big Book?

**In short:**
- Not in the program. "Keep it simple" isn't in the 1939 text, the forewords, the appendices, or any story printed in the first edition. One personal story in today's edition lists it among A.A. sayings (p. 345).
- The program text calls its way "this simple program" (p. 58), and Bill adds the condition: "Simple, but not easy; a price had to be paid." (p. 14).
- The saying is credited to Dr. Bob, and *Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers* (1980), warning that many sayings are credited to him loosely, singles it out as one that is certainly his. *A.A. Comes of Age* (1957) gives his parting words to Bill in 1950: "Remember, Bill, let's not louse this thing up. Let's keep it simple!" Later it was often used to argue against A.A.'s service structure, which Bill answered by separating "spiritual simplicity" from "functional simplicity" (P-43).

## What the search found

All our sources were searched for "keep it simple," "let's keep it simple," "simple" and "simplicity," with page breaks joined.

- **Program text, forewords, appendices:** no "keep it simple."
- **Personal stories (fourth edition, 2001):** "Because I'm an Alcoholic" lists "Keep It Simple" with other slogans that came to "impress me as truths I could live by" (p. 345).
- **Stories printed in 1939 and later dropped** (*Experience, Strength and Hope*, 2003): not there. A later-edition story collected there says "I keep it simple: go to many meetings; carry the message to those who listen." (Experience, Strength and Hope, 2003).
- **Later books:** *A.A. Comes of Age* (1957), *Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers* (1980), *Pass It On* (1984), P-43 (1971) and Bill W.'s *Twelve Concepts* (1962, in the Service Manual), described below.

## What the program text calls simple

- "Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program" (p. 58).
- Bill, after his friend's visit: they had "told of a simple religious idea and a practical program of action" (p. 9). His own requirements, belief in God and enough willingness, honesty and humility, were "Simple, but not easy; a price had to be paid. It meant destruction of self-centeredness." (p. 14).
- "There was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet." (p. 25).
- Of the decision to let God be the Director: "Most good ideas are simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch through which we passed to freedom." (p. 62).
- After the directions for Step Eleven: "So we let God discipline us in the simple way we have just outlined." (p. 88).

So the program text does insist the program is simple. It doesn't say simple means easy, and it doesn't use simplicity to mean doing less: the same page that calls it simple says it "demands rigorous honesty" (p. 58).

## Dr. Bob's words

*A.A. Comes of Age* (1957) tells of Bill's visit to Dr. Bob in Akron, a few weeks after the July 1950 Cleveland convention, to ask his consent to a General Service Conference that would hand A.A.'s affairs to its members. Dr. Bob said, "Bill, it has to be A.A.'s decision, not ours." (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957). At the door, he said: "Remember, Bill, let's not louse this thing up. Let's keep it simple!" (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957). Bill never saw him again (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957). The same book calls the line Dr. Bob's "famous final admonition" (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957). See: *When did Dr. Bob die, and what were his last words to A.A.?*

*Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers* (1980) warns that many sayings are credited to Dr. Bob without proof, but "Apart from 'Let's keep it simple,' however, it is difficult to tell which are which." (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980). It quotes his September 1948 Grapevine article on the Twelve Steps: "simple in language, plain in meaning" (Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, 1980), workable by anyone with a sincere desire to get and keep sobriety. *Pass It On* (1984) says that in the 1940s, while Bill was formulating the principles that grew out of A.A.'s early troubles over affiliation and anonymity, he often went to Akron to consult Dr. Bob, and "Dr. Bob's ability to keep it simple always served as a guide to Bill" (Pass It On, 1984). At Cleveland in July 1950 he told the convention not to "louse it all up with Freudian complexes" (P-53). See: *What happened at the 1950 Cleveland convention?*

## How the saying was used afterwards

The saying soon became an argument against organising A.A.'s services:
- *A.A. Comes of Age* (1957) describes old-timers setting up central offices to deal with hospitals and phone calls, "Ignoring the cries of 'Let us keep it simple,'" (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957).
- Bill's *Twelve Concepts* (1962) recalls the resistance to the General Service Conference: "And the clincher was always, 'Let's keep it simple.'" (A.A. Service Manual combined with Twelve Concepts for World Service).
- P-43 (1971) repeats that these were the last words Bill heard from Dr. Bob, and quotes Bill: "We need to distinguish sharply between spiritual simplicity and functional simplicity." (P-43). The "it," P-43 says, means the recovery program (P-43).

The first-hand account is worth holding next to that later use: Dr. Bob said "keep it simple" in the same conversation in which he agreed the Conference was A.A.'s decision to make (A.A. Comes of Age, 1957).

## Read it yourself
- Chapter 1, "Bill's Story" (pp. 9, 14): https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/en_bigbook_chapt1.pdf
- Chapter 5, "How It Works" (pp. 58, 62): https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/en_bigbook_chapt5.pdf
- Chapter 6, "Into Action" (p. 88): https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/en_bigbook_chapt6.pdf
- P-53, *The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous*: https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/literature/P-53_0725.pdf
- P-43, *Twelve Traditions Illustrated*: https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/literature/P-43_0625.pdf
- *A.A. Comes of Age*, *Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers*, *Pass It On* and *Experience, Strength and Hope* are sold by A.A. World Services: https://onlineliterature.aa.org

## Sources
| Source | Pages | Date |
|---|---|---|
| *Alcoholics Anonymous*, whole fourth-edition text (searched) | — | 1939 program text; fourth edition 2001 |
| Chapters 1, 2, 5, 6 | 9, 14, 25, 58, 62, 88 | 1939 |
| "Because I'm an Alcoholic," Part II | 345 | fourth edition (2001) |
| *Experience, Strength and Hope* (searched; later-edition story) | — | story from a later edition; collected 2003 (post-1950) |
| *Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers* (quoting Dr. Bob's 1948 Grapevine article) | — | article 1948; book 1980 (post-1950) |
| P-53, Dr. Bob's 1950 Cleveland talk | — | talk 1950; pamphlet © 2017 |
| *A.A. Comes of Age* | — | 1957 (post-1950), describing 1950 |
| *Pass It On* | — | 1984 (post-1950) |
| *Twelve Concepts for World Service* (in the A.A. Service Manual) | — | 1962 (post-1950) |
| P-43, *Twelve Traditions Illustrated* | — | © 1971 (post-1950) |

*Recovery Starts is independent and not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous. Quotations are brief and cited; the Big Book,* Experience, Strength and Hope*,* A.A. Comes of Age*,* Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers*,* Pass It On*, the Service Manual, P-43 and P-53 are © A.A. World Services, Inc.*