Is the A.A. Preamble in the Big Book? Where did it come from?
In short:
- No. The Preamble that many meetings open with ("Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength and hope…") is not in the fourth-edition Big Book. It is printed in A.A. pamphlets such as P-16 and P-17 and in The A.A. Service Manual.
- It was first published in the Grapevine in June 1947, written by a Grapevine editor and "based on the foreword to the first edition of the Big Book" (A.A. Service Manual, 2024–2026 edition). It is copyrighted by AA Grapevine, Inc.
- Set side by side, most of it does come from the 1939 Foreword (pp. xiii–xiv): the one requirement, no fees or dues, not allied with any sect or denomination, opposing no one. The opening sentence and the closing statement of purpose are not in the Foreword.
- Our sources have the Preamble only as it is printed today. It doesn't have the 1947 wording, so changes since then can't be traced here.
The search
The whole fourth-edition text of Alcoholics Anonymous was searched for the Preamble's wording. It isn't there. The nearest phrase is in the Forewords to the Third Edition (1976) and Fourth Edition (2001), which say that recovery begins when one alcoholic talks with another, "sharing experience, strength, and hope" (p. xxii), and that in any meeting "A.A.'s share experience, strength, and hope with each other" (p. xxiv).
Where it came from
Three texts in our sources speak to its origin: - The A.A. Service Manual (2024–2026 edition): "First published in the June 1947 issue, the A.A. Preamble (based on the foreword to the first edition of the Big Book) was written by a Grapevine editor" (A.A. Service Manual, 2024–2026 edition). - Pass It On (1984), after quoting the 1939 Foreword: "With a few changes and additions, that statement of purpose would be repeated as a preamble to thousands of A.A. meetings every day in the years to come." (Pass It On, 1984). - The copyright line under the Preamble in P-16, P-17 and the Service Manual: © AA Grapevine, Inc.
Side by side
The 1939 Foreword (pp. xiii–xiv) against the Preamble as printed today (P-16, 2018; P-17, 2019 printing; Service Manual, 2024):
| 1939 Foreword | The Preamble today |
|---|---|
| "We are not an organization in the conventional sense of the word." (pp. xiii–xiv) | (not in the Preamble) |
| (not in the Foreword) | A fellowship of people who share their experience, strength and hope with each other, to solve their common problem and help others recover from alcoholism |
| "There are no fees or dues whatsoever." (p. xiv) | No dues or fees for A.A. membership; self-supporting through members' own contributions |
| "The only requirement for membership is an honest desire to stop drinking." (p. xiv) | "The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking." (P-16, 2018) |
| Not allied with "any particular faith, sect or denomination, nor do we oppose anyone" (p. xiv) | Not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes |
| "We simply wish to be helpful to those who are afflicted." (p. xiv) | "Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety." (P-16, 2018) |
What changed, reading the two: - "Honest desire" became "desire," the same change Tradition Three's short form made (p. 562). See What is the only requirement for A.A. membership? - "Faith, sect or denomination" widened to include politics, organizations and institutions, and "nor do we oppose anyone" became "neither endorses nor opposes any causes," wording close to the Traditions on endorsement and outside issues (pp. 562, 564–565). - Self-support was added, in the spirit of Tradition Seven (p. 562). - The Foreword's statement of purpose, being helpful to those afflicted, became a two-part purpose: staying sober, and helping other alcoholics to sobriety. - The opening description, a fellowship sharing "experience, strength and hope," has no counterpart in the 1939 Foreword.
One small puzzle our sources can't settle: the fourth edition prints the Foreword "as it appeared in the first printing of the first edition in 1939" (p. xiii) and reads "no fees or dues," while Pass It On (1984), quoting the same first printing, has "no fees nor dues." The meaning is the same.
How it is used
The A.A. Group (P-16, 2018) says the chairperson "usually opens the meeting with the A.A. Preamble and a few remarks" (P-16, 2018), and quotes the Preamble as the purpose of all group meetings. It is a custom described in a later pamphlet; the 1939 text describes no meeting format (see What happens at an A.A. meeting?).
Read it yourself
- Foreword to the First Edition (pp. xiii–xiv): https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/en_bigbook_forewordfirstedition.pdf
- Appendix I, "The A.A. Tradition" (pp. 561–566): https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/en_bigbook_appendicei.pdf
- P-16, The A.A. Group (the Preamble is on the inside cover): https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/literature/p-16_0723.pdf
- P-17, A.A. Tradition — How It Developed (inside cover): https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/literature/assets/p-17_AATraditions.pdf
- Related: What does the Foreword to the First Edition say A.A. is for? · Does A.A. cost anything?
Sources
| Source | Pages | First published |
|---|---|---|
| Alcoholics Anonymous, Foreword to the First Edition | xiii–xiv | 1939 |
| Alcoholics Anonymous (whole fourth-edition text, searched); Forewords to the Third and Fourth Editions | xxii, xxiv | 1976; 2001 |
| Alcoholics Anonymous, Appendix I (short form) | 562 | by 1950 |
| The A.A. Preamble, as printed in P-16, P-17 and the Service Manual | inside covers | first in the Grapevine, June 1947; these printings 2018–2024 |
| Pass It On | — | 1984 |
| The A.A. Service Manual (Grapevine history) | — | 2024–2026 edition |
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, P-16 and the Service Manual are © A.A. World Services, Inc.; the Preamble and 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.