Alcoholics Anonymous · 4th Edition

Big Book Page 20

Chapter 2 – There Is a Solution · pages 17–29

"Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs. You may already have asked yourself why it is that all of us became so very ill from drinking."
Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, page 20. A short quotation, for identification and study. Read the whole page in your own copy →
Page20
SectionChapter 2 – There Is a Solution
Chapter runspages 17–29
Step materialStep 1

What's on page 20

Page 20 sits in Chapter 2, There Is a Solution, which runs pages 17–29. That's the stretch of the book where Step 1 is worked through.

Reading the page itself, the language here turns on anonymity. That's taken from the page's own words — not from anybody's summary of them.

Read it for yourself

We don't reproduce the Big Book here. The book belongs to Alcoholics Anonymous — and honestly, the book is better than any summary of it. Buy a copy from A.A., read it free at aa.org, or pick one up at a meeting. Then come back and search it when you're chasing a line you only half-remember.

Quick answers

What chapter of the Big Book is page 20 in?

Page 20 is in Chapter 2, “There Is a Solution”, which runs pages 17–29 in Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition. That is the part of the book where Step 1 is worked through.

What is on page 20 of the Big Book?

Page 20 sits in Chapter 2 – There Is a Solution. Reading the page itself, its language turns on anonymity. Recovery Starts does not reproduce the Big Book — the book belongs to A.A. — so to read the page in full, get your own copy.

Which Step does page 20 of the Big Book relate to?

Page 20 falls in the pages where the Big Book works through Step 1 (pages 1–43 in the 4th Edition). The Big Book does not put the Steps in tidy chapters of their own — the instructions run continuously through the text, which is why a page reference matters more than a Step number.

Can I read page 20 of the Big Book online for free?

Not here — Recovery Starts does not reproduce Alcoholics Anonymous, because the book belongs to A.A. and the book is better than any summary of it. You can read the Big Book free at aa.org, buy a copy from the official A.A. store, or pick one up at almost any meeting. Recovery Starts can tell you which page a passage is on and search the book for you; for the words themselves, go to the book.

This is an independent Big Book reference page from Recovery Starts — not official AA literature, not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, and not medical advice. Page references are to Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book), 4th Edition. Short quotations appear for identification and study; the full text of the book is not reproduced hereget your own copy. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).