The Promises: Big Book Pages 83-84
What pages 83 and 84 promise us, and when the Big Book says those promises materialize
The Promises are found on pages 83 and 84 of Alcoholics Anonymous, in the chapter called Into Action, immediately after the Big Book gives its directions for making Ninth Step amends. That placement is why members call them the Ninth Step Promises. They open with one of the most quoted lines in the whole book: 'We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness' (page 83). From there the passage names, one by one, the changes that begin in an alcoholic who is cleaning up the wreckage of the past: freedom from regret, real serenity and peace, a past that becomes useful to others, the disappearance of self-pity and fear, and a whole new outlook on life.
When do they materialize? The book answers that plainly on page 84: 'They are being fulfilled among us—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.' So the Promises are not a graduation gift handed out after Step Twelve. Page 83 tells us we will be amazed before we are even half way through this phase of our development, which means the Promises start arriving while we are still in the middle of our amends. The only condition is the work itself.
What the Promises Say
The passage reads like a portrait of a person being rebuilt. 'We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it' (page 83). That single sentence turns our worst history into an asset, because the promise that follows says that however low we sank, our story can be used to help someone else (page 84). We will come to understand what serenity actually means, and we will know real peace (page 83). Feelings of uselessness and self-pity fade. We lose interest in selfish things and gain a genuine interest in the people around us, and self-seeking slips away (page 84). Our attitude toward life turns around completely, the fear of other people and of money trouble loses its grip, and we develop an instinct for handling the situations that once left us baffled (page 84). Then the passage closes with the heart of the entire program: 'We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves' (page 84).
Why They Follow Step Nine
The placement is not an accident. The paragraph that introduces the Promises says that when we are thorough and painstaking about this stage of our growth, the amazement comes before we are even half way through it (page 83), and the stage it means is making amends. The freedom the Promises describe is largely freedom from guilt, from dodging the people we have harmed, and from the fear of being found out, and that is exactly the debris Step Nine clears away. We cannot think our way into these results. The same page reminds us, 'The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it' (page 83). The Promises are simply what living it looks like.
When Do the Promises Materialize?
Sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. The book anticipates our skepticism and asks the question for us: 'Are these extravagant promises? We think not' (page 84). These lines were not written as a sales pitch but as a report of what the first members watched happen among themselves. Timelines differ. Some of us felt the fear lift within weeks, while others watched self-pity dissolve over years of steady work. The guarantee is conditional but absolute: always, if we work for them. And the Promises are not a finish line, because the very next lines on page 84 carry us straight into Step Ten. The maintenance steps keep producing the same results one day at a time, and page 85 reminds us that what we really have is a daily reprieve that depends on the condition of our spiritual life.
Reading the Promises Today
Many groups read pages 83 and 84 aloud at meetings, and many of us keep them close as a plain-language description of where this road leads. They work best as a direction of travel, not a report card. If they feel far away today, the question the text puts to us is not whether we believe them yet but whether we are working for them. So we make the next amend, take the next inventory, and help the next alcoholic who reaches out. The Promises are still being fulfilled among us, at whatever pace our work sets, exactly as the book said they would be (page 84).
Quick answers
Where are the Promises in the Big Book?
The Promises are on pages 83 and 84 of Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, in the chapter called Into Action. They come immediately after the directions for making Ninth Step amends, which is why they are often called the Ninth Step Promises. Many groups read this passage aloud at meetings.
When do the Promises start to come true?
Sooner than most of us expect. Page 83 says we will be amazed before we are even half way through the amends process, so the Promises begin while we are still working Step Nine. Page 84 adds that they are fulfilled sometimes quickly and sometimes slowly, but always if we work for them.
Are the Promises guaranteed?
Yes, with one condition. The Big Book says 'They will always materialize if we work for them' (page 84). The work is the program itself: making amends, taking daily inventory, prayer, and helping others, which are the very steps that surround the Promises in the text.
How many promises are on pages 83-84?
Most members count twelve promises in the passage, beginning with a new freedom and a new happiness and ending with the realization that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves (pages 83-84). The Big Book makes other promises throughout its chapters, but when someone refers to the Promises, they almost always mean these.
This is Recovery Einstein's original Big Book study guide — an independent educational resource, not official AA literature and not medical advice. Page references are to Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book), 4th Edition. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).