Regardless of Anyone

The rumour today is that a drunk needs a facility before A.A. can do anything for him, and the Big Book says the opposite. In "Working With Others," its chapter on carrying the message to the man still drinking, the book is plain about whom he depends on (Big Book, p. 98): "Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get well regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he trust in God and clean house." One condition, and no admission form in it. A doctor may be needed to get him through a dangerous withdrawal, and the Long Form keeps that well outside A.A. and under doctors. What no facility can be is the gate to A.A. A group tied to a facility ends up carrying a different message: get assessed first, get a bed first, then come to us. The Long Form closes that door from the group's side: an A.A. group can bind itself to no one, so it never has to send the drunk anywhere before it helps him. Today the line gets said inside the rooms themselves, as advice: you need treatment first, come back when you've done your thirty days. Test it tonight: listen for what your room tells the shaking newcomer he has to do before A.A. can help him.