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The Twelve Steps

The Twelve Steps are A.A.'s program of recovery, first printed in the book Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book) in April 1939, in the chapter "How It Works" on pages 59–60. Our page sets out each Step and where the Big Book explains how to take it.

• The 12 Steps in the Big Book — Page-by-Page

The Twelve Traditions

The Traditions are the principles A.A. groups adopted in 1950 to keep the fellowship together and unowned. The Big Book prints the long form in Appendix I (pp. 563–566), and our page sets out what each one actually says. The history page follows how they were worked out from 1937 to 1950, from the letters and the sources.

• The 12 Traditions of A.A. — What They Actually Say (Long Form, pp. 563–566)
• How the 12 Traditions Came About (1937–1950): The History, From the Sources

The Twelve Concepts for World Service

The Concepts, adopted by the General Service Conference in 1962, describe how A.A.'s service structure works. The Big Book's Appendix VII carries only their short form; our page has both forms in full.

• The Twelve Concepts for World Service — Both Forms, In Full

The story of A.A.

How A.A. began, from Bill W.'s and Dr. Bob's meeting in Akron in 1935 to the Traditions in 1950, told from what the books themselves say.

• The story of A.A., from the books: 1934–1950
• AA Information — 12 Traditions & 12 Concepts

The Big Book

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th edition. There's a reference page for nearly every page of the book (a few blank and divider pages have none), with what the page covers, its chapter, and where to read it. There are also pages on the passages people look for most, and you can read and search the actual pages free.

• The Big Book, Page by Page — Every Page of Alcoholics Anonymous (4th Edition)
• Search the Big Book
• Get the Big Book
• Acceptance Was the Answer: Big Book Page 417 Explained
• Big Book Amends: Steps 8 and 9 Explained (Pages 76-84)
• Big Book Fear Inventory — Step 4, Pages 67-68
• Big Book Spiritual Experience Appendix II (Pages 567-568)
• Big Book Step 4 Instructions: Pages 63-71 Explained
• Carrying the Message: Step 12 in the Big Book (Page 89)
• Daily Reprieve: What Big Book Page 85 Really Means
• How It Works: Big Book Chapter 5 Explained (Pages 58-60)
• More Will Be Revealed: Big Book Meaning (Page 164)
• Powerless Over Alcohol: Step 1 in the Big Book Explained
• Self-Will Run Riot: What the Big Book Says on Page 62
• The Promises in the Big Book: Pages 83-84 Explained
• What Does the Big Book Say About Resentment? (Pages 64-67)
• What Does the Big Book Say About Sponsorship?

Every page, by number (the front matter in roman numerals first):

ii v vi vii viii ix x xi xii xiii xiv xv xvi xvii xviii xix xx xxi xxii xxiii xxiv xxv xxvi xxvii xxviii xxix xxx xxxi xxxii 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 167 168 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 279 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 435 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575

A.A. questions, answered from the books

249 questions people actually ask about A.A. ("Am I an alcoholic?", "Is A.A. religious?", "What happens at a meeting?"), each answered from what A.A.'s own books say, with the page to check it against.

• A.A. questions, answered from the books
• "Character defects" or "defects of character," "shortcomings": what does the Big Book say?
• "Lack of power, that was our dilemma": what dilemma?
• "Recovered" or "recovering": which word does the Big Book use?
• "Who are you to say there is no God?": who says it, and to whom?
• Are "Easy Does It," "First Things First" and "Live and Let Live" in the Big Book?
• Are chips, coins, medallions and sobriety birthdays in the Big Book? Where did they come from?
• Are the personal stories part of the A.A. program?
• Are the Steps rules or suggestions?
• Are the Traditions just formalities?
• Are the Traditions rules? Who do they apply to: groups or members?
• Are the Twelve Concepts the same as the Twelve Traditions?
• Can an A.A. group be named after a treatment centre or a person?
• Can an alcoholic ever drink normally again?
• Can anyone be thrown out of A.A.?
• Can I go to A.A. if I'm still drinking?
• Can we approach someone who is still drinking?
• Can young people and teenagers go to A.A.?
• Can your Higher Power be anything, a doorknob, the group?
• Concept I: who has the final say in A.A.?
• Concept II: what is the General Service Conference, and what can it decide?
• Concept III: what is the Right of Decision, and must a delegate vote the way the group says?
• Concept IV: what is the Right of Participation, and who votes at the Conference?
• Concept IX: what makes a good leader in A.A. service?
• Concept V: what are the Rights of Appeal and Petition?
• Concept VI: what do the trustees of the General Service Board do?
• Concept VII: who really holds power, the Conference or the trustees?
• Concept VIII: do the trustees run the General Service Office and the Grapevine?
• Concept X: why must service authority equal service responsibility?
• Concept XI: who helps the trustees, and how should paid A.A. workers be treated?
• Concept XII: what are the General Warranties of the Conference?
• Do I have to be religious to work the Steps?
• Do I have to get a sponsor?
• Do I have to say "I'm an alcoholic"? Is "Hi, I'm ___, and I'm an alcoholic" in the Big Book?
• Does A.A. carry the message into prisons and hospitals?
• Does A.A. cost anything?
• Does A.A. sign court slips or write letters for courts and probation?
• Does Step 12 require believing in God a certain way?
• Does the Big Book endorse treatment centres?
• Does the Big Book really say to pray for people you resent ("This is a sick man")?
• Does the Big Book say "90 meetings in 90 days"?
• Does the Big Book say "fake it till you make it"?
• Does the Big Book say "once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic"?
• Does the Big Book say "relapse is part of recovery"? What does it say about a slip?
• Does the Big Book say "trust God, clean house, help others"?
• Does the Big Book say "you have to give it away to keep it"?
• Does the Big Book say a newcomer has to do it A.A.'s way? ("…prefers some other spiritual approach, encourage him")
• Does the Big Book say alcohol is "but a symptom"? Is drinking the real problem?
• Does the Big Book say fear is "false evidence appearing real"?
• Does the Big Book say to "stick with the winners"?
• Does the Big Book say to avoid bars and drinkers?
• Does the Big Book say to stay away from doctors, medicine or psychiatry?
• Does the Big Book say to take the Steps in order?
• Does the Big Book say we're meant to be "happy, joyous, and free"?
• Does the Big Book say willpower doesn't work?
• Does the Big Book say you have to "hit bottom"?
• Does the main text of the Big Book talk about gratitude? ("an attitude of gratitude")
• How can I tell when a quote has been taken out of context?
• How did A.A. grow from two people?
• How did Alcoholics Anonymous get its name? Was "The Way Out" the title?
• How did Bill W. and Dr. Bob meet?
• How did the Cleveland group become the first to call itself Alcoholics Anonymous?
• How do I know if I'm an alcoholic?
• How does the Big Book say to do Step 4?
• How does the Big Book say to make amends?
• How long did the first members take to work the Steps?
• How many members did A.A. have in 1939?
• How was the Big Book paid for and published (Works Publishing)?
• How were Akron and New York different in the early years?
• How were the Twelve Steps written?
• Is "A.A. is a selfish program" in the Big Book?
• Is "Acceptance is the answer" part of the main text?
• Is "bring the body and the mind will follow" in the Big Book?
• Is "don't quit before the miracle happens" in the Big Book?
• Is "expectations are premeditated resentments" in the Big Book?
• Is "faith without works is dead" in the Big Book?
• Is "G.O.D. = Good Orderly Direction / Group Of Drunks" in the A.A. books?
• Is "God doesn't make junk" in the Big Book?
• Is "it works if you work it" in the Big Book?
• Is "it's not a drinking problem, it's a thinking problem" in the Big Book?
• Is "it's the first drink that gets you drunk" in the Big Book?
• Is "keep coming back" in the Big Book?
• Is "keep it simple" in the Big Book?
• Is "keep your side of the street clean" in the Big Book?
• Is "let go and let God" in the Big Book?
• Is "meeting makers make it" in the Big Book?
• Is "no crosstalk" an A.A. rule?
• Is "one day at a time" in the Big Book?
• Is "people, places and things" in the Big Book?
• Is "progress, not perfection" in the Big Book?
• Is "sick and tired of being sick and tired" in the Big Book?
• Is "stinking thinking" in the Big Book?
• Is "there but for the grace of God" in the Big Book?
• Is "think the drink through" (or "play the tape forward") in the Big Book?
• Is "this too shall pass" in the A.A. books?
• Is "turn it over" in the Big Book?
• Is "we're only as sick as our secrets" in the Big Book?
• Is "Working With Others" about sponsorship?
• Is "your best thinking got you here" in the Big Book?
• Is "your disease is doing push-ups in the parking lot" in the books?
• Is A.A. a religious organization?
• Is A.A. a treatment program? Does it provide detox, housing or counselling?
• Is A.A. for people addicted to drugs or other things?
• Is A.A. run from the top down?
• Is Al-Anon part of A.A.?
• Is group conscience a majority vote?
• Is HALT (hungry, angry, lonely, tired) in the Big Book?
• Is helping others selfish if it keeps me sober?
• Is it true there are "no musts" in A.A.?
• Is the A.A. Preamble in the Big Book? Where did it come from?
• Is the definition of insanity in the Big Book?
• Is the St. Francis Prayer in the Big Book?
• Is the word "sponsor" in the Big Book?
• Is what I say at a meeting kept private?
• My husband (or wife) drinks. What does the Big Book say to do?
• Should I give a newcomer money or a place to stay?
• Step Twelve: what the Big Book actually says
• Tradition Eight: can anyone be paid for Twelfth Step work?
• Tradition Eleven: does A.A. advertise?
• Tradition Five: what is a group's one purpose?
• Tradition Four: can GSO tell a group what to do?
• Tradition Nine: is A.A. organized? Who runs it?
• Tradition One: does it mean "my sobriety comes first"?
• Tradition Seven: does A.A. take outside money?
• Tradition Six: can an A.A. group partner with a treatment centre?
• Tradition Ten: does A.A. take sides on outside issues?
• Tradition Twelve: does anonymity mean keeping A.A. secret?
• Tradition Two: does anyone have authority in A.A.?
• Was the Big Book written only for men? Is A.A. for women?
• Was there a draft of the Big Book before 1939?
• Were the Traditions written with the Steps?
• What are A.A.'s Three Legacies?
• What are the "bedevilments"?
• What are the a, b, c of p. 60 ("probably no human power… God could and would if He were sought")?
• What are the Twelve Concepts, and why were they written?
• What changed between the four editions of the Big Book?
• What changed in A.A. between 1939 and 1950?
• What did Bill W. say about clubs and A.A.?
• What did early A.A. take from the Oxford Group, and why did it separate?
• What did the first members read before the Big Book existed?
• What do "selfishness—self-centeredness!" and "self-will run riot" mean in the Big Book?
• What do Steps 10 and 11 ask, day to day?
• What do Steps Six, Seven and Eight ask, and how much does the Big Book say about each?
• What do the last lines of the Big Book say ("suggestive only," "we know only a little," "the Road of Happy Destiny")?
• What does "absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self-knowledge" mean?
• What does "carry this message" mean — which message?
• What does "deep down in every man, woman, and child is the fundamental idea of God" say?
• What does "either God is everything or else He is nothing" mean in its place?
• What does "faith has to work twenty-four hours a day in and through us, or we perish" refer to?
• What does "half measures availed us nothing" mean in context?
• What does "like a tornado roaring his way through the lives of others" mean?
• What does "no outside affiliation" mean in practice?
• What does "pause, when agitated or doubtful" mean, and where is it?
• What does "Rarely have we seen a person fail" really say, and who does it say may not recover?
• What does "the spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it" refer to?
• What does "Thy will be done" mean in the Big Book?
• What does "We are people who normally would not mix" say?
• What does "willing to go to any length" refer to?
• What does Appendix V, "The Religious View on A.A.," say?
• What does Step 1 say? Powerless over what?
• What does Step Nine's "except when to do so would injure them or others" mean? (Do I tell my spouse about an affair?)
• What does Step Two ask: "came to believe" what?
• What does the Big Book mean by alcoholism as an illness?
• What does the Big Book say about amends that could cost you your job or put you in jail?
• What does the Big Book say about fear?
• What does the Big Book say about helping the drinker's family?
• What does the Big Book say about honesty?
• What does the Big Book say about money owed and creditors?
• What does the Big Book say about self-pity and jealousy?
• What does the Big Book say about sex?
• What does the Big Book say about tolerance?
• What does the Big Book say humility is?
• What does the Big Book say to employers?
• What does the Foreword to the First Edition say A.A. is for?
• What happened at the 1950 Cleveland convention?
• What happened at the St. Louis convention in 1955?
• What happened to Bill W. at Towns Hospital?
• What happens at an A.A. meeting?
• What happens to the family after the drinking stops?
• What if the person I'm helping doesn't want it?
• What is "a design for living that really works"?
• What is "Conference-approved" literature?
• What is "our real purpose" ("to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us")?
• What is "Rule 62"?
• What is "The Doctor's Opinion," and who wrote it?
• What is "the phenomenon of craving," and what is the "allergy"?
• What is a "dry drunk"? Is it in the Big Book?
• What is a "Twelfth Step call"?
• What is a group business meeting for?
• What is a GSR, a district and an area?
• What is a home group, and how do the Traditions guide it?
• What is in the Big Book's appendices, and when was each added?
• What is the "daily reprieve," and what is it "contingent on"?
• What is the "fourth dimension of existence"?
• What is the "pink cloud"? Is it in the Big Book?
• What is the "spiritual awakening" in Step 12?
• What is the "spiritual malady"?
• What is the "Thirteenth Step"?
• What is the A.A. Grapevine, and how did it start?
• What is the Long Form of the Traditions, and why read it instead of the short form?
• What is the only requirement for A.A. membership?
• What is the Right of Appeal, and why does the minority matter?
• What is the Seventh Step prayer, and where is it?
• What is the Third Step prayer, and where is it?
• What part did Carl Jung play in A.A.'s beginning?
• What was the Alcoholic Foundation?
• What was the Jack Alexander article (1941), and what did it do?
• What we read, and when each source was written
• What were the "Four Absolutes"? Are they in the Big Book?
• What were the "six steps" used before the Twelve Steps?
• What's the difference between open and closed meetings? Can family or friends come?
• When did Dr. Bob die, and what were his last words to A.A.?
• Where are "the Promises," and what do they promise?
• Where are the Traditions in the Big Book?
• Where are the Twelve Steps in the Big Book?
• Where can I read the Big Book free, from A.A. itself?
• Where did the Serenity Prayer come from in A.A.?
• Where does "cooperation but not affiliation" come from?
• Where does "I am responsible…" (the Responsibility Declaration) come from?
• Where does "singleness of purpose" come from? Is it in the Big Book?
• Where does the money in the Seventh Tradition basket go? Is there a limit on what one member can give?
• Where is "contempt prior to investigation," and who does the Big Book say said it?
• Where is "cunning, baffling, powerful," and what comes right after it?
• Where is "God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves," and what is it about?
• Where is "love and tolerance of others is our code"?
• Where is "resentment is the number one offender," and what does it mean?
• Which A.A. books are oldest, and why does the date matter?
• Who do I tell my Fifth Step to?
• Who has the final say in A.A.?
• Who is "Jim," and why the whiskey in the milk?
• Who is the "jaywalker" in the Big Book, and what is the story for?
• Who is the man who stayed sober twenty-five years and drank again (p. 32)?
• Who said "restless, irritable and discontented," and about what?
• Who was Anne Smith, Dr. Bob's wife?
• Who was Bill W.?
• Who was Dr. Bob?
• Who was Father Ed Dowling, and why is he in A.A.'s story?
• Who was Henrietta Seiberling?
• Who was Lois W., and what did she do in A.A.'s beginning?
• Who was Sister Ignatia, and what part did St. Thomas Hospital play?
• Who was the old school friend in "Bill's Story" (Ebby)?
• Who was the third member of A.A., and how was he found?
• Who wrote the Big Book's chapters, including "To Wives"?
• Why did early A.A. turn down Rockefeller money?
• Why do some meetings close with the Lord's Prayer?
• Why does the Big Book mention William James?
• Why is A.A. anonymous?
• Why is A.A.'s birthday June 10, 1935?
• Why was the Big Book written, and when?
• Why were the Twelve Traditions written?

Daily readings

One reading for every day of the year, on two tracks. The Daily Reflection pages are Recovery Einstein's Big Book perspective on each day's theme, with page citations. The Daily Tradition pages give one reading a day on the Twelve Traditions, one Tradition a month, grounded in the long form.

• Daily Reflection — Recovery Einstein's Big Book Perspective
• Today's Reflection
• Daily Reflection: January
• Daily Reflection: February
• Daily Reflection: March
• Daily Reflection: April
• Daily Reflection: May
• Daily Reflection: June
• Daily Reflection: July
• Daily Reflection: August
• Daily Reflection: September
• Daily Reflection: October
• Daily Reflection: November
• Daily Reflection: December
• Daily Traditions — One Reading a Day on A.A.'s 12 Traditions
• Today's Tradition
• Daily Tradition: January (Tradition 1)
• Daily Tradition: February (Tradition 2)
• Daily Tradition: March (Tradition 3)
• Daily Tradition: April (Tradition 4)
• Daily Tradition: May (Tradition 5)
• Daily Tradition: June (Tradition 6)
• Daily Tradition: July (Tradition 7)
• Daily Tradition: August (Tradition 8)
• Daily Tradition: September (Tradition 9)
• Daily Tradition: October (Tradition 10)
• Daily Tradition: November (Tradition 11)
• Daily Tradition: December (Tradition 12)