Tuesday AA literature link - Do you and your group uphold the Traditions? A Traditions checklist to help you decide: Grapevine Traditions Checklist
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From our online AA literature study guide at AABookClub.org , Big Book topics for study, meditation or use with a sponsee. (For the origins of these topics, click here : AA Book Club - Big Book Topics ): Come, Suffer Uphill With the Rest of Us Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the process requires for its successful consummation. But we saw that it really worked in others, and we had come to believe in the hopelessness and futility of life as we had been living it. When, therefore, we were approached by those in whom the problem had been solved, there was nothing left for us but to pick up the simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet. (Page 25) Most alcoholics have to be pretty badly mangled before they really commence to solve their problems. (Page 43) If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it—then you are ready to take certain steps. At some of th
From William Schaberg's Writing The Big Book, Page 317-318: Getting Stories From Akron The Personal Stories section was supposed to make up at least half of the book, and with the majority of those recoveries living in Ohio, it was essential that they be written and sent to Bill as soon as possible so they could be added to the growing manuscript. By way of setting a good example, Bob Smith wrote his own story; however most of the Ohio members were simply not willing to take the time or make the effort to commit their recovery stories to paper... It is almost certain that [a] small handful of personally written stories were among the first sent off to Bill in late October 1938. But most of the Akron members just could not be moved; they had no intention of participating in the book project. "There was quite a bit of argument about [the stories] as I recall," Sue Smith Windows said, and Dorothy Snyder confirms this, claiming that the fall of 1938 was a "time of
Go to Any Lengths This phrase and similar ones show the dedication and sense of urgency needed for recovery through our program. Big Book: “If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it, then you are ready to take certain steps.” How It Works “If we haven’t the will to do this [make amends], we ask until it comes. Remember, it was agreed at the beginning we would go to any lengths for victory over alcohol. ” Page 76, Into Action (Steps 8 & 9) “Reminding ourselves that we have decided to go to any lengths to find a spiritual experience, we ask that we be given the strength and direction to do the right thing, no matter what the personal consequences may be.” Page 79, Into Action (Step 9) Related: "Our drinking has made us slow to pay. We must lose our fear of creditors no matter how far we have to go, for we are liable to drink if we are afraid to face them." Page 78, Into Action, Step
