From the little red book: "The remorse that drinking brought filled us with kindly intent toward deserving friends and relatives but never allowed us to make permanent restitution. Resolutions and good intentions bolstered great faith within us during periods of sobriety, but being spiritually ill, we were unable to carry out our plans. Our 'dog house' existence was occasionally relieved by sane and thoughtful acts during sober moments only to be resumed upon the next drunk, until we lost faith in ourselves. We were strong willed in all matters except in our ability to control our drinking behavior; or our treatment of others." Page 34 Step Three