The Big Book and Beyond One Sunday afternoon in Akron, Ohio, as our cofounders Bill W. and Dr. Bob were sitting in Dr. Bob’s living room, they began to count heads. It was the fall of 1937, two and a half years after Bill and Dr. Bob had met. According to their count, there wereContinue reading “Experience , Strength and Hope – Grapevine Article October 2003 by District 5, Area 52 Literature Work”
Category Archives: AA History
The Serenity Prayer – Grapevine Article January 1950
…it’s origins are traced… AT long last the mystery of the Serenity Prayer has been solved! We have learned who wrote it, when it was written and how it came to the attention of the early members of AA. We have learned, too, how it was originally written, a bit of information which should layContinue reading “The Serenity Prayer – Grapevine Article January 1950”
We Pay The Piper – Grapevine Article April 1982 by W.H.
Tradition 7 – Every AA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions A BIG WORD–emancipation. Whatever does it have to do with whether I put something in the basket at an AA meeting? Why do I have to put anything in the basket in the first place? Groups went out of their way,Continue reading “We Pay The Piper – Grapevine Article April 1982 by W.H.”
What’s Our Problem: Lack Of Power- Practice These Principles – Ray A.
As we start again our journey through the Big Book, it may be good to be reminded why the decision was made to begin the Big Book with the ’Doctor’s Opinion’. The explanation below relates why Bill came to believe it essential that this ‘new idea’ of alcoholism as an incurable, fatal, progressive disease beContinue reading “What’s Our Problem: Lack Of Power- Practice These Principles – Ray A.”
Dr. Bob The Fundamentals – In Retrospect – Grapevine Article September 1948
It is gratifying to feel that one belongs to and has a definite personal part in the work of a growing and spiritually prospering organization for the release of the alcoholics of mankind from a deadly enslavement. For me, there is double gratification in the realization that, more than thirteen years ago, an all-wise Providence,Continue reading “Dr. Bob The Fundamentals – In Retrospect – Grapevine Article September 1948”
Dr. Bob: A Tribute – Grapevine Article January 1951 by Bill W
Note – The section of this article in bold below may be a useful way of supplement to the section of the AA Big Book Chapter ’A Vision For You’ which recounts the humbling origins of A.A. and the essential beginning of one alcoholic helping another that is still its foundation. You can see thisContinue reading “Dr. Bob: A Tribute – Grapevine Article January 1951 by Bill W”
In Search Of Emotional Sobriety – Grapevine Article May 1989 by Anonymous
About a year ago I read an article written by Bill W. titled “The Next Frontier: Emotional Sobriety.” He wrote this article late in his AA recovery and it deals with that wonderfully terrifying realm–beyond not drinking. To me, it was the most powerful thing he ever wrote, along with the Big Book. It openedContinue reading “In Search Of Emotional Sobriety – Grapevine Article May 1989 by Anonymous”
How The Twelve Steps Were Born – Grapevine Article September 1962 by Bill W.
AT 17 William Street, Newark, New Jersey, Hank had an office which was the headquarters for a rapidly failing business. He also had a secretary named Ruth. The other assets consisted of a huge desk and some plush furniture. Each morning I traveled all the way from Brooklyn to Newark where, pacing up and downContinue reading “How The Twelve Steps Were Born – Grapevine Article September 1962 by Bill W.”
A Spoke In The Wheel – Grapevine Article March 1989 by G.H.
One Tuesday night a lonely confused woman named “Sara” walks through the doors of Alcoholics Anonymous. Sara feels alienated and depressed, feelings she has had most of her life. She is completely demoralized and knows she will never be accepted or feel loved by anyone again. But through all this despair she doesn’t want toContinue reading “A Spoke In The Wheel – Grapevine Article March 1989 by G.H.”
It Might Have Been the Time – Grapevine Article February 1950 by Lois (Bill W.‘s Wife and Al-Anon Founder )
I too needed spiritual development IT is hard to say just when Alcoholics Anonymous began. It may have been at the time a friend came to see my husband, Bill. Or it may have been at the moment of Bill’s spiritual experience. Most AAs feel it is the time six months later when he metContinue reading “It Might Have Been the Time – Grapevine Article February 1950 by Lois (Bill W.‘s Wife and Al-Anon Founder )”