Excerpted from Grapevine July 1955 Our Twelfth Step–carrying the message–is the basic service that the AA Fellowship gives; this is our principal aim and the main reason for our existence. Therefore, AA is more than a set of principles; it is a society of alcoholics in action. We must carry the message, else we ourselvesContinue reading “What is the Third Legacy – World Service It’s Heart – Grapevine Article May 2002 by Bill W.”
Category Archives: AA History
Freedom Under God: The Choice Is Ours – Grapevine Article November 1960 by Bill W
Part I. In its deeper sense AA is a quest for freedom–freedom under God. Of course the immediate object of our quest is sobriety–freedom from alcohol and from all its baleful consequences. Without this freedom, we have nothing at all. Paradoxically, though, we can achieve no liberation from the alcohol obsession until we become willingContinue reading “Freedom Under God: The Choice Is Ours – Grapevine Article November 1960 by Bill W”
Let’s Use Them Wisely – Grapevine Article September 2020 by Susan D.
“Nothing can matter more to the future welfare of AA than the manner in which we use this colossus of communication.” —Bill W., 1960Audio Player00:0000:00 I have had amazing experiences already within virtual AA meetings, and over time I’ve come to the conclusion that there is very little difference between those and physical meetings—something thatContinue reading “Let’s Use Them Wisely – Grapevine Article September 2020 by Susan D.”
Tenth Step Thoughts – Grapevine Article October 1962 by C.D.A.
Would AA’s Fourth Step have changed the ending of the famous old horror story? THREE-QUARTERS of a century ago, Fanny Stevenson, frightened in the night by her husband’s cries and moans, prodded him into wakefulness. In a dawning state of consciousness he was annoyed, and not for the usually mundane reason. Robert Louis Stevenson, whoContinue reading “Tenth Step Thoughts – Grapevine Article October 1962 by C.D.A.”
Squeezing Out the Sponge – Grapevine Article November 1962
“Slowly at first, then with sudden clarity, Dr. Bob began to understand. Bill had been able to control his drinking problem by the very means that Dr. Bob himself had been trying to use–but there was a difference. The spiritual approach was as useless as any other if you soaked it up like a spongeContinue reading “Squeezing Out the Sponge – Grapevine Article November 1962”
The Good Old Times – Grapevine Article June 1985 by Anonymous
SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I crawled back to AA after a slip lasting more than a year. Along with a deep thankfulness for being home again, I’ve occasionally experienced some irritation (perhaps a stab of false pride) on being told by another member, “I don’t have to drink again–you did it for me!” That slip broughtContinue reading “The Good Old Times – Grapevine Article June 1985 by Anonymous”
Another Prodigal Story – Big Book 1st Edition Story by Ralph F.
“HELLO, Pal.”“Hello, Buddy!”“Have a drink?”“Got one!”“Come over on the next stool I’m lonesome. Hell of a world.” “You said it, brother, – hell of a world.”“You taking rye? Mine’s gin. God, I’m up against it now!” “How’s ‘at?”“Oh, same old hell-hell-hell. She’s going to leave me now!” “Your wife?”“Yeah. How am I going to live?Continue reading “Another Prodigal Story – Big Book 1st Edition Story by Ralph F.”
Come On! Be Happy – Grapevine Article September 1967 by E.B.R. author of ‘He Who Loses His Life’ BB Story
This is the second article in the Grapevine’s new series by authors of the personal histories in the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. First published in 1939, a revised, enlarged Big Book was published in 1955. Now, twelve years later, the author of “He Who Loses His Life,” page 540 in the Revised Edition, looks backContinue reading “Come On! Be Happy – Grapevine Article September 1967 by E.B.R. author of ‘He Who Loses His Life’ BB Story”
In the Spirit – Not the Letter of Alcoholics Anonymous -Grapevine Article by Laurie A. January 2007
Love, not worship, for the Big Book My friends (and enemies) had diagnosed the problem–I could not drink without getting drunk. They weren’t telling me anything I didn’t know. And they offered no solution except, “Just don’t drink,” or, “Stop when you’ve had enough.” If I could have done that, I would have. I’d triedContinue reading “In the Spirit – Not the Letter of Alcoholics Anonymous -Grapevine Article by Laurie A. January 2007”
Privileged People – As Bill Sees It , Meditation #133
“I saw that I had been living too much alone, too much aloof from my fellows, and too deaf to that voice within. Instead of seeing myself as a simple agent bearing the message of experience, I had thought of myself as a founder of A.A. How much better it would have been had IContinue reading “Privileged People – As Bill Sees It , Meditation #133”