Healthy and Unhealthy Fear Overcoming our fear is not always a good thing. We ought to have feared drinking, suggests the Big Book, for we knew how much suffering and humiliation it had wrought. But we did not. We lacked “the kind of defense that keeps one from putting his hand on a hot stove”Continue reading “4th Step Fear Inventory – Practice These Principles by Ray A.”
Category Archives: Getting Started
Using the 11th Step / St. Francis Prayer
The Saint Francis Assisi Prayer, often used as an 11th Step Prayer in Alcoholics Anonymous, is an immensely popular and empowering prayer used in recovery. Anyone moving through recovery will eventually encounter the prayer and will get to work through its significance and impact on their spirituality, life, and outlook. If you’re just starting your recoveryContinue reading “Using the 11th Step / St. Francis Prayer”
We Never Give Up – Grapevine Article February 2020 by Alex M.
A man from Nepal reminds him that we don’t have the power to get people sober. We just hope and keep reaching out On a cold morning in February, I got a call from an AA friend who was working with a local ministry group that helped refugees and immigrants who had been given asylumContinue reading “We Never Give Up – Grapevine Article February 2020 by Alex M.”
Never The Same Again – As Bill Sees It #209
It was discovered that when one alcoholic had planted in the mind of another the true nature of his malady, that person could never be the same again. Following every spree, he would have to say to himself, “Maybe those A.A.’s were right.” After a few such experiences, often before the onset of extreme difficulties,Continue reading “Never The Same Again – As Bill Sees It #209”
A Gift That Surpasses Understanding – Grapevine Article by A Priest April 1970
The spiritual experience in AA is something quite apart from formal religion, says this priest Frequently around the AA program we hear a person say, “The spiritual side of the program is not for me” or “I don’t go for the spiritual bit. As long as I don’t drink, I’m satisfied. I leave the pie-in-the-skyContinue reading “A Gift That Surpasses Understanding – Grapevine Article by A Priest April 1970”
Denial: A Story In 3 Parts Grapevine Article May 2006 by Victoria P.
The thick wall finally cracks for this hard-drinking lawyer What It Was Like… These days, I don’t so much fall asleep as pass out. I go to work because my legal career is the Potemkin village of my denial. As long as I’m working, I’m not an alcoholic. I don’t think this, of course, becauseContinue reading “Denial: A Story In 3 Parts Grapevine Article May 2006 by Victoria P.”
Lone Endeavor – Big Book Story from the First Edition
This first edition story has been reprinted in the AA Book ‘Experience , Strength , and Hope’ beginning on page 140 As a mother looked idly through a small medical journal, an article written by a doctor on alcoholism caught her attention. Anything in reference to this subject was worthy of perusal, for her son,Continue reading “Lone Endeavor – Big Book Story from the First Edition”
Making Room To Grow – Grapevine Article June 1997 by Ron D.
“Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.” So reads Step Six. After the guilt and remorse of my last drunk had faded, I didn’t think this Step had any application in my life. Now that I was no longer drinking I wasn’t a bad person. Character defects? I couldn’t seeContinue reading “Making Room To Grow – Grapevine Article June 1997 by Ron D.”
How an Atheist Works the Steps – Grapevine Article March 2003 by June L.
Even the ones with “God” in them My life was in shambles, and I was desperate, Following a third botched suicide attempt, I was threatened with commitment to a mental hospital. Or I could call AA. I chose AA. But I was skeptical that it was the answer because I thought I was just crazy.Continue reading “How an Atheist Works the Steps – Grapevine Article March 2003 by June L.”
You And I Need Each Other – Grapevine Article May 1977 by E.S.
On sponsorship and the newcomer DEAR JOHN: I could almost begin this letter “Dear Newcomer.” The only problem with that is, I want you to know how close I feel to you at this moment in our lives. Watching new people grow renews my sobriety, I hope I never lose interest in the personal joyContinue reading “You And I Need Each Other – Grapevine Article May 1977 by E.S.”
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