Foreword to First Edition: Precise Instructions

TEXT (p. xiii): We, of Alcoholics Anonymous, are more than one hundred men and women who have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book.

THOUGHT: The fact that the Big Book provides precise instructions for how to recover from alcoholism is somewhat of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the presence of precise instructions should instill in me a certain sense of confidence that the instructions are in fact sound. On the other hand, the presence of precise instructions increases the likelihood that I will miss something if I don't pay attention or try to tackle recovery on my own without the help of someone who is familiar with the instructions.

PRAYER: Father, please enable me to set aside everything I think I know, for an open mind and a new experience; help me to see the truth about the precise instructions in the Big Book.

Preface to Fourth Edition: The Personal Stories

TEXT (p. xii): If you have a drinking problem, we hope that you may pause in reading one of the forty-two personal stories and think: "Yes, that happened to me"; or, more important,"Yes, I've felt like that"; or, most important, "Yes, I believe this program can work for me too."

THOUGHT: When I came to A.A. and heard others tell their stories, I was told to look for similarities rather than differences--"identify, don't criticize." I was told that if I was real alcoholic, then I likely suffered from "terminal uniqueness"--I could always come up with some reason why what you were telling me didn't apply to me. For a real alcoholic, that state of mind can be deadly when it comes to hearing the message of recovery in A.A.

PRAYER: Father, please enable me to set aside everything I think I know, for an open mind and a new experience; help me to see the truth about the personal stories I hear in A.A.

Preface to Fourth Edition: Our Basic Text

TEXT (p. xi): Because this book has become the basic text for our Society and has helped such large numbers of alcoholic men and women to recovery, there exists strong sentiment against any radical changes being made in it. Therefore, the first portion of this volume, describing the A.A. recovery program, has been left largely untouched in the course of revisions made for the second, third, and fourth editions.

THOUGHT: First, I am told that the Big Book is essentially our textbook. Like any other textbook, I should probably start at the beginning and work my way through to the end, stopping to do all the assignments and take all the tests as I go along. Second, I am told that the first portion of the Big Book, generally understood to encompass the first 164 pages, is where I will find the recovery program.

PRAYER: Father, please enable me to set aside everything I think I know, for an open mind and a new experience; help me to see the truth about our recovery program.

Title Page: The Circle and Triangle

TEXT: In earlier editions of the Big Book, the title page included the image of the circle and the triangle that we so often see around meetings.

THOUGHT: My sponsor had me draw the circle and triangle on the title page of the Big Book. He told me that if I was a real alcoholic, then I suffered from a three-fold illness: physical, mental, and spiritual. He told me that my recovery likewise depended on a three-fold solution that was embodied in the image of the circle and the triangle: (1) I was to bring my body to the meetings (Unity); (2) I was to bring my mind to the Steps (Recovery); and, (3) I was to channel my spirit to helping others (Service). Only if I was firmly grounded in all three parts of the program would I become whole--as symbolized by the circle.

PRAYER: Father, please enable me to set aside everything I think I know, for an open mind and a new experience; help me to see the Truth about Unity, Service, and Recovery.

Title Page: A Promise of Recovery

TEXT: The title page of the Big Book reads: "Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism."

THOUGHT: When I walked into the rooms of A.A. after my (God willing) last drunk, I was hopeless. I thought I had tried A.A. (repeatedly), but kept getting drunk. For some reason, God graced me with the willingness to try A.A. one more time. Later, I was to find out that I had in fact only tried those parts of the A.A. program that suited me and, as warned, those half-measures availed me nothing. Starting back at the title page of the Big Book, my new sponsor gave me new hope. In this book, I could find what I had been missing; I could recover.

PRAYER: Father, please enable me to set aside everything I think I know, for an open mind and a new experience; help me to see the truth about the program of recovery set forth in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.