forward to the first edition

[BIG AL]

I was thinking of a topic and it i thought about the fiirst meeting me and my sponsor had a little over 5yrs ago.he opened the forward to the first edition in the big book and read the first paragrarh to me.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 alcholics precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book.for them,we hope these pages will prove so convincing that no further authentification will be necessary.This was was way back so by now we are probably in the millions i hope,but what this says to me is that if i do what is in the big book of alcoholics anonymous i will stay sober.i like also the word recovered not in recovery we have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.i tried everything but the steps to stay sober and until i did what the book says i was always a in a drunk.he also explained to me when i told him i didint beleive it would work. and he showed me in book were it said i dont have to beleive.all i have to beleive is that he beleivesw and do what book says and i will recover.i did it and here i am 5yrs 1 month.i hope this is good topic be blessed all

[admin]

I remember when I was reading through the Big Book my first time - lots of nodding because I could relate to everything that is in that book. Good thing we don't have to swallow it all at once and that we can take it piecemeal. Me, I want the whole pie and then some all at once even though I know I can't handle it. My eyes were always bigger than my stomach but thanks to AA I am getting better about that also. So much hope and promise I felt in reading that book. Promises that have come true for me by working it one day at a time. I love Page 164 - lots packed in a few paragraphs:

Still you may say: "But I will not have the benefit of contact with you who write this book." We cannot be sure. God will determine that, so you must remember that your real reliance is always upon Him. He will show you how to create the fellowship you crave.

Our book is meant to be suggestive only. We realize we know only a little. God will constantly disclose more to you and to us. Ask Him in your morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still sick. The answers will come, if your own house is in order. But obviously you cannot transmit something you haven't got. See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us.

Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.

May God bless you and keep you - until then.

Yep, thanks to AA, NA and other 12 step programs we all have a chance to recover and maintain it one day at a time if we are willing to go to any lengths to do so and work it with the help of God, the steps, sponsor and fellowship.

Thanks for picking a topic for us.

[francie21805]

I had a hard time understanding anything I read, at first. I guess you could say I detoxed in the rooms of A.A. And after about 10 years of isolated, 24/7 drinking it took a good while to understand a lot of things. But, the first part of the Big Book that really moved me was “A Vision for You”. I was ask to read the Big Book from the beginning to page 164 and at first I wasn’t sure if it was because I was done reading or if it was because I was beginning.

Thanks, I needed that.

[yukonm]

I am participating in a Big Book study and also found the forward to the first edition very inspiring. I found it very interesting that those first alcoholics considered themselves "recovered". As with all things, I suppose it was realized that we are never fully recovered and will never be free from the disease. I don't want to start analyzing because this program has proven that if followed thoroughly we can arrest the disease. Thanks for this topic.

[BIG AL]

bluidkiti,i love th fact that the ones who wrote the big book for us say that they know very little wow the humility that is displayed in that paragraph.and as we trudge the happy road of destiny i love that

[snugsnug]

Good morning, for me it has been like pulling eye teeth, or better yet walking on a broken foot.
All that weight and just dumb enough to not sit down, put my foot up and give myself a break.
I came into the rooms kicking and fighting, and have been known to act out on that behavior some still.
Even though I am an addict, I preferred drugs over alcohol, and yes I believe alcohol is a drug, I just can not identify with most alcoholics.
Don't know why. Thats not the issue here. But my point is NA got everything from AA except that first paragraph, and I have issues with that. Big issues, I feel I am getting better, a whole lot better, I took those suggestions everyone gave me and changed everything, from the inside out.
This is my stuff, thanks for letting me share
sterling

[Craig A.]

A real good topic. My sponsor started at the beginning also, he said it was important to read and understand like you said. Recovered not recoverying, just as you stated my sponsor focused on the same thing. The main purpose of this book ... and to show me that this book was written way back when and the first 164 pages has not been touched. I do the same thing today with my sponsee's, I know it is important to go to meetings but the blueprint for sobriety is in the big book, the stories are there so I can connect with my Higher Power. If I forget that I will be miserable for me to see that way back then people could barely make a meeting a week and they would sometime have to travel far I am ever more grateful for my sobriety and A.A. today. Thanks for letting me share!!!! Take care and God Bless!!!

[sioux]

It took five years of recovery before I would read the book. I read the 12 x 12, but the Big Book to me, at the time, was boring, archaic and sexist. Well, I wanted to rewrite the Lord's Prayer too back then.

It took me that long to get an open mind going on.

I am still a bigger fan of my 12, but I did come to love and appreciate the Big Book. Just when I figured out where things were in there, they went and updated it to the Fourth Edition, and I am finally letting go of that resentment.

Blessings and peace: Sioux

[tonyb]

When in treatment we had a Big Book meeting every week and the meeting was started with the forward of the first edition, we went on to read sections of the book and discuss their meanings to each of us.These discussions were really good although I had read the Big Book something new always came from these discussions.People who have read the Big Book several times have said each time they do they learn or gain something new.I dont think this book became the the starting point of many different fellowships without reason, "the theraputic value of one addict helping another is beyond measure".I dont question how, why or understand how it works, it does and thats enough.I've had a shakey couple of days thanks to this programme I am feeling better without it I'd be lost.The power of this fellowship is what keeps me safe so long as I follow these simple principles.I am eternally grateful any newcomers may you find serenity within the fellowship its here for all if you want it.Peace