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“Spirituality for me is not a question of feeling good (though feeling good is a feeling I like a whole lot). Instead it is a matter of finding from prayer and meditation, from other people, from meetings -- in short, from all the ‘tools of recovery’ -- the power to do what is good, what is healthy, what brings joy and healing to myself and others.”

“Spirituality for me is not a question of feeling good (though feeling good is a feeling I like a whole lot). Instead it is a matter of finding from prayer and meditation, from other people, from meetings -- in short, from all the ‘tools of recovery’ -- the power to do what is good, what is healthy, what brings joy and healing to myself and others.”

“Thelma told me that, no matter how much I feared making bad decisions, I could not learn how to make good decisions except by making decisions. ‘You’ll make mistakes,’ she said, ‘We all do. You will make some bad decisions before you learn how to make good ones. But what is true about good decisions is also true about bad ones: You will always learn from the consequences.’”

“Thelma told me that, no matter how much I feared making bad decisions, I could not learn how to make good decisions except by making decisions. ‘You’ll make mistakes,’ she said, ‘We all do. You will make some bad decisions before you learn how to make good ones. But what is true about good decisions is also true about bad ones: You will always learn from the consequences.’”

“The group I joined saved my life ... For an hour, I was safe. For an hour, I had a haven among those whose fear had once been as great as my own. I did not give my fear away – they took it. They eased it from my grasp with hugs and laughter, with shared experience.”

“The group I joined saved my life ... For an hour, I was safe. For an hour, I had a haven among those whose fear had once been as great as my own. I did not give my fear away – they took it. They eased it from my grasp with hugs and laughter, with shared experience.”

"The group I joined saved my life ... For an hour, I was safe. For an hour, I had a haven among those whose fear had once been as great as my own. I did not give my fear away – they took it. They eased it from my grasp with hugs and laughter, with shared experience."

“I have learned to keep quiet when I disagree and to give others freedom to express opinions widely different from my own -- without giving in to the urge to enlighten them. I am grateful for all the voices of AA.”

“I have learned to keep quiet when I disagree and to give others freedom to express opinions widely different from my own -- without giving in to the urge to enlighten them. I am grateful for all the voices of AA.”

“Often in the past, my prayers for help have been answered in ways that I have not recognized as answers. Indeed, I have cursed my fate instead of thanking God.”

“Ours is a Fellowship of suggestions and not demands. In my thirty-five years, I have found answers for me but have not acquired the ability to live another person’s life.”

"Often in the past, my prayers for help have been answered in ways that I have not recognized as answers. Indeed, I have cursed my fate instead of thanking God."

"Ours is a Fellowship of suggestions and not demands. In my 35 years, I have found answers for me but have not acquired the ability to live another person's life."

“‘Historians may one day point to Alcoholics Anonymous as a society which did far more than achieve a considerable measure of success with alcoholism and its stigma; they may recognize Alcoholics Anonymous to have been a great venture in social pioneering which forged a new instrument for social action, a new therapy based on the kinship of common suffering, one having vast potential for the myriad other ills of mankind.’”

“‘Historians may one day point to Alcoholics Anonymous as a society which did far more than achieve a considerable measure of success with alcoholism and its stigma; they may recognize Alcoholics Anonymous to have been a great venture in social pioneering which forged a new instrument for social action, a new therapy based on the kinship of common suffering, one having vast potential for the myriad other ills of mankind.’”