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“We've all seen the new member who stays sober for a time, largely through sponsorship. Then maybe the sponsor gets drunk, and you know what usually happens. Left without a human prop, the new member gets drunk, too. He has been glorifying an individual, instead of following the program.

“Certainly, we need leaders, but we must regard them as the human agents of the Higher Power and not with undue adulation as individuals. The Fourth and Tenth Steps cannot be too strongly emphasized here, ‘Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves .... Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.’ There is your perfect antidote for halo-poisoning.”

“The five H's combine into a powerful formula for success. Starting with Hope, passing through Honesty into a gracious Humility, we become Human again, taking our rightful places in society and, by living a well rounded life, develop an integrated personality free of the stresses that urge us to drink. Finally, through Helpfulness we express gratitude and pass on to others some of the blessings we have enjoyed these recent weeks, months, years. Truly a Magic Formula for Continued Sobriety....”

“Through doing the Steps and receiving love from my AA family, my perception of life has changed. Once my thoughts changed, so did my actions, then, finally, the results.”

“As by some deep instinct, we AAs have known from the very beginning that we must never, no matter what the provocation, publicly take sides in any fight, even a worthy one.”

“I am not automatically entitled to succeed in everything, or, indeed, in anything. I am, thank God and AA, no longer a superior individual, but simply a sober individual. My Higher Power and I can take it from there, working together that I may do the best I am able to do and realize what talents I may have.”

“AA is not an ‘insiders’ kind of Fellowship, thanks to the efforts of hundreds of thousands of AAs worldwide. We'll help any drunk anywhere, any time.”

“I no longer pray to have my fear removed. Today, I pray that my love grows bigger than my fear and that my humility becomes greater than my shame.”

“On a daily basis I choose not to drink – or to fear, hate, be angry, or indulge in any other defect that’s raising its ugly head. They’re all there waiting, and when given a chance they charge into the center of my life and try to take over. But when I work Step Seven I find that my life is filled with good, and people actually like to be around me – something they never did in my drinking days.”

“If [AA] had turned out to be a government-financed project or a charitable branch of some church, my feelings about it could not have been so instantly warm and comfortable. The fact that it was just us drunks, paying our own way, lessened my shame at having to ask for help.”

“Thanks to my God, AA, and the Twelve Steps, sobriety has become the ‘easier, softer way’ for me.”

“I remember the anguish in the faces of loved ones when it seemed that their prayers for my recovery had failed. Then there was that glorious first memory of freedom, the rapture of not needing the crutch of alcohol -- the especial joys of self-forgiveness, the regeneration of hope, and the rebirth of faith. There was the bonus of self-respect, of forgiving and liking oneself as a whole person, in a whole family and a whole community.”

“I asked, ‘Is this AA?’ One man said, ‘Yes, but we ain’t got no women.’ I said, ‘You do now,’ and sat down on the couch in the front of the room.”

“Once the miracle of sobriety has been received ... Providence expects all of us to work and to grow -- to do our part in maintaining our blessings in full force. A perpetual miracle -- with no effort or responsibility on our part -- simply isn’t in the cards. We all understand that the price of both personal and group survival is willingness and sacrifice, vigilance and work.”

“My soul remained a mystery until my Higher Power settled inside me, appearing to me as a very real feeling of love and caring. Kindness slowly took precedence, and I became comfortable with the idea that I didn’t need a drink.”

“We made a lot of mistakes. On the basis of our mistakes, Bill W. put together the Twelve Traditions ... The early members brought us one Tradition at a time, in the long form -- for our group conscience and vote. We discussed each one, took out anything that we didn’t want, made amendments, and then voted. I consider the Twelve Traditions to be the foundation of AA. There were a great many other things that contributed to this foundation, but this was the first really progressive step for our Fellowship.”