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“When the shadows of my past were placed in the light, I was thankful for the ‘design for living’ that the Twelve Steps provide. It helps me to handle the shock of who I was, who I am today, and who I want to be.”

“In the years ahead we shall, of course, make mistakes. Experience has taught us that we need have no fear of doing this, providing that we always remain willing to confess our faults and to correct them promptly.”

“It is very possible that I might not be the most suitable person to sponsor a particular new member. I might be unsuited by my personality, by my education (or lack of education) or by my profession. For the same reasons I might be just the one to sponsor someone else.”

“It seems to me that I achieve growth by leaving things out – when I don’t say the cross word, when I don’t answer sarcastically. If I can delay only one second, maybe two, I have time to ask myself, ‘Do I really want to say that?’”

“I need my home group to be a place where I can learn to practice the principles embodied in the Twelve Steps with other alcoholics. This sets in motion my willingness to practice these principles in all my affairs, including my home life.”

“The mind will often drift away into daydreams, but patiently we turn our attention back to the truth and the reality of existence and experience, all as it is happening right now.”

“My belief in a Higher Power is as strong as it was when I went to my first AA meeting and accepted the first and second Steps as simply and as trustfully as a child accepts its mother’s milk ... So what on earth was I looking for? I just don’t know. I guess I wanted a little Tinker Bell all my own to show me the right and only way out of every situation.”

“When it seems like love just isn’t enough, I remind myself that it is all I have to give beyond my experience, strength and hope.”

“Success and failure share a common denominator ... Both are temporary.”

“Faith is more than our greatest gift; its sharing with others is our greatest responsibility.”

“Excessive guilt or rebellion leads to spiritual poverty.”

“There are winners and whiners, and sometimes I seem to embody both. I am, as my friends remind me, a human being.”

“During his first AA years every AA has had plenty of the urge to revolt against authority. I know I did, and can’t claim to be over it yet. I’ve also served my time as a maker of rules, a regulator of other people’s conduct ... I can now look back upon such experiences with much amusement. And gratitude as well.”

“Spiritual growth and experiences are not limited to orthodox believers in a deity, any more than the disease of alcoholism is limited to skid-row bums.”

“I have discovered a new way to learn – by shutting my mouth and listening ... It’s not so much what I’m doing as what I’m not doing. I’m not talking. So I’m open; I’m teachable.”