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“If we can stop this frantic drive to prove that we are remarkable people, it is quite likely that we will settle down and really enjoy whatever life has to offer us.”

“Happiness is a by-product – the extra dividend of giving without any demand for a return.”

“When you’ve been lost, lonely, forgotten, rejected, it’s the most important thing in the world to have somebody shake your hand.”

“The simple act of getting in touch with AA that first time washed out in an instant the dark loneliness that had encompassed my life.”

“Neither God nor AA can help us if we are not open to help.”

“Life’s formidable array of pains and problems will require many different degrees of acceptance ... Sometimes, we have to find the right kind of acceptance for each day. Sometimes, we need to develop acceptance for what may come to pass tomorrow and, yet again, we shall have to accept a condition that may never change. Then, too, there frequently has to be a right and realistic acceptance of grievous flaws within ourselves and serious faults within those about us – defects that may not be fully remedied for years, if ever.”

“With a recovering alcoholic, action has to come before understanding and faith ... We have to act our way to right thinking, rather than the reverse.”

“I must continue to see my own kinship with whatever God is identifiable, just as relentlessly as I work to make each minute a sober one.”

“The alcoholic slip is not a symptom of a psychotic condition. There’s nothing screwy about it at all. The patient simply didn’t follow directions.”

“It has to be love, not government that keeps AA stuck together.”

“I accepted the invitation to go on a Twelfth Step call and I in turn was twelfth-stepped.”

“I am grateful for this minute. My eternity may be in it.”

“No one can express love and self-pity at the same moment; showing concern for others helps us to see how foolish we have been.”

“We cannot wholly rely on friends to solve all our difficulties. A good adviser will never do all our thinking for us. He knows that each final choice must be ours.”

“Our spiritual way of life is safe for future generations if, as a Society, we resist the temptation to receive money from the outside world. But this leaves us with a responsibility – one that every member ought to understand. We cannot skimp when the treasurer of our group passes the hat. Our groups, our areas, and AA as a whole will not function unless our services are sufficient and their bills are paid.”