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“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.”

“Though all alone out there, an AA from the Marshall Islands still claimed his group had three members, to wit: ‘God, the book Alcoholics Anonymous, and me.’”

“The inner energy that is love connects all the parts of us – our emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual selves.”

“One day, after sitting alone, soaked in tears and feeling empty, worthless, and crippled in the smallest task, I reached out and gave my phone number to someone else – they were hurting, too. In that simplest of acts, my world changed.”

“There has to be something to be grateful for if I am only willing to change my attitude and look for it.”

“Most of us do follow, in our personal lives, the Twelve suggested Steps to recovery ... We do this from choice. We prefer recovery to death. Then, little by little, we ... conform because we want to.”

“With the help of the Fellowship, the Twelve Steps, and a Higher Power ... I do not have to be a newcomer again.”

“I have made a determined effort to focus more on seeing myself as God sees me.”