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“At the beginning we sacrificed alcohol. We had to, or it would have killed us. But we couldn’t get rid of alcohol unless we made other sacrifices. Big shot-ism and phony thinking had to go. We had to toss self-justification, self-pity, and anger right out the window. We had to quit the crazy contest for personal prestige and big bank balances. We had to take personal responsibility for our sorry state and quit blaming others for it.”

“A coffeepot simmers on the kitchen stove, a hospital sobers the stricken sufferer, general headquarters broadcasts the AA message; our service lifelines span the seven seas. All these symbolize AA in action. For action is the magic word of Alcoholics Anonymous.”

“I’m learning to be a mother, a friend, a grandmother, and a sister. My friends are a close-knit support group, and they’re as near as the telephone.”

“When we love, we will see in others what we wish to see in ourselves.”

“Talking about what bothers me helps it lose its power over me.”

“We all know whose inventory we take in AA, right?”

“I can no longer use the illness of alcoholism as an excuse for anything. There is a catch, however. If I fail to use my recovery in service to others, I will become sick again.”

“Once the alcoholic understands the desirability of accepting reality, to the best of his ability and within the limits which we all have, he has taken a step toward maturity. The difference between the mentally healthy person and the unhealthy one is the ability to face the realities of life.”

“I pray that I will stay humble and not forget that I am just a drunk, sober today through the grace of God and the program of AA.”

“Open-mindedness seems to me a core spiritual principle of the program ... Without it I cannot change.”

“We can, through broken anonymity, resume our old and disastrous pursuit of personal power and prestige, public honors, and money -- the same implacable urges that when frustrated once caused us to drink; the same forces that are today ripping the globe apart at its seams.”

“When I was drinking, I was afraid I was not achieving my potential. Now that I’m sober, I worry that maybe I am.”

“The best way to appreciate AA is the same way you appreciate a stained-glass window: Look at it from the inside.”

“I number among my friends stars and lesser lights of stage and cinema; writers are my daily diet; I know the ladies and gentlemen of both political parties; I have been entertained in the White House; I have broken bread with kings and ministers and ambassadors; and I say, after that catalog ... that I would prefer an evening with my AA friends to any person or group or group of persons I have indicated.”

“To know yourself is not done just by reviewing your ‘misdeeds’; they are not you ... Your doubts, fears, and apprehensions, your immature cravings, your self-indulgence ... they are all committed by your physical body, guided by false instincts and imagination, instead of by your real self, which is the soul – the spirit within. That is where your conscience is, and your wisdom and your strength – which no one can hurt but you.”