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“It doesn’t matter too much how the transforming spiritual experience is brought about so long as one gets one that works ... Somehow the alcoholic must get enough objectivity about himself to abate his fears and collapse his false pride.”

“I can make any decision about my behavior and life, as long as I am prepared to deal with the consequences. I can decide to get drunk every night if I want to take the consequences ... Or I can decide to stay sober another day, and enjoy the consequences of that decision -- being able to deal realistically with another day in my life.”

“Until I understood and accepted my status as a human being, my effort toward seeking God was in vain.”

“Nothing improves if you drink.”

“More than a million of us who suffer from the disease of alcoholism have found not just the ability to live with or survive this insidious disease, but a joyful way of life as new as this morning and as old as mankind. We can gain sobriety, aspire to serenity, at no greater price than caring for our fellow sufferers and sharing with them what has been freely given to us. We can experience the true joy of love that we once tried to destroy by not giving it away, and we can learn the truth that the more we give away, the more we will have.”

“Summing up, I then inquired if those present had any objections to the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous as they stood. Hearing none, I offered the AA Traditions for adoption. Impressively unanimous, the crowd stood up. So ended that fine hour in which we of Alcoholics Anonymous took our destiny by the hand.”

“The program is a road, not a resting place.”

“The realization that I had experienced something spiritual was in itself a spiritual experience, and I am only slowly understanding its implications. What happened in the past, without my knowledge, is probably continuing now. And in the future, when tomorrow becomes today, it can go on and on. All that is required is a desire to stop drinking, and to stay stopped.”

“The unique ability of each AA to identify himself with, and bring recovery to, the newcomer in no way depends upon his learning, eloquence, or on any special individual skills. The only thing that matters is that he is an alcoholic who has found a key to sobriety.”

“Let today's troubles be sufficient to today.”

“Let us remember that great legion who still suffer from alcoholism and who are still without hope. Let us, at any cost or sacrifice, so improve our communication with all these that they may find what we have found – a new life of freedom under God.’”

“My recovery relies on the hands of many people being extended to me. The welcome I received was more than a word. It was a word followed by actions.”

“Life hasn’t been all smooth sailing, but because of AA, I no longer have to live in fear. I sleep at night ... I have a purpose in life.

“I believe the peace I get from an effective Tenth Step is what God feels like.”

“The more willing I become to admit it when I am wrong, the less often am I in the position of having to make such an admission.”