What is A.A.?

History

A.A. began in Akron, Ohio in June 1935, when Bill Wilson, a New York stockbroker, met Dr. Bob Smith, an Akron surgeon. Both men had spent years struggling with alcohol. Wilson had recently achieved sobriety through a spiritual experience and realized that helping another person stay sober was the key to staying sober himself.

Their meeting marked the start of A.A. as it is known today. Dr. Bob's last drink, on June 10, 1935, is considered the founding date. The two men began working with other alcoholics, and the fellowship grew slowly through word of mouth.

In 1939, the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous — the book that would come to be called the Big Book — was published. It laid out the program's principles and collected the stories of early members. It remains the foundation text of A.A. and has been translated into dozens of languages.

The Twelve Steps

The Twelve Steps are the core of the program: a sequence of admissions, decisions, and actions that members work through, often with the help of a sponsor. The Steps are suggestions, not requirements. Members move through them at their own pace, and many return to earlier Steps repeatedly over years.

Read as a list they look like prescriptions; lived, they are slower and more personal.

1. 01We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. 02Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. 03Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. 04Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. 05Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. 06Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. 07Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. 08Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. 09Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. 10Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. 11Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him.
12. 12Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics.

How A.A. works

A.A. works through peer support and spiritual principles. The premise is that people who have lived inside an alcohol problem can understand and help others facing the same one. Four elements carry most of the weight.

Fellowship

Connection with others who understand the struggle with alcohol and can provide support and encouragement. The fellowship creates a sense of belonging that many people in recovery have never experienced.

Sponsorship

One-on-one guidance from a member further along in recovery. A sponsor offers personal support, step work guidance, and a relationship that often outlasts the meetings themselves.

Regular meetings

Consistent gatherings with others in recovery to share experience, strength, and hope. Meetings provide structure and accountability.

Service

Helping others — making coffee, chairing a meeting, sharing your story with a newcomer. Service strengthens one's own sobriety and gives recovery a daily purpose.

Meetings explained

Meetings are where the program meets the week. They follow loose formats but vary in tone, size, and focus. Each of the formats below has its own dedicated guide.

Open meetings

Anyone interested in A.A. can attend, including family, friends, and professionals. Open meetings help educate the public about alcoholism and the fellowship itself.

Closed meetings

Reserved for those who have a desire to stop drinking. Closed meetings give people struggling with alcohol a private space to share without an audience.

Speaker meetings

One or more members share their experience, strength, and hope with the group at length. Speaker meetings often inspire and orient newcomers.

Discussion meetings

Focused on group discussion around a particular topic, step, or piece of A.A. literature. The conversation is the meeting.

Big Book study

Members read and discuss passages from the basic text. Study meetings tend to be slower, closer, and built around the language of the program itself.

Core principles

A few principles underwrite the program's day-to-day shape. They are what keep A.A. unified without a central authority and accessible without a price tag.

Anonymity

Personal anonymity protects members and keeps the focus on the message, not the messenger. It also lets people from any walk of life participate equally.

Self-support

Groups support themselves through member contributions and decline outside donations. Independence is structural.

Non-professional

There is no professional class. Members help each other peer-to-peer, which is part of what makes the help feel earned.

Non-affiliated

A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization, or institution. Anyone can participate regardless of background.

Primary purpose

Stay sober and help other people with alcohol problems achieve sobriety. The narrow focus is the point.

Getting started

If you are considering A.A., the only step that matters is showing up to a meeting. You do not need to make any commitments or decide anything about your drinking beforehand. The desire to stop is enough, and that desire can take its time.

Here is what to expect the first time.

Welcome

You'll be greeted, but you don't have to speak if you don't want to.

No pressure

There's no obligation to commit to anything or share personal information.

Literature

You may be offered A.A. literature to help you learn about the program.

Phone numbers

Members often share contact information so support is reachable between meetings.

Questions

Ask before, during, or after — questions are welcome.

A.A. is a program of suggestions, not requirements. Take what works, leave the rest. Many people attend for weeks or months before deciding whether the program is for them.