If you take it, your past will be forgotten and the fact that you went away for treatment will not be mentioned. In case he does stumble, even once, you will have to decide whether to let him go. Being somewhat weakened, and faced with physical and mental readjustment to a life which knows no alcohol, he may overdo. The experiment of quitting for a period of time will be helpful, but we think we can render an even greater service to alcoholic sufferers and perhaps to the medical fraternity. Without embracing the literature, success in AA is difficult. I remember I felt irritated that I had to be a salesman for a concern I once owned. How heartbreaking was this discovery; how cruel to be told they understood our men as we did not! Long experience with alcoholic excuses naturally arouses suspicion. This is our twelfth suggestion: Carry this message to other alcoholics! Alcohol was my master. Our next thought is that you should never tell him what he must do about his drinking. Why sit with a long face in places where there is drinking, sighing about the good old days. My incredible behavior in the face of a desperate desire to stop was explained. Our friend proceeded to tell him. But our man is sure to be impressed with a sincere desire to set right the wrong. In our personal stories you will find a wide variation in the way each teller approaches and conceives of the Power which is greater than himself. From what you tell me, I know more than ever I cant stop. At this both the visitors burst into a laugh. Remember that we deal with alcohol cunning, baffling, powerful! As we felt new power flow in, as we enjoyed peace of mind, as we discovered we could face life successfully, as we became conscious of His presence, we began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow or the hereafter. Some of you are thinking: Yes, what you tell us is true, but it doesnt fully apply. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. If common words were not discarded, the 164 and More book would be 4 inches thick containing 1,700 pages. Well, so had I. He was very nervous in the morning after these bouts and quieted himself with more liquor. Therefore, you probably need fresh interests and a great cause to live for as much as your husband. If you desire to help it might be well to disregard your own drinking, or lack of it. In some cases it will, and in others it may not. If possible express a lack of hard feeling toward him. Then came the night when the physical and mental torture was so hellish I feared I would burst through my window, sash and all. If he did not work, he would surely drink again, and if he drank, he would surely die. Helping others is the foundation stone of your recovery. They see its significance everywhere. chapters. Big Book Study Edition (Softcover) This Big Book option is really great! But be sure you are on solid spiritual ground before you start and that your motive in going is thoroughly good. 1. He should realize that we are engaged upon a life-and-death errand. If you act upon these principles, your husband may stop or moderate. We ought to sit down with the family and frankly analyze the past as we now see it, being very careful not to criticize them. Sometimes we sensed dimly that we were dealing with sick men. Some of them rose out of ignorance of alcoholism. If a person has cancer all are sorry for him and no one is angry or hurt. In fact, he may say almost anything if he has accepted our solution which, as you know, demands rigorous honesty. It may mean the loss of many nights sleep, great interference with your pleasures, interruptions to your business. In the midst of an understanding and sympathetic family, these vagaries of dads spiritual infancy will quickly disappear. You can even train this bot to write the way you do. For example, we know of situations in which the alcoholic or his wife have had love affairs. We are in the world to play the role He assigns. If he shows interest, lend him your copy of this book. Big Book History and Myths, Arthur S. Page 4 The major changes to the Big Book editions have been in the selection of personal stories so that they represent a good cross-section of the AA membership. A pivotal decision was made in '95: "The first 164 pages of the Big Book, the Forwards, 'The Doctor's Opinion,' 'Doctor Bob's Nightmare,' and the Appendices [will] remain the same," which was not reversed during Advisory Actions in '97, '98, '99, and 2000, leading up to publication of the 4th Edition of the Big Book in 2001. To learn about how our 12-step friendly treatment program can support your recovery, please contact BoardPrep Recovery Center today at 866.796.4720. Sometimes he is a source of embarrassment to you and his friends. We must be entirely honest with somebody if we expect to live long or happily in this world. Some will moderate or stop altogether, and some will not. However, some of the stories after the first 164 pages have been updated and changed as time has passed. The faith and sincerity of both you and your husband will be put to the test. Your new courage, good nature and lack of self-consciousness will do wonders for you socially. The children are sometimes dominated by a pathetic hardness and cynicism. His sanity returned and he thanked God. On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. As fast as he can, he pushes these memories far inside himself. If he is already committed to an institution, but can convince you and your doctor that he means business, give him a chance to try our method, unless the doctor thinks his mental condition too abnormal or dangerous. The alcoholic may find it hard to re-establish friendly relations with his children. Everyone spent in thousands and chattered in millions. The problem is not the words, but the idea. I have since talked with scores of men who felt the same way. We say this because we are very anxious that we talk to the right person. Therefore, ask yourself on each occasion, Have I any good social, business, or personal reason for going to this place? Notice that the word fear is bracketed alongside the difficulties with Mr. Brown, Mrs. Jones, the employer, and the wife. The first 164 pages of the Big Book is the outline for recovery, which constitute the "program" of recovery. This means a new attitude and spirit all around. It would have been impressive heroics if he had walked up to the Judge and said, Here I am.. We are sure God wants us to be happy, joyous, and free. 164 and More - Big Book and 12&12 Concordance - Kindle edition by LLC, Recovery Press. One of these men, staff member of a world- renowned hospital, recently made this statement to some of us: What you say about the general hopelessness of the average alcoholics plight is, in my opinion, correct. Should he have the same consideration as other ailing employees? Before taking drastic action which might implicate other people we secure their consent. But am I to be consigned to a life where I shall be stupid, boring and glum, like some righteous people I see? Did not these feelings, after all, determine the course of our existence? How dark it is before the dawn! After two weeks of drinking, he had placed his toe on the trigger of a loaded shotgun- the barrel was in his mouth. If he says yes, does he really mean it, or down inside does he think he is fooling you, and that after rest and treatment he will be able to get away with a few drinks now and then? Paragraph numbers along side the text for easy reference. They may be jealous of a God who has stolen dads affections. To return to the subject matter of this book: It contains full suggestions by which the employee may solve his problem. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. To us it is not far- fetched, for this kind of thinking has been characteristic of every single one of us. An alcoholic in his cups is an unlovely creature. He might be shocked if he knew how much alcoholism is costing his organization a year. I had to concede both propositions. More and more we became interested in seeing what we could contribute to life. Among us are wives, relatives and friends whose problem has been solved, as well as some who have not yet found a happy solution. We stick to our own. There had been no real infidelity, for loyalty to my wife, helped at times by extreme drunkenness, kept me out of those scrapes. For three for four months the goose hung high. To some extent we have become God-conscious. We have sought sympathy. His ways of thinking and doing are the habits of years. Still another experience: A womans voice came faintly over long distance from Virginia. Common words are needed to keep the book to a reasonable size and an affordable cost. Others came near putting Galileo to death for his astronomical heresies. I was part of life at last, and in the midst of the excitement I discovered liquor. Perhaps the best way of treating you to a glimpse of your future will be to describe the growth of the fellowship among us. It was the usual situation: home in jeopardy, wife ill, children distracted, bills in arrears and standing damaged. FUN FACT: The word God individually appears 134 times within the first 164 pages of the book of Alcoholics Anonymous. They flatly declare that since they have come to believe in a Power greater than themselves, to take a certain attitude toward that Power, and to do certain simple things, there has been a revolutionary change in their way of living and thinking. If their old relationship is to be resumed it must be on a better basis, since the former did not work. When he renews interest in such things, a feeling of jealousy may arise. We went at once to the country, my wife to applaud while I started out to overtake Walter Hagen. They explained their need and inquired if she had a first class alcoholic prospect. It melted the icy intellectual mountain in whose shadow I had lived and shivered many years. This is the first step in recovery. Simply we tell him that we will never get over drinking until we have done our utmost to straighten out the past. You might suggest that you both take an interest in them. Talk about the conditions of body and mind which accompany it. Read the Preface to the Big Book. But why shouldnt we laugh? Or with the General Service Office of Alcoholics Anonymous. He attended church for the first time in many years. This Power has in each case accomplished the miraculous, the humanly impossible. When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when we put ourselves in Gods hands were better than anything we could have planned. My drinking assumed more serious proportions, continuing all day and almost every night. If we are planning to stop drinking, there must be no reservation of any kind, nor any lurking notion that someday we will be immune to alcohol. Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now. You will make mistakes, but if you are in earnest they will not drag you down. But obviously you cannot transmit something you havent got. In one of these there is a well-known hospital for the treatment of alcoholic and drug addiction. (1939) The authorities were much concerned. The best reason first: If we skip this vital step, we may not overcome drinking. But the head of the house has spent years in pulling down the structures of business, romance, friendship, health-these things are now ruined or damaged. How often have some of us begun to drink in this nonchalant way, and after the third or fourth, pounded on the bar and said to ourselves, For Gods sake, how did I ever get started again? Only to have that thought supplanted by Well, Ill stop with the sixth drink. Or Whats the use anyhow?. But the policy of this company is not to interfere with the habits of our employees. The only time the word "powerless" appears in the first 164 pages is in step one on page 58 in the chapter How it Works. If your husband is otherwise a normal individual, your chances are good at this stage. Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs. A business which takes no regular inventory usually goes broke. But you should not deprive your family or creditors of money they should have. - Centro - Jundia/SP | CEP: 13201-004 | (11) 4492-9020 (11) 4521-2163 e-mail: contato@sindigraficos.org Many of us have noticed a tendency to eat sweets and have found this practice beneficial. We are people who normally would not mix. It finally beat us into a state of reasonableness. Such a man would be crazy, wouldnt he? Asked why they commenced to drink again, they would reply with some silly excuse, or none. On the other hand, he may be mean, egotistical, selfish and dishonest. Discuss this with him when he is sober and in good spirits. As I drank, the old fierce determination to win came back. But that was over now. Here was the threat of commitment, the loss of family and position, to say nothing of that intense mental and physical suffering which drinking always caused him. The 12 traditions are as follows: 3 Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity. All men of faith have courage. It is important for him to realize that your attempt to pass this on to him plays a vital part in your own recovery. They expect him to give them the nice times they used to have before he drank so much, and to show his contrition for what they suffered. They want him to make a fuss over them. In one form or another we had been living by faith and little else. When they become too dangerous, we think the kind thing is to lock them up, but of course a good doctor should always be consulted. These members words are not necessarily in conjunction with the instruction pages. For a brief moment, I had needed and wanted God. Scales of pride and prejudice fell from my eyes. We know women who have done it. This is the how and why of it. Print a copy of the first side (print page 1 only), then reinsert it into the paper tray of your printer and print page 2. 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