The story of how many thousands of men and women have recovered from alcoholism, is a collection of texts used by members of the alcoholics anonymous fellowship. Outlining the steps and traditions that make aa famous, as well as numerous stories about recovering addicts who have been through the process, the big book has helped guide millions into a life of sobriety. In 1939, the year the book called alcoholics anonymous, but commonly referred to as the big book was published. The word broken down from greek is, a meaning without, and gnosis meaning knowledge. An introduction to the big book gatehouse sober community. The 164 and more book, ebook, and web site are all concordances which display passages from the big book alcoholics anonymous, the twelve steps and twelve traditions, and the a.
With no financial resources, big hopes were placed on sales of the big book. It has been 40 years since ernie kurtz wrote notgod, the last truly professional treatment of the history of alcoholics anonymous. The medical and scientific communities have many definitions when it comes to what exactly an alcoholic is. This is a fairly comprehensive index to the big book, the basic text of the fellowship of alcoholics anonymous. Big book index alcoholics anonymous books, software. Big book page 30, line 11 and what does aa say an alcoholic is.
Wilson, one of the founders of alcoholics anonymous aa. The role of acceptance in coping with alcohol addiction. Listen to chris raymer, a recovered alcoholic addict from texas, talk about the big book of a. Use this sobriety or clean date calculator to determine how long you have been clean and sober. Its from the 4th edition of alcoholics anonymous or the big book as it is widely known. The big book of alcoholics anonymous, also referred to as alcoholics anonymous. If when drinking alcohol do you find it difficult to stop. If you do not know the meaning of a word, just doubleclick left mouse button directly on the word and a dictionary will popup with its definition. A little ditty on the big book of alcoholics anonymous we agnostics. When the book was published in 1939 the aa fellowship was small and struggling. It also asserts that alcoholics have a mental obsession to drink coupled with a physical allergy to alcohol. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading alcoholics anonymous. Once an alcoholic always an alcoholic means that we will never gain the ability to drink.
While there is no formal aa definition of alcoholism, the majority of our members agree that, for most of us, it could be described as a physical compulsion. Ernest kurtz says this is the closest the book alcoholics anonymous comes to a definition of alcoholism. The story of how many thousands of men and women have recovered from alcoholism is the official book for the alcoholics anonymous fellowship and available for those at gatehouse sober community. Not associated with or connected to or related towith alcoholics anonymous, towith alcoholics anonymous world services inc this site does not represent alcoholics anonymous in any way shape or form. The first portion contains our 12step recovery program, the second portion contains fortytwo stories of men and women who have recovered from alcoholism. Justification in big book alcoholics anonymous, 12 steps. To many recovered alcoholics, this section of the big book is considered to be the most important as it describes alcoholism in terms that make sense to the real alcoholic. Home read the big book and twelve steps and twelve traditions alcoholics anonymous alcoholics anonymous this is the fourth edition of the big book, the basic text for alcoholics anonymous. The first thing we have learned about alcoholism is that it is one of the oldest problems in mans history. A little ditty on the big book of alcoholics anonymous.
From this description, the alcoholic learns the exact nature of the disease of alcoholism and. The definition is scattered through the literature, but a test is offered in the first paragraph of chapter 4. Click here to download are you an addict in mp3 format. Original aa members documented their experience in the big book. Makes no claims or statement of facts and in general is not responsible for the content and any ramifications thereof. It will, however, find all the forms of the word alcohol in their context. Alcoholics anonymous and the disease concept of alcoholism. In one excerpt from the big book of alcoholics anonymous, the mental obsession is described as being when alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against the first drink, meaning that willpower, consequences, emotional appeals of loved ones and any other hundreds of reasons that make sense not to drink or use will not keep the alcoholic or addict from drinking or. What is the definition of an alcoholic alcoholics anonymous.
Alcoholic addiction xxv or xxvii 1st edition the doctors opinion dr. The textreferenced definitions, simple phonic pronunciation guides, and page numbers for the included words make the big book much more palatable to both our younger and older members of alcoholics anonymous. It was mandatory to have such notice on each and every copy of the book. Aa big book aa big book taghere the foundation progress and principles washington temperance society of baltimore the missionary spirit alcoholism recovery 3rd edition 2nd edition alcohol allergy rehabilitation of alcoholics dr. A man of thirty was doing a great deal of spree drinking. The big book of alcoholics anonymous and twelve step programs across the world have helped millions of people recover from addictions. The closest the book alcoholics anonymous comes to a definition of. By chris freeman in my previous story, breaking the barriers to recovery by letting go of old ideas. The introduction delves into what the solution is for alcoholics and drug addicts by examining the chapter out of the big book of a. These members realized a 72% success rate from 19341938 died sober using this spiritual program of action. See our study edition for a far more comprehensive index in book form. The big book serves as the foundation for the alcoholics anonymous 12step program, the worlds largest alcoholism support group.
Just like, not all people that eat too much fat in their diets have heart disease or have an eating disorcer not all people who drink too much, or get in trouble while drinking are alcoholic. I spoke of the letting go process, the letting go of an old idea that seemingly forever held me in its grip. Big book dictionary alcoholics anonymous aa dictionary. Hi leggs, the big book talks about alibis, excuses insane behavoir, but does not go into a lot of detail about specific triggers. Potential female alcoholics often turninto the real thing and aregone beyond recall in a few years. Questions and answers from the alcoholics anonymous big book. The book is designed to be a basic treatise on how to recover from alcoholism. To me, recovered means cured, and if im cured, i can drink socially and not get drunk. Sorting and rendering passages in the proprietary format of the 164 and more concordance does not in any way imply affiliation with or endorsement by either alcoholics. Insanity in big book alcoholics anonymous, 12 steps and 12. The big book of alcoholics anonymous verywell mind. Because of this, the search will not answer how many times is alcohol used in the big book.
The popular title for the multiauthored book, alcoholics anonymous, first published in 1939 and periodically updated, which contains personal stories and testimonials from alcoholics and which laid out the original 12step program to recovery. I am a big book enthusiast and enjoy discussion about what is in the big book of alcoholics anonymous. How do 12 step fellowships define addiction and alcoholism. Institute on drug abuse define alcoholism as, like other substance addictions. About alcoholism alcoholics anonymous great britain. The book alcoholics anonymous, affectionately known by members as the big book, is the textbook for our society. Understanding the difference between the real alcoholic or addict. Doctors today, for example, know a great deal more about alcoholism than their predecessors knew only two generations ago. Our acceptance of the doctors hypothesis is based on over 60 years of successful treatment founded on this model of alcoholism, coupled with the program of action outlined in this book. Even a stamp loan copy could not legally replace the requested notice. The book alcoholics anonymous, affectionately known by members as the big book, is the textbook for the original 12step recovery program now known by the same name. Certain drinkers, who would be greatly insulted if called alcoholics, are astonished at their inability to stop. Because the book alcoholics anonymous has helped more alcoholics to discover that they were indeed an alcoholic ill start first, with a workable a.
Mindfulness and acceptance in alcoholics anonymous. Spiritual experience the terms spiritual experience and spiritual awakening are used many times in this book which, upon careful reading, shows that the personality change suf. The main object of the big book alcoholics anonymous. The big book holds within it the central thesis and ideas of alcohol anonymous and the 12 step approach. People tend to use atheist and agnostic as the same thing but they are not.
It is a jokey reference that goes back to aas humble beginnings. Whatever the precise definition of the word may be. While there is no formal aa definition of alcoholism, most of us agree that, for us. The technical definition of alcoholic is someone who abuses alcohol. In truth, stating someone is an alcoholic is more of a circumstance than it is a scientifically explained fact. The story of how many thousands of men and women have recovered from alcoholism is often referred to in alcoholics anonymous meetings aa as the big book. It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. In one excerpt from the big book of alcoholics anonymous, the mental obsession is described as being when alcoholic at certain times has no. Big book definition of big book by medical dictionary. Only recently have we begun to benefit from new approaches to the problem. Alcoholic selftest using the big book of aa alcoholic and alcoholic selftest. Alcoholics anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who.
When i read the descriptions of what an alcoholic is in the big book i have yet to find any reference that and an unmanageable life has anything to do with whether or not a person is alcoholic or non alcoholic. Arranged into sections alphabetically, includes both keyword and subject references. The story of how many thousands of men and women have recovered from alcoholism generally known as the big book because of the thickness of the paper used in the first edition is a 1939 basic text, describing how to recover from alcoholism, primarily written by william g. Of the inner meaning of alcoholism there is hardly a word. Websters defines an alcoholic as a person who is dependent on alcohol. If not drinking alcohol, do you experience difficulty in leaving. The big book of alcoholics anonymous describes alcoholism as a disease of. The little big book dictionary includes over 2,200 of the most difficult words, terms, and phrases found in the big book.
92 939 1545 1271 1522 1118 329 713 401 1444 388 69 1137 746 639 221 378 463 309 119 960 1425 796 190 7 1301 25 520 757 390 400 601 1124 364 736 543 972 615 15 655