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From the books  ...  Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book) and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (12 & 12)


Click the page number or the book cover icon    to view that page in the literature.


1.
  ... drinking.  BB Foreword to First Edition, p.xiv
The only requirement for membership is an honest desire to stop drinking.


2.
  ... drinking.  BB The Doctor's Opinion, p.xxx
He plans various ways of drinking.


3.
  ... drinking.  BB There Is A Solution, p.20
You may already have asked yourself why it is that all of us became so very ill from drinking.


4.
  ... drinking.  BB There Is A Solution, p.21
He does absurd, incredible, tragic things while drinking.


5.
  ... drinking.  BB More About Alcoholism, p.30
We alcoholics are men and women who have lost the ability to control our drinking.


6.
  ... drinking.  BB More About Alcoholism, p.31
Step over to the nearest barroom and try some controlled drinking.


7.
  ... drinking.  BB More About Alcoholism, p.32
Though there is no way of proving it, we believe that early in our drinking careers most of us could have stopped drinking.


8.
  ... drinking.  BB More About Alcoholism, p.32
A man of thirty was doing a great deal of spree drinking.


9.
  ... drinking.  BB More About Alcoholism, p.35
His family was re-assembled, and he began to work as a salesman for the business he had lost through drinking.


10.
  ... drinking.  BB More About Alcoholism, p.36
I had no intention of drinking.


11.
  ... drinking.  BB More About Alcoholism, p.36
Still no thought of drinking.


12.
  ... drinking.  BB Into Action, p.72
The best reason first: If we skip this vital step, we may not overcome drinking.


13.
  ... drinking.  BB Into Action, p.73
He is under constant fear and tension -- that makes for more drinking.


14.
  ... drinking.  BB Working With Others, p.91
After a while, turn the talk to some phase of drinking.


15.
  ... drinking.  BB To Wives, p.109
He often gets entirely out of hand when drinking.


16.
  ... drinking.  BB To Wives, p.110
He enjoys drinking.


17.
  ... drinking.  BB To Wives, p.111
Our next thought is that you should never tell him what he must do about his drinking.


18.
  ... drinking.  BB To Wives, p.115
Unless they actually need protection from their father, it is best not to take sides in any argument he has with them while drinking.


19.
  ... drinking.  BB To Wives, p.116
We thought, on the whole, we were pretty good women, capable of being nicer if our husbands stopped drinking.


20.
  ... drinking.  BB The Family Afterward, p.134
Their young minds were impressionable while he was drinking.


21.
  ... drinking.  BB To Employers, p.138
But I'm sure this man is done drinking.


22.
  ... drinking.  BB To Employers, p.139
Whenever you want to, you control your drinking.


23.
  ... drinking.  BB To Employers, p.141
This is not to say that all alcoholics are honest and upright when not drinking.


24.
  ... drinking.  BB To Employers, p.148
He remarked: "I'm mighty glad you fellows got over your drinking.


25.
  ... drinking.  BB A Vision For You, p.151
But not so with us in those last days of heavy drinking.


26.
  ... drinking.  BB A Vision For You, p.155
He had, of course, the familiar alcoholic obsession that few knew of his drinking.


27.
  ... drinking.  BB A Vision For You, p.156
He found himself surprisingly well received, and learned that many knew of his drinking.


28.
  ... drinking.  BB A Vision For You, p.156
Goes off his head completely when he's drinking.


29.
  ... drinking.  BB Doctor Bob's Nightmare, p.175
Therefore it would make no great difference, even if I should do some drinking.


30.
  ... drinking.  BB Appendix I, The A.A. Tradition, p.562
Three -- The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.


31.
  ... drinking."  12&12 Contents (Tradition Three), p.10
Tradition Three -- "The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking."


32.
  ... drinking.  12&12 Step Four, p.44
Alcoholics especially should be able to see that instinct run wild in themselves is the underlying cause of their destructive drinking.


33.
  ... drinking.  12&12 Step Four, p.45
We shall claim that our serious character defects, if we think we have any at all, have been caused chiefly by excessive drinking.


34.
  ... drinking.  12&12 Step Eight, p.79
Our reputations hadn't suffered, because we were certain few knew of our drinking.


35.
  ... drinking.  12&12 Step Nine, pp.83-84
After coming from our first meeting, or perhaps after we have finished reading the book "Alcoholics Anonymous," we usually want to sit down with some member of the family and readily admit the damage we have done by our drinking.


36.
  ... drinking."  12&12 Tradition Three, p.139
"The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking."


37.
  ... drinking."  12&12 Tradition Three, p.144
He read aloud, "The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking."


38.
  ... drinking.  Grapevine Preamble
The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.


39.
  ... drinking abruptly.  BB Doctor Bob's Nightmare, p.179
I had a couple of shorter talks with this man afterward, and stopped drinking abruptly.


40.
  ... drinking again.  BB Foreword to Second Edition, p.xvi
The broker had gone to Akron on a business venture which had collapsed, leaving him greatly in fear that he might start drinking again.


41.
  ... drinking again, and all would be lost ...  BB Into Action, p.80
He saw that he had to place the outcome in God's hands or he would soon start drinking again, and all would be lost anyhow.


42.
  ... drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.31
Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums -- we could increase the list ad infinitum.


43.
  ... drinking altogether.  BB More About Alcoholism, p.39
He made up his mind to quit drinking altogether.


44.
  ... drinking always caused him.  BB More About Alcoholism, p.36
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.


45.
  ... drinking and abuse if he really wants ...  BB To Wives, p.108
Especially when he has before him a way to stop his drinking and abuse if he really wants to pay the price.


46.
  ... drinking and alcoholism.  12&12 Step Two, p.33
They are abetted in this blindness by a world which does not understand the difference between sane drinking and alcoholism.


47.
  ... drinking, and for all kinds of crazy ...  12&12 Step Four, p.46
For most of us, self-justification was the maker of excuses; excuses, of course, for drinking, and for all kinds of crazy and damaging conduct.


48.
  ... drinking and his failure at life; that ...  12&12 Step Four, p.50
By now the newcomer has probably arrived at the following conclusions: that his character defects, representing instincts gone astray, have been the primary cause of his drinking and his failure at life; that unless he is now willing to work hard at the elimination of the worst of these defects, both sobriety and peace of mind will still elude him; that all the faulty foundation of his life will have to be torn out and built anew on bedrock.


49.
  ... drinking, and I was forty pounds under ...  BB Bill's Story, p.7
I could eat little or nothing when drinking, and I was forty pounds under weight.


50.
  ... drinking, and no human being could seem ...  12&12 Step Six, p.63
I simply couldn't stop drinking, and no human being could seem to do the job for me.


51.
  ... drinking and padding my expense account -- self ...  BB How It Works, p.65
My employer -- unreasonable, unjust, overbearing; threatens to fire me for drinking and padding my expense account -- self esteem (fear); security.


52.
  ... drinking, and that it must stop.  BB To Employers, p.141
State that you know about his drinking, and that it must stop.


53.
  ... drinking, and then by an allergy of ...  12&12 Step One, p.22
The tyrant alcohol wielded a double-edged sword over us: first we were smitten by an insane urge that condemned us to go on drinking, and then by an allergy of the body that insured we would ultimately destroy ourselves in the process.


54.
  ... drinking and used a great deal more ...  BB Doctor Bob's Nightmare, p.174
This had little effect however for I kept on drinking and used a great deal more hard liquor than in former years.


55.
  ... drinking, and very seldom did I receive ...  BB Doctor Bob's Nightmare, p.176
During the subsequent fifteen years I had sense enough never to go to the hospital if I had been drinking, and very seldom did I receive patients.


56.
  ... drinking and we certainly do not intend ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.38
We have not lost everything in life through drinking and we certainly do not intend to.


57.
  ... drinking, and who have been most affected ...  12&12 Step Nine, p.84
We shall at once think of a few people who know all about our drinking, and who have been most affected by it.


58.
  ... drinking and you want to help him, ...  BB To Employers, p.141
He wants to quit drinking and you want to help him, even if it be only a matter of good business.


59.
  ... drinking any good, for not one drinker ...  BB Working With Others, p.103
We would not even do the cause of temperate drinking any good, for not one drinker in a thousand likes to be told anything about alcohol by one who hates it.


60.
  ... drinking, are miracles of mental health.  BB The Family Afterward, p.133
We, who have recovered from serious drinking, are miracles of mental health.


61.
  ... drinking as an institution.  BB Working With Others, p.103
We are careful never to show intolerance or hatred of drinking as an institution.


62.
  ... drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics.  BB Working With Others, p.89
Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics.


63.
  ... drinking assumed more serious proportions, continuing all ...  BB Bill's Story, p.3
My drinking assumed more serious proportions, continuing all day and almost every night.


64.
  ... drinking at least a case and a ...  BB Doctor Bob's Nightmare, p.177
It was not long before I was drinking at least a case and a half a day.


65.
  ... drinking, bearing in mind meanwhile what we ...  12&12 Step One, p.23
Why don't you try some more controlled drinking, bearing in mind meanwhile what we have told you about alcoholism?"


66.
  ... drinking became so much worse that the ...  BB Doctor Bob's Nightmare, p.174
There my drinking became so much worse that the boys in the fraternity house where I lived felt forced to send for my father, who made a long journey in the vain endeavor to get me straightened around.


67.
  ... Drinking beer only, limiting the number of ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.31
Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums -- we could increase the list ad infinitum.


68.
  ... drinking before your fire.  BB To Wives, p.110
You have passed happy evenings together chatting and drinking before your fire.


69.
  ... drinking behavior which our friends probably know ...  12&12 Step Five, p.55
Then, for good measure, we add dramatic descriptions of that part of our drinking behavior which our friends probably know about anyhow.


70.
  ... drinking both gin and sedative.  BB Bill's Story, p.7
Next day found me drinking both gin and sedative.


71.
  ... drinking bout.  BB Working With Others, p.90
They should wait for the end of his next drinking bout.


72.
  ... drinking bout creates.  BB There Is A Solution, p.23
Sometimes these excuses have a certain plausibility, but none of them really makes sense in the light of the havoc an alcoholic's drinking bout creates.


73.
  ... drinking bouts and tells you he wants ...  BB To Wives, p.109
He is remorseful after serious drinking bouts and tells you he wants to stop.


74.
  ... drinking can do the right-about-face and drink ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.31
If anyone who is showing inability to control his drinking can do the right-about-face and drink like a gentleman, our hats are off to him.


75.
  ... drinking can dream of taking.  12&12 Step One, p.24
For practicing A.A.'s remaining eleven Steps means the adoption of attitudes and actions that almost no alcoholic who is still drinking can dream of taking.


76.
  ... drinking career he begins to lose all ...  BB There Is A Solution, p.21
He may start off as a moderate drinker; he may or may not become a continuous hard drinker; but at some stage of his drinking career he begins to lose all control of his liquor consumption, once he starts to drink.


77.
  ... drinking career of almost every alcoholic has ...  BB The Family Afterward, p.123
Now and then the family will be plagued by spectres from the past, for the drinking career of almost every alcoholic has been marked by escapades, funny, humiliating, shameful or tragic.


78.
  ... drinking career up to the time you ...  BB Working With Others, p.91
If he is not communicative, give him a sketch of your drinking career up to the time you quit.


79.
  ... drinking careers.  12&12 Step Twelve, p.122
These were reefs upon which many of us came to shipwreck during our drinking careers.


80.
  ... drinking careers have been characterized by countless ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.30
Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people.


81.
  ... drinking careers most of us could have ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.32
Though there is no way of proving it, we believe that early in our drinking careers most of us could have stopped drinking.


82.
  ... drinking caught up with me again and ...  BB Bill's Story, p.4
But drinking caught up with me again and my generous friend had to let me go.


83.
  ... Drinking cold small beer. A good soldier ...  BB Bill's Story, p.1
"Here lies a Hampshire Grenadier Who caught his death Drinking cold small beer. A good soldier is ne'er forgot Whether he dieth by musket Or by pot."


84.
  ... drinking days.  12&12 Step Four, p.46
First off, they can be told that the majority of A.A. members have suffered severely from self-justification during their drinking days.


85.
  ... drinking does complicate sex relations in the ...  BB Into Action, p.81
But drinking does complicate sex relations in the home.


86.
  ... drinking, don't waste time trying to persuade ...  BB Working With Others, p.90
If he does not want to stop drinking, don't waste time trying to persuade him.


87.
  ... drinking during business hours, drinking only at ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.31
Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums -- we could increase the list ad infinitum.


88.
  ... drinking even then was no mere habit, ...  12&12 Step One, p.23
By going back in our own drinking histories, we could show that years before we realized it we were out of control, that our drinking even then was no mere habit, that it was indeed the beginning of a fatal progression.


89.
  ... drinking, even with your own parents.  BB To Wives, p.114
You avoid the subject of drinking, even with your own parents.


90.
  ... drinking every day and every night.  BB Bill's Story, p.3
Golf permitted drinking every day and every night.


91.
  ... drinking experience you can be uniquely useful ...  BB Working With Others, p.89
Ministers and doctors are competent and you can learn much from them if you wish, but it happens that because of your own drinking experience you can be uniquely useful to other alcoholics.


92.
  ... drinking experiences.  BB A Vision For You, p.157
For an hour, the two friends told him about their drinking experiences.


93.
  ... drinking experiences and recoveries.  12&12 Foreword, p.17
The remainder of the book was devoted to thirty stories or case histories in which the alcoholics described their drinking experiences and recoveries.


94.
  ... drinking exploits.  BB To Employers, p.145
One instance comes to mind in which a malicious individual was always making friendly little jokes about an alcoholic's drinking exploits.


95.
  ... drinking foolishly and heavily at the present ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.39
That may be true of certain nonalcoholic people who, though drinking foolishly and heavily at the present time, are able to stop or moderate, because their brains and bodies have not been damaged as ours were.


96.
  ... drinking for a few months, you may ...  BB To Employers, p.146
After your man has gone along without drinking for a few months, you may be able to make use of his services with other employees who are giving you the alcoholic run-around -- provided, of course, they are willing to have a third party in the picture.


97.
  ... drinking for a while, making several trips ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.32
He tried to regulate his drinking for a while, making several trips to the hospital meantime.


98.
  ... drinking for good.  BB To Wives, p.112
But after his next binge, ask him if he would really like to get over drinking for good.


99.
  ... drinking, for he may be angry.  BB To Wives, p.113
But don't remind him of this after he has been drinking, for he may be angry.


100.
  ... drinking for long.  BB A Vision For You, p.155
When our friend related his experience, the man agreed that no amount of will power he might muster could stop his drinking for long.


101.
  ... drinking, for obviously this is the crux ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.35
So we shall describe some of the mental states that precede a relapse into drinking, for obviously this is the crux of the problem.


102.
  ... drinking forever.  BB To Wives, p.105
Our men have sworn great solemn oaths that they were through drinking forever.


103.
  ... drinking forever.  BB To Wives, p.116
It may convince your husband he wants to stop drinking forever.


104.
  ... drinking forever?  BB To Employers, p.142
Will he take every necessary step, submit to anything to get well, to stop drinking forever?


105.
  ... drinking fraternity, but not in the eyes ...  BB Doctor Bob's Nightmare, p.172
I was graduated "summa cum laude" in the eyes of the drinking fraternity, but not in the eyes of the Dean.


106.
  ... drinking game, commence to describe yourself as ...  BB Working With Others, p.91
When he sees you know all about the drinking game, commence to describe yourself as an alcoholic.


107.
  ... drinking got bad and people began to ...  12&12 Step Five, p.57
Even before our drinking got bad and people began to cut us off, nearly all of us suffered the feeling that we didn't quite belong.


108.
  ... drinking habits.  12&12 Tradition Ten, p.178
Maybe the society could have survived the abolition controversy, but it didn't have a chance from the moment it determined to reform America's drinking habits.


109.
  ... drinking habits, symptoms, and experiences to encourage ...  BB Working With Others, p.91
Tell him enough about your drinking habits, symptoms, and experiences to encourage him to speak of himself.


110.
  ... drinking had become much worse, money was ...  12&12 Step Twelve, p.120
When our drinking had become much worse, money was only an urgent requirement which could supply us with the next drink and the temporary comfort of oblivion it brought.


111.
  ... drinking had to come before sobriety, and ...  12&12 Step Ten, pp.93-94
How heartily we A.A.'s can agree with him, for we know that the pains of drinking had to come before sobriety, and emotional turmoil before serenity.


112.
  ... drinking has aggravated the defects of others.  12&12 Step Eight, p.78
Moreover, it is usually a fact that our behavior when drinking has aggravated the defects of others.


113.
  ... drinking has made us slow to pay.  BB Into Action, p.78
Our drinking has made us slow to pay.


114.
  ... drinking has placed him on the wrong ...  BB The Family Afterward, p.129
Dad may feel that for years his drinking has placed him on the wrong side of every argument, but that now he has become a superior person with God on his side.


115.
  ... drinking have been repaired in four.  BB A Vision For You, p.156
As we shall see, he now means a great deal to his community, and the major liabilities of thirty years of hard drinking have been repaired in four.


116.
  ... drinking, he accepted a sum of money ...  BB Into Action, p.80
While drinking, he accepted a sum of money from a bitterly-hated business rival, giving him no receipt for it.


117.
  ... drinking, he had not paid alimony to ...  BB Into Action, p.79
Because of resentment and drinking, he had not paid alimony to his first wife.


118.
  ... drinking, he had placed his toe on ...  BB To Employers, p.137
After two weeks of drinking, he had placed his toe on the trigger of a loaded shotgun -- the barrel was in his mouth.


119.
  ... drinking; he's my friend; she's a gossip ...  BB How It Works, p.65
Mrs. Jones -- she's a nut, she snubbed me; she committed her husband for drinking; he's my friend; she's a gossip -- personal relationship; self esteem (fear).


120.
  ... drinking histories, we could show that years ...  12&12 Step One, p.23
By going back in our own drinking histories, we could show that years before we realized it we were out of control, that our drinking even then was no mere habit, that it was indeed the beginning of a fatal progression.


121.
  ... drinking, I made up my mind that ...  BB Doctor Bob's Nightmare, p.173
This went from bad to worse until sophomore spring when, after a prolonged period of drinking, I made up my mind that I could not complete my course, so I packed my grip and went South to spend a month on a large farm owned by a friend of mine.


122.
  ... drinking, I think you ought to resign."  BB To Employers, p.148
But if you cannot or will not stop drinking, I think you ought to resign."


123.
  ... drinking, if we have a legitimate reason ...  BB Working With Others, p.101
So our rule is not to avoid a place where there is drinking, if we have a legitimate reason for being there.


124.
  ... drinking in my kitchen.  BB Bill's Story, p.8
Near the end of that bleak November, I sat drinking in my kitchen.


125.
  ... drinking in the morning, drinking only at ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.31
Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums -- we could increase the list ad infinitum.


126.
  ... drinking is but a beginning.  BB There Is A Solution, p.19
We feel that elimination of our drinking is but a beginning.


127.
  ... drinking is but the first step away ...  BB The Family Afterward, p.122
Cessation of drinking is but the first step away from a highly strained, abnormal condition.


128.
  ... drinking is necessary in his business.  BB To Wives, p.109
He is positive he can handle his liquor, that it does him no harm, that drinking is necessary in his business.


129.
  ... drinking is not going to spoil your ...  BB To Wives, p.111
Be determined that your husband's drinking is not going to spoil your relations with your children or your friends.


130.
  ... drinking is of absolutely no avail.  BB There Is A Solution, p.24
At a certain point in the drinking of every alcoholic, he passes into a state where the most powerful desire to stop drinking is of absolutely no avail.


131.
  ... drinking is stopped the man tends to ...  BB The Family Afterward, p.134
Couples are occasionally dismayed to find that when drinking is stopped the man tends to be impotent.


132.
  ... drinking is the great obsession of every ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.30
The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker.


133.
  Drinking isolates most homes from the outside ...  BB The Family Afterward, p.131
Drinking isolates most homes from the outside world.


134.
  ... drinking). Its headquarters address is 1600 Corporate ...  12&12 Step Twelve (Note), p.118
(*) In adapted form, the Steps are also used by Al-Anon Family Groups. Not a part of A.A., this worldwide fellowship consists of spouses and other relatives or friends of alcoholics (in A.A. or still drinking). Its headquarters address is 1600 Corporate Landing Pkwy, Virginia Beach, VA 23454-5617.


135.
  ... drinking just because we were maladjusted to ...  BB The Doctor's Opinion, p.xxvi
It did not satisfy us to be told that we could not control our drinking just because we were maladjusted to life, that we were in full flight from reality, or were outright mental defectives.


136.
  ... drinking liquor for good and all, and ...  BB Doctor Bob's Nightmare, p.181
But if you really and truly want to quit drinking liquor for good and all, and sincerely feel that you must have some help, we know that we have an answer for you.


137.
  ... drinking many times isolates the wife of ...  BB To Wives, p.119
It is probably true that you and your husband have been living too much alone, for drinking many times isolates the wife of an alcoholic.


138.
  ... drinking many years beyond the point where ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.34
As we look back, we feel we had gone on drinking many years beyond the point where we could quit on our will power.


139.
  ... drinking may be constant or it may ...  BB To Wives, p.109
His drinking may be constant or it may be heavy only on certain occasions.


140.
  ... drinking means conviviality, companionship and colorful imagination.  BB A Vision For You, p.151
For most normal folks, drinking means conviviality, companionship and colorful imagination.


141.
  Drinking occasionally, and understanding your own reactions, ...  BB To Employers, p.139
Drinking occasionally, and understanding your own reactions, it is possible for you to become quite sure of many things which, so far as the alcoholic is concerned, are not always so.


142.
  ... drinking of every alcoholic, he passes into ...  BB There Is A Solution, p.24
At a certain point in the drinking of every alcoholic, he passes into a state where the most powerful desire to stop drinking is of absolutely no avail.


143.
  ... drinking on the basis of self-knowledge.  BB More About Alcoholism, p.39
But the actual or potential alcoholic, with hardly an exception, will be absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self-knowledge.


144.
  ... drinking only a few years, but they ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.33
Several of our crowd, men of thirty or less, had been drinking only a few years, but they found themselves as helpless as those who had been drinking twenty years.


145.
  ... drinking only at home, never having it ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.31
Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums -- we could increase the list ad infinitum.


146.
  ... drinking only at parties, switching from scotch ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.31
Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums -- we could increase the list ad infinitum.


147.
  ... drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.31
Here are some of the methods we have tried: Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums -- we could increase the list ad infinitum.


148.
  ... drinking, or getting over a bout, an ...  BB To Employers, p.140
When drinking, or getting over a bout, an alcoholic, sometimes the model of honesty when normal, will do incredible things.


149.
  ... drinking or is recovering in A.A. A ...  BB To Wives (Note), p.104
(*) Written in 1939, when there were few women in A.A., this chapter assumes that the alcoholic in the home is likely to be the husband. But many of the suggestions given here may be adapted to help the person who lives with a woman alcoholic -- whether she is still drinking or is recovering in A.A. A further source of help is noted on page 121.


150.
  ... drinking, or lack of it.  BB To Employers, p.139
If you desire to help it might be well to disregard your own drinking, or lack of it.


151.
  ... drinking or not?  BB To Employers, p.147
Do you want to stop drinking or not?


152.
  ... drinking or not.  BB A Vision For You, p.158
He proved to be a devil-may-care young fellow whose parents could not make out whether he wanted to stop drinking or not.


153.
  ... drinking or not.  12&12 Step Ten, p.88
But there is another kind of hangover which we all experience whether we are drinking or not.


154.
  ... drinking, or who are just getting over ...  BB To Employers, p.142
For most alcoholics who are drinking, or who are just getting over a spree, a certain amount of physical treatment is desirable, even imperative.


155.
  ... drinking ourselves into forgetfulness or had plunged ...  12&12 Step Twelve, p.123
It mattered little whether we had sat on the shore of life drinking ourselves into forgetfulness or had plunged in recklessly and willfully beyond our depth and ability.


156.
  ... drinking placed him constantly in the wrong.  BB The Family Afterward, pp.130-131
Even when he wanted to assert himself he could not, for his drinking placed him constantly in the wrong.


157.
  ... drinking problem.  BB There Is A Solution, p.19
This should suggest a useful program for anyone concerned with a drinking problem.


158.
  ... drinking problem, we hope that you may ...  BB Preface, p.xii
If you have a drinking problem, we hope that you may pause in reading one of the forty-two personal stories and think: "Yes, that happened to me"; or, more important, "Yes, I've felt like that"; or, most important, "Yes, I believe this program can work for me too."


159.
  ... drinking problem, what character defects contributed to ...  12&12 Step Four, p.51
Surveying his business or employment record, almost any alcoholic can ask questions like these: In addition to my drinking problem, what character defects contributed to my financial instability?


160.
  ... drinking resembles his normal nature but little.  BB There Is A Solution, p.21
His disposition while drinking resembles his normal nature but little.


161.
  ... drinking scenes; we must not go into ...  BB Working With Others, pp.100-101
People have said we must not go where liquor is served; we must not have it in our homes; we must shun friends who drink; we must avoid moving pictures which show drinking scenes; we must not go into bars; our friends must hide their bottles if we go to their houses; we mustn't think or be reminded about alcohol at all.


162.
  ... drinking seemed to be a major extra-curricular ...  BB Doctor Bob's Nightmare, p.172
After high school came four years in one of the best colleges in the country where drinking seemed to be a major extra-curricular activity.


163.
  ... drinking, sighing about the good old days.  BB Working With Others, p.102
Why sit with a long face in places where there is drinking, sighing about the good old days.


164.
  ... drinking six weeks before.  BB To Employers, p.137
I had discharged him for drinking six weeks before.


165.
  ... drinking so long as we place dependence ...  BB Working With Others, p.98
Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: Job or no job -- wife or no wife -- we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God.


166.
  ... drinking societies, and soon became one of ...  BB Doctor Bob's Nightmare, p.173
On account of my enormous capacity for beer, I was elected to membership in one of the drinking societies, and soon became one of the leading spirits.


167.
  ... drinking, tell him that possibly he can ...  BB Working With Others, p.92
If he sticks to the idea that he can still control his drinking, tell him that possibly he can -- if he is not too alcoholic.


168.
  ... drinking that only an act of Providence ...  12&12 Step One, p.21
It is truly awful to admit that, glass in hand, we have warped our minds into such an obsession for destructive drinking that only an act of Providence can remove it from us.


169.
  ... drinking their morning coffee.  12&12 Tradition Three, p.144
Daylight found the master of the house and another friend drinking their morning coffee.


170.
  ... drinking, there must be no reservation of ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.33
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.


171.
  ... drinking; they usually know it anyway, whether ...  BB Into Action, p.78
Telling them what we are trying to do, we make no bones about our drinking; they usually know it anyway, whether we think so or not.


172.
  ... drinking, they were strangers.  BB To Wives, p.107
When drinking, they were strangers.


173.
  ... drinking, though he was brilliant, alert, and ...  BB To Employers, p.137
I had been obliged to discharge him for drinking, though he was brilliant, alert, and one of the best organizers I have ever known.


174.
  ... drinking time, we acted as if the ...  12&12 Step Twelve, p.120
In our drinking time, we acted as if the money supply was inexhaustible, though between binges we'd sometimes go to the other extreme and become almost miserly.


175.
  ... drinking to escape; they were drinking to ...  BB The Doctor's Opinion, p.xxx
These men were not drinking to escape; they were drinking to overcome a craving beyond their mental control.


176.
  ... drinking to overcome a craving beyond their ...  BB The Doctor's Opinion, p.xxx
These men were not drinking to escape; they were drinking to overcome a craving beyond their mental control.


177.
  ... drinking twenty years.  BB More About Alcoholism, p.33
Several of our crowd, men of thirty or less, had been drinking only a few years, but they found themselves as helpless as those who had been drinking twenty years.


178.
  ... drinking until he was thirty-five.  BB More About Alcoholism, p.35
He did no drinking until he was thirty-five.


179.
  ... drinking until we have done our utmost ...  BB Into Action, p.77
Simply we tell him that we will never get over drinking until we have done our utmost to straighten out the past.


180.
  ... drinking was not yet continuous, it disturbed ...  BB Bill's Story, p.2
Though my drinking was not yet continuous, it disturbed my wife.


181.
  ... drinking we never hurt anybody but ourselves.  12&12 Step Eight, p.79
We clung to the claim that when drinking we never hurt anybody but ourselves.


182.
  ... drinking we occasionally remained sober for a ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.34
In the early days of our drinking we occasionally remained sober for a year or more, becoming serious drinkers again later.


183.
  ... drinking we were sometimes bad actors.  12&12 Step Five, p.55
We search for an easier way -- which usually consists of the general and fairly painless admission that when drinking we were sometimes bad actors.


184.
  ... drinking went out of hand and we ...  12&12 Step Four, p.47
We thought "conditions" drove us to drink, and when we tried to correct these conditions and found that we couldn't to our entire satisfaction, our drinking went out of hand and we became alcoholics.


185.
  ... drinking were easily pushed aside in favor ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.36
Yet all reasons for not drinking were easily pushed aside in favor of the foolish idea that he could take whiskey if only he mixed it with milk!


186.
  ... drinking, what need is there for a ...  12&12 Step Four, p.45
If we were pretty nice people all along, except for our drinking, what need is there for a moral inventory now that we are sober?


187.
  ... drinking, who exhibited splendid judgment and determination ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.40
The story he told is most instructive, for here was a chap absolutely convinced he had to stop drinking, who had no excuse for drinking, who exhibited splendid judgment and determination in all his other concerns, yet was flat on his back nevertheless.


188.
  ... drinking, who had had most all the ...  BB Doctor Bob's Nightmare, p.180
But this was a man who had experienced many years of frightful drinking, who had had most all the drunkard's experiences known to man, but who had been cured by the very means I had been trying to employ, that is to say the spiritual approach.


189.
  ... drinking, who had no excuse for drinking, ...  BB More About Alcoholism, p.40
The story he told is most instructive, for here was a chap absolutely convinced he had to stop drinking, who had no excuse for drinking, who exhibited splendid judgment and determination in all his other concerns, yet was flat on his back nevertheless.


190.
  ... drinking will be used politically.  BB To Employers, p.145
But sometimes our drinking will be used politically.


191.
  ... drinking will require a transformation of thought ...  BB To Employers, p.143
To get over drinking will require a transformation of thought and attitude.


192.
  ... drinking with him yourself when he doesn't ...  BB To Wives, p.110
Perhaps you enjoy drinking with him yourself when he doesn't go too far.


193.
  ... drinking with much greater earnestness than I ...  BB Doctor Bob's Nightmare, p.173
There I took up the business of drinking with much greater earnestness than I had previously shown.


194.
  ... drinking without developing the phenomenon of craving.  BB The Doctor's Opinion, p.xxx
All these, and many others, have one symptom in common: they cannot start drinking without developing the phenomenon of craving.


195.
  ... drinking wrought all kinds of damage that ...  BB The Family Afterward, p.127
Let them remember that his drinking wrought all kinds of damage that may take long to repair.


196.
  ... drinking, you have little control over the ...  BB We Agnostics, p.44
If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely, or if when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably alcoholic.


197.
  ... drinking, you need not be alarmed.  BB To Wives, p.120
If you are satisfied he really wants to get over drinking, you need not be alarmed.


198.
  ... drinking, you were withdrawing from life little ...  BB Working With Others, p.102
While you were drinking, you were withdrawing from life little by little.


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.A. Grapevine (A.A. Preamble only).  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 Anonymous World Services Inc., or the A.A. Grapevine, Inc.  Further A.A.W.S. Inc. and the A.A. Grapevine Inc. have no objection to the use of this material in the 164 and More concordance.

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