When I first entered Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), I started hearing the stories of people. Regardless of culture, racial origin, economic stature, or sex, all of the stories reflected the journeys alcoholics took to arrive at AA's doorstep. It was in hearing the journeys of others that I began to get well. My alcoholism was not stronger than my humanity. Thank God!
In the years of working in the treatment of addictions, I have learned that the journeys of alcoholics and drug addicts are very similar. The primary difference is drug of choice. Addiction is the disease. That is why both AA and NA (Narcotics Anonymous) and the many twelve-step groups that have been birthed from the original all use the basic twelve steps, substituting different words for the powerless concept.
What a powerful gift Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith have given the world! We need our separate groups and communities, but we come together in the twelve steps. For this reason, I have shared my understanding of the twelve steps to alcoholics, cocaine addicts, pill addicts, gamblers, food addicts, and sex addicts, to name a few. The formula to recovery is the twelve steps. Although I present this book mainly in the language of Alcoholics Anonymous, it is intended to be used for any person in recovery from the disease of addiction. Also, I have written this book from my Christian faith and experience. However, the core principle of AA is a belief in a Higher Power as you understand the meaning of that term, which is all inclusive. Alcoholics Anonymous is not aligned to any particular sect, denomination, religion, organization, etc.
I grew up with a storyteller. My father was more entertaining than any of the television personalities. I have remembered the joy of listening to his stories and retained the messages long after the life of his words. The stories in this book were heard in meetings, sermons, retreats, or simply told by a friend, and are stories that touched me personally in my recovery and have sustained me through the years, helping me work anew the twelve-step program. I offer this book as a tool to help in the use of the twelve steps. The book is my personal interpretation of the steps. It is my hope that it will benefit you in your personal journey of recovery.
