Bill W. (1895–1971)

I'm reading this because many of my friends & my loved one live the Steps, and I want to understand better what is going on in his life.

The book is at times difficult to read, because of how it is written, which is more of a "stream of consciousness" style.

Some parts, I can not get into, but I find that if I just open the book to a random page and read, then there is some piece of knowledge/information there for me that I happen to need at the moment.

The "Big Book" has saved many lives...and show more I really believe that those of us who have loved ones living the steps could benefit from reading the book as well. show less

This is the "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous--its basic text. At the core are the "12 Steps" and "Twelve Step" programs are legion--including Overeaters Anonymous--which I was a part of for a time. I'm not saying there isn't wisdom in the twelve-steps. But it's very much God-based. Even though I found a Atheist Group in my area, that aspect of the program was very hard for me to translate into secular terms. Making an inventory of your faults, making amends, promptly admitting when you're show more wrong--these are all good, healthy and healing things--for yourselves and others. But half the steps cite God--and too often the program as I experienced it had uncomfortably cult-like aspects and I drifted away from it. And goodness knows, the whole concept of "addiction" and "abstinence" are hard to translate when you're dealing with a substance--food--you can't really make a clean break from. And I think making food the enemy--as an addiction model does--is not in the end the way to go about gaining a healthy relationship with it--at least not for me long-term.

So my relatively low rating reflects my personal reaction and experience with a Twelve Step Program--even though I know millions have claimed this book and its principles saved their lives. And so pervasive are Twelve-Step groups, I'd argue that cultural literacy alone means you should be familiar with this book. And certainly many of the personal stories in this book are harrowing and riveting--and inspiring. show less

The very title - The Big Book - sounds so cheesy, so all-American [especially since at the time it was written the book really wasn't all that big and by today's standards its positively minute. It's only one volume, for Heaven's sake] that I'd sooner put faith in one of those Eat all your favourite fattening foods in huge quantities and Lose Weight Hand over Fist type books.

So when I was told I needed the Big Book to stop drinking I reluctantly purchased a copy and hied off the a Big Book show more meeting. It was unlike anything I've ever been to before and the book is nothing short of a miracle.

The author, Bill Wilson, was a hopeless alcoholic and non-practising Christian when he recieved divine inspiration and, having joined the Oxford group, bought the still-suffering alcoholic Dr Bob Smith to sobriety. The two men together founded alcoholics Anontymous in 1935.

One of Dr Bob's best friend was a Catholic priest, Father Edward Dowling, and he flirted with the church for many years without actually converting because, he said, AA could not be seen to ally itself to any one faith. Both Bob and Bill were Christians however, and the Big Book is a true reflection of the essence of Christ's teachings.

Surprisingly though, Jews and other non-Christians also see the book as being spiritual and encapsulating the messages of love central to their beliefs, while even athiests can recognise the humanist principals of treating others decently and doing the next best thing, and have no problem - after initial reservations - embracing the Big Book whole-heartedly.

To say a piece of writing is divinely inspired reeks of either anachronism or charlatanry: however, for a work to have save so many lives and to be all things to all men who really need it, argues the interception of a higher power. A wonderful work for everyone, not just alcoholics - not just addicts, unless your addiction is to living a good life. show less

As flawed as it is to compare people, since it doesn’t *really* matter, I think that the common alcoholic actually lives a worse life that you learn less from than those involved with the “epic” sort of sins of history. I know that might come off as just sounding like I’m trying to trash people, but as part of my holistic studies, I just think that acquiring a few lesser virtues and abusing and misusing them is actually better than acquiring fewer or no virtues and just falling apart show more because you have no idea how to live. There are certainly gradations of the disease, but at its worst it brings you to a total loss of virtue and even in more moderate gradations tends to be more perverse than simply being legalistically pure but lacking charity. You can be “as pure as angels but as proud as devils”, and down that road lies “epic” sin, but you cannot really be as impure as devils but as humble as angels, although you can be in denial about that. To the alcoholic, it’s all about me— this “I” that cannot pull itself together enough to live.

“Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt”, it’s widespread, and it’s the greatest barrier. Once you can remind yourself what addiction is, whether it’s alcohol, the great classic addiction, or something more obscure, you can remind yourself that it’s not actually worth the price it imposes. Constantly you will forget; repeatedly you must be reminded.

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Food service is often a great way to see people at their worst. I’m a dishwasher at an assisted living home, where a man died recently. In his obituary, there are examples of the various ways that his long life was good and productive, but all I knew about him was that he liked to drink after everybody else was done drinking. (No way to tell if it was only after his wife died, etc.)

I say this by way of qualification, since obviously the above is a hard saying.

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It’s immensely satisfying to read; screw up; make it right; repeat.

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Perhaps the greatest problem with my life has been my conviction that sin is stronger than grace. show less