Myth-buster: 'All I have is my story'

I'm extremely grateful that the people I met when I first came to AA and the people I have met since know an awful lot more than just their stories. They knew and know about alcoholism, what the solution is, how to work the Steps, how to establish and improve a relationship with God, what spiritual principles are, how to apply them within and outside AA, how to have harmonious and productive relations in all areas of their lives, and much more to boot. Clearly, our stories are an important vehicle for communicating knowledge, but they are not the knowledge itself; they are the worked example. A virtue is sometimes made out of 'knowing less than I did when I came here'. There is perhaps some truth to and utility in the realisation that, in contrast to the certainties of which I was convinced when I was drinking, there will always be much I will never even begin to grasp. However, I think it is vital for us to convey to newcomers and others who are struggling that we have a solution that works and can talk intelligently, convincingly, and persuasively about how that solution can be applied.