FOREWORD TO FIRST EDITION
This is the Foreword as it appeared in the first printing of the first edition in 1939.
We, of Alcoholics Anonymous, are more than one hundred men and women who have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book. For them, we hope these pages will prove so convincing that no further authentication will be necessary. We think this account of our experiences will help everyone to better understand the alcoholic. Many do not comprehend that the alcoholic is a very sick person. And besides, we are sure that our way of living has its advantages for all.
- The condition seems hopeless but is not
- The condition is twofold: mental and physical
- In AA, we don't tell people what to do as much as show people what we did
- Recovery is a process that can be completed
- We trust that our example is sufficient to convince and persuade
- The aim is to show people how we recovered so they can imitate us
- A further aim is to show people who are not alcoholics what is really going on inside us
- Alcoholism is a sickness not a moral failing
- Our way of living, if we adopt it, will benefit others
- Our way of living, if adopted by others, will benefit them and still others