There are several points in the Big Book where it is made explicit what the individual must do to avoid drinking and therefore death. Taken together, these constitute the essence of the AA programme, though other elements are presupposed (Step One) or necessary concomitants (Step Ten). The essence can be captured under six headings.
The first of these:
UNITY
One cannot recover alone. This is true at the beginning but also after many years. People drift, dangerously, and drifters drink.
“But out of this frightening and at first disrupting experience the conviction grew that A.A.’s had to hang together or die separately.” (Foreword to the Second Edition, Big Book)
When I stop carrying the message to others, I forget it myself. When I hear what I believe echoed around me, I know it is true instinctively, not just intellectually.