Alcoholics AnonymousBy: Richie Brady

What is Alcoholics Anonymous?

• According to the text, AA is a self-help group. A self-help group is where the groups are often run by peers, who have themselves struggled with the same issues.

• According to AA itself. Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women, who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from Alcoholism.

How does it work?

• AA uses what is called the “12 steps”• The point of the twelve steps is to seek a power greater

than themselves, as well as clean up the wreckage of the members past and develop healthy relationships with the people in their lives.

• Since AA is run by its members, it is each AA’s responsibility to carry their message to the new suffering Alcoholic.

AA history

• AA was founded by a man named Bill Wilson in 1935, who was pronounced hopeless by many psychiatric doctors.

• AA is held together by the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. The Twelve Traditions were introduced in 1946 to help AA stay unified and to grow.

• AA started out with two men trying to help each other stay sober and today it has grown to a size of larger than 2 million people.

• “AA’s primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcholics to achieve sobriety.”

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions