Fellowship 12

Alcoholics Anonymous Step 1.

We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.

The instructions for taking Step 1 are found in the chapter More about Alcoholism, Page 30, Sentences 7-9:

“30:7 We learned that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics. 8This is the first step in recovery. 9The delusion that we were like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed.”

Our commentary on these instructions follows:

30:7 There are several ways we learn that we must admit powerlessness over alcohol. We learn by reading the book up to this point and by the example of the authors as well as millions of recovered alcoholics. Sometimes we learn by our own mistakes. Repeated failed attempts to control our drinking brings us to the point where we have to admit to ourselves that we are powerless over alcohol.

30:7 To “fully concede” is to admit that we are alcoholic. Any reservations we have must be set aside. This is not merely complying with the precepts of this program so as to avoid the negative results of drinking, but a complete and total surrender to the fact that we can not drink any alcohol at all and we never will be able to drink alcohol normally.

30:7 Who are we to admit our alcoholism to - our group, the police, our spouse? We are to make our admission to ourselves. No one else matters. We must speak to our hearts when making this admission.

30:7-8 These are the directions on how to take our first step. The authors’ promise was that they would show us precisely and specifically what they have done to recover and supply us with clear-cut directions. The instructions are that we must admit we are, in fact, alcoholic and that we make this admission to ourselves. From the moment we make this admission, we can begin to recover.

30:9 Every word in the book up to this point has been included to help us smash our delusion. The third sentence of the book explains the authors hope that we can be convinced we are bodily and mentally different from our fellows by reading this book. If we are not convinced by these pages, we may have to continue in our current ways until our own experience allows us to see the truth of what the authors say.

You can find this passage and our comments in the Study Forum.