November 14

November 14 – AM          Page 67-68, How It Works, Chapter 5

Notice that the word “fear” is bracketed alongside the difficulties with Mr. Brown, Mrs. Jones, the employer, and the wife.  This short word somehow touches about every aspect of our lives.  It was an evil and corroding thread; the fabric of our existence was shot through with it.  It set in motion trains of circumstances which brought us misfortune we felt we didn’t deserve.  But did not we, ourselves, set the ball rolling?  Sometimes we think fear ought to be classed with stealing.  It seems to cause more trouble.

November 14 – PM          Page xii, Preface

All changes made over the years in the Big Book (A.A. members’ fond nickname for this volume) have had the same purpose:  to represent the current membership of Alcoholics Anonymous more accurately, and thereby to reach more alcoholics.  If you have a drinking problem, we hope that you may pause in reading one of the forty-four personal stories and think:  “Yes, that happened to me”; or, more important, “Yes, I’ve felt like that”; or, most important, “Yes, I believe this program can work for me, too.”