From: "Bent Christensen"
<bent_christensen5@...>
(bent_christensen5 at yahoo.com)

A Manual for Alcoholics Anonymous (continued)

Again, we would appreciate it is someone could
tell us what edition of this pamphlet the
words in {curly brackets} are coming from.
We would like to be sure that we are using a
good text of this pamphlet for the Danish
translation that we are preparing.

- - - -

VI

NOW YOU ARE OUT OF THE HOSPITAL

By this time you should know if you want to go along with A.A., or if you want
to slip back into that old headache that you called life. You are physically
sober and well -- a bit shaky, perhaps but that will wear off in a short time.
Reflect that you didn't get into this condition over night, and that you cannot
expect to get out of it in a couple of hours or days.

You feel good enough to go on another bender, or good enough to try a different
scheme of things - sobriety.

You have decided to go along with Alcoholics Anonymous? Very well, you will
never regret it.

First off, your day will have a new pattern. You will open the day with a quiet
period. This will be explained by your sponsor. You will read the "Upper Room,"
or whatever you think best for yourself. You will say a little prayer asking for
help during the day. You will go about your daily work, and your associates will
be surprised at you clear-eyed, the disappearance of that haunted look and your
willingness to make up for the past. You sponsor may drop in to see you, or call
you on the telephone. There may be a meeting of an A.A. group. Attend it without
question. You have no valid excuse except sickness or being out of town, for not
attending. You may call on a new patient. Don't wait until tomorrow to do this.
You will find the work fascinating. You will find a kindred soul. And you will
be giving yourself a new boost along the road to sobriety. Finally, at the end
of the day you will say another little prayer of thanks and gratitude for a day
of sobriety. You will have lived a full day - a full, constructive day. And you
will be grateful.

You feel that you have nothing to say to a new patient? No story to tell?
Nonsense! You have been sober for a day, or for a week. Obviously, you must have
done something to stay sober, even for that short length of time. That is your
story. And believe it or not, the patient won't realize that you are nearly as
much of a tyro as he is. Definitely you have something to say. And with each
succeeding visit you will find that your story comes easier, that you have more
confidence in your ability to be of help. The harder you work at sobriety the
easier it is to remain sober.

Your sponsor will take you to your first meeting. You will find it new, but
inspirational. You will find an atmosphere of peace and contentment that you
didn't know existed.

After you have attended several meetings it will be your duty to get up on your
feet and say something. You will have something to say, even if it is only to
express gratitude to the group for having helped you. Before many months have
passed you will be asked to lead a meeting. Don't try to put it off with
excuses. It is part of the program. Even if you don't think highly of yourself
as a public speaker, remember you are among friends, and that your friends
also are ex-drunks.

Get in contact with your new friends. Call them up. Drop in at their homes or
offices. The door is always open to a fellow-alcoholic.

Before long you will have a new thrill -- the thrill of helping someone else.
There is no greater satisfaction in the world than watching the progress of a
new Alcoholic Anonymous. When you first see him in his hospital bed he may be
unshaved, bleary-eyed, dirty, incoherent. Perhaps the next day he has shaved and
cleaned up. A day later his eyes are brighter, new color has come into his face.
He talks more intelligently. He leaves the hospital, goes to work, and buys
some new clothes. And in a month you will hardly recognize him as the derelict
you first met in the hospital. No whisky in the world can give you this thrill.

Above all, remember this: Keep the rules in mind. As long as you follow them you
are on firm ground. But the least deviation - and you are vulnerable.

AS A NEW MEMBER, remember you are one of the most important cogs in the
machinery of A.A. Without the work of the new member, A.A. could not have grown
as it has. You will bring into this work a fresh enthusiasm, the zeal of a
crusader. You will want everyone to share with you the blessings of this new
life. You will be tireless in your efforts to help others. And it is a
splendid enthusiasm! Cherish it as long as you can.

It is not likely that your fresh enthusiasm will last forever. You will find,
however, that as initial enthusiasm wanes, it is replaced with a greater
understanding, deeper sympathy, and a more complete knowledge. You will
eventually become an "elder statesman" of A.A. and you will be able to use your
knowledge to help not only brand new members, but those who have been members
for a year or more, but who still have perplexing problems. And as a new member,
do not hesitate to bring your problems to these "elder statesmen" They may be
able to solve your headaches and make easier your path.
And now you are ready to go back and read Part III of this booklet. For you are
ready to sponsor some other poor alcoholic who is desperately in need of help,
both human and Divine.

So God bless you and keep you.

YARDSTICK FOR ALCOHOLICS

THE PROSPECTIVE MEMBER of A.A. may have some doubts if he is actually an
alcoholic. A.A. in Akron has found a yardstick prepared by psychiatrists of
Johns Hopkins University to be very valuable in helping the decide for himself.

Have your prospect answer the following questions, being as honest as possible
with himself in deciding the answers. If he answers Yes to one of the questions,
there is a definite warning that he MAY be an alcoholic. If he answers YES to
any two, the chances are that he IS an alcoholic. If he answers YES to any three
or more, he IS DEFINITELY an alcoholic and in need of help.

The questions:

1. Do you lose time from work due to drinking?
2. Is drinking making your home life unhappy?
3. Do you drink because you are shy with other people?
4. Is drinking affecting your reputation?
5. Have you gotten into financial difficulties as a result of drinking?
6. Have you ever stolen, pawned property, or "borrowed" to get money for
alcoholic beverages?
7. Do you turn to lower companions and an inferior environment when drinking?
8. Does your drinking make you careless of your family's welfare?
9. Has your ambition decreased since drinking?
10. Do you crave a drink at a definite time daily?
11. Do you want a drink the next morning?
12. Does drinking cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?
13. Has your efficiency decreased since drinking?
14. Is drinking jeopardizing your job or business?
15. Do you drink to escape from worries or troubles?
16. Do you drink alone?
17. Have you ever had a complete loss of memory s a result of drinking?
18. Has your physician ever treated you for drinking?
19. Do you drink to build up your self-confidence?
20. Have you ever been to a hospital or institution on account of drinking?

RANDOM THOUGHTS

{NOW THAT YOU ARE SOBER, you naturally feel that you want to make restitution
in every possible way for the trouble you have caused your family, your friends
- others. You want to get back on the job - if you still have a job - earn
money, pay your immediate debts and obligations of long standing and almost
forgotten. Money - you must have money, you think. And you also want to make
restitution in action in many ways, not financial. If you could wave a magic
wand and do all these things you would do it, wouldn't you?

Well, don't be in a hurry. You can't do all these things overnight. But you can
do them - gradually, step by step. You may safely leave these matters to a
Higher Power as you perhaps ponder them in your morning period of contemplation.
If you are sincerely resolved to do your part, they will all be adjusted.

"Be still and know that I am God."}

SOBRIETY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN YOUR LIFE, without exception. You may
believe your job, or your home life, or one of many other things comes first.
But consider, if you do not get sober and stay sober, chances are you won't have
a job, a family, or even sanity or life. If you are convinced that everything in
life depends on your sobriety, you have just so much more chance of getting
sober and staying sober. If you put other things first you are only hurting your
chances.

YOU AREN'T very important in this world. If you lose your job someone better
will replace you. lf you die your wife will mourn briefly, and then remarry.
Your children will grow up and you will be but a memory. In the last analysis,
you are the only one who benefits by your sobriety. Seek to cultivate humility.
Remember that cockiness leads to a speedy fall.

IF YOU THINK you can cheat - sneak a drink or two without anyone else knowing it
- remember, you are only cheating yourself. You are the one who will be hurt by
conscience. You are the one who will suffer a hangover. And you are the one who
will return to a hospital bed.

Bear constantly in mind that you are only one drink away from trouble. Whether
you have been sober a day, a month, a year or a decade, one single drink is a
certain way to go off on a binge or a series of binges. It is the first drink -
not the second, fifth or twentieth, that causes the trouble.

And remember, the more A.A. work you do, the harder you train, the less likely
it is that you will take that first drink.

It is something like two boxers. If they are of the same weight, the same
strength and the same ability, and only one trains faithfully while the other
spends his time in night dubs and bars, it is pretty sure that the man who
trains will be the winner. So let attendance at meetings be your road work;
helping newcomers your sparring and shadow boxing your reading, meditation and
clear thinking your gymnasium work and you won't have to fear a knockout at the
hands of John Barleycorn.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for
the things itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.- Matthew VI, 34.

Those words are taken from the Sermon on the Mount. Simply, they mean live in
today only. Forget yesterday. Do not anticipate tomorrow. You can only live one
day at a time and if you do a good job of that, you will have little trouble.
One of the easiest, most practical ways of keeping sober ever devised is the day
by day plan - the 24-hour plan.

You know that it is possible to stay sober for 24 hours. You have done it many
times. All right. Stay sober for one day at a time. When you get up in the
morning make up your mind that you will not cake a drink for the entire day. Ask
the Greater Power for a little help in this. If anyone asks you to have a drink,
take a rain check. Say you will have it tomorrow. Then when you go to bed at
night, finding yourself sober, say a little word of thanks to the Greater Power
for having helped you.

Repeat the performance the next day. And the next. Before you realize it you
will have been sober a week, a month, a year. And yet you have only been sober a
day at a time.

If you set a time limit on your sobriety you will be looking forward to that
day, and each day will be a burden to you. You will burn with impatience. But
with no goal the whole thing clears itself, almost miraculously.

Try the day by day plan.

{Medical Men will tell you that alcoholics are all alike in at least one
respect: they are emotionally immature.

In other words, alcoholics have not learned to think like adults.
The child, lying in bed at night, becomes frightened by a shadow on the wall,
and hides his head under the covers.

The adult, seeing the same shadow, knows there is a logical reason for it. He
sees the street light, then the bed post, and he knows what causes the shadow.
He has simply done what the child is incapable of doing - THOUGHT. And through
thinking he has avoided fear.

Learn to think things out. Take a thought and follow it through to its
conclusion.

If you are tempted to take a drink, reason out for yourself what will happen.
Because if you will give serious consideration to the consequences you will have
the battle won.}

SO YOU'RE DIFFERENT! So you think you are not an alcoholic!

As many Alcoholics Anonymous have gone off the deep end for that kind of
thinking as almost all the other reasons combined.
If you have all the symptoms your sponsor will tell you about and that you hear
about at meetings, rest assured you are an alcoholic and no different from the
rest of the breed.

But don't make the mistake of finding it out the hard way - by experimenting
with liquor. You will find it a painful experience and will only learn that you
are NOT different.

{AT MEETINGS don't criticize the leader. He has his own problems and is doing
his best to solve them. Help him along by standing up and saying a few word. He
will appreciate your kindness and thoughtfulness.

DON'T criticize the methods of others. Strangely enough, you may change your own
ideas as you become older in sobriety. Remember there are a dozen roads from New
York to Chicago , but they all land in Chicago.}

WHAT'S YOUR HURRY? Perhaps you don't feel you are getting the hang of this
program as rapidly as you should. Forget it. It probably took you years to get
in this condition. You certainly cannot expect a complete cure over night. You
are not expected to grasp the entire program in one day. No one else has ever
done that, so it certainly is not expected of you. Even the earliest members are
learning something new about sober living nearly every day. There is an old
saying, "Easy does it." It is a motto that any alcoholic could well ponder. A
child learns to add and subtract in the lower grades. He is not expected to do
problems in algebra until he is in high school. Sobriety is a thing that must be
learned step by step. If anything puzzles you, ask your new friends about it, or
forget it for the time being. The time is not so far away when you will have a
good understanding of the entire program. Meantime, EASY DOES IT!

THE A.A. PROGRAM is not a "cure," in the accepted sense of the word. There is no
known "cure" for alcoholism except complete abstinence. It has been definitely
proved that an alcoholic can never again be a normal drinker. The disease,
however, can be arrested. How soon you will be cured of a desire to drink is
another matter. That depends entirely upon how quickly you can succeed in
changing your fundamental outlook on life. For as your outlook changes for the
better, desire will become less pronounced, until it disappears almost entirely.
It may be weeks or it may be months. Your sincerity and your capacity for
working with others on the A.A. program will determine the length of time.

Earlier in this pamphlet it was advised to keep relatives away from the
hospital. The reason was explained. But after the patient leaves the hospital,
it would be to bring the wife, husband, or other close relative to meeting. It
will give them a clearer understanding of the program and enable them to
cooperate more intelligently and more closely in the period of readjustment.

DIET AND REST play an important part in the rehabilitation of an alcoholic. For
many we bludgeoned ourselves physically, eating improper foods, sleeping with
the aid of alcohol. In our drinking days we ate a bowl of chili or a hamburg
sandwich because they were filling and cheap. We sacrificed good food so we
would have more money for whiskey. We were the living counterparts of the old
joke: "What, buying bread? And not a drop of whiskey in the house!" Our rest
was the same. We slept when we passed out. We were the ones who turned out the
street lights and rolled up the sidewalks.

We now find that it is wise to eat balanced meals at regular hours, and get the
proper amount of sleep without the unhealthy aid of liquor and sleeping pills.
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin Hydrochloride) or B Complex will help steady our nerves and
build up a vitamin deficiency. Fresh vegetables and fruits will help.

In fact, it is a wise move to consult a physician, possibly have a complete
physical examination. Your doctor then will recommend a course in vitamins, a
balanced diet, and advise you as to rest.
The reason for this advice is simple. lf we are undernourished and lack rest we
become irritable and nervous. In this condition our tempers get out of control,
our feelings are easily wounded, and we get back to the old and dangerous
thought processes - "Oh, to Hell with it. I'll get drunk and show 'em."

MANY MEMBERS of A.A. find it helpful, even after a long period of sobriety, to
add an extra ration of carbohydrates to their diet. Alcohol turns into sugar in
the body, and when we deprive ourselves of alcohol our bodies cry for sugar.
This often manifests itself in a form of nervousness.

Carry candy in your pocket. Keep it in your home. Eat deserts. Try an occasional
ice cream soda or malted milk. You may find that it solves a problem by calming
your nerves.

MEETINGS

IT HAS BEEN found advisable to hold meetings at least once a week at a specified
time and place. Meetings provide a means for an exchange of ideas, the renewing
of friendships, opportunity to review the work being carried on, a sense of
security, and an additional reminder that we are alcoholics and must be
continuously on the alert against the temptation to slip backward into the old
drunken way of living.

In Larger communities where there are several groups it is recommended that the
new member attend as many meetings as possible. He will find that the more he is
exposed to A.A. the sooner he will absorb its principles, the easier it will
become to remain sober, and the sooner problems will shrink and tend to
disappear.
As a newcomer you will be somewhat bewildered by your first meeting. It is even
possible that it will not make sense to you. Many have this experience. But if
you don't find yourself enjoying your first meeting, pause to remember that you
probably didn't care for the taste of your first drink of whisky - particularly
if it was in bootleg days.

{Again, you may feel like a "country cousin" at your first meeting. Your sponsor
should see to it that this is not the case. But even if he neglects his duty,
don't feel too badly. Don't be afraid to "horn in." If you are being neglected
it is just an oversight, and you are entirely welcome. It is possible that you
may not even be recognized because your appearance has changed for the better.
In a week or two you will find yourself in the middle of things - and very
likely neglecting other newcomers.}

So attend your first meeting with an open mind. Even if you aren't impressed
try it again. Before long you will genuinely enjoy attending and a little later
you will feel that the week has been incomplete if you have not attended at
least one A.A. meeting.
Remember that attendance at meetings is one of the most important requisites of
remaining sober.

{A.A. OF AKRON gets many inquiries about how to conduct a meeting. Methods
differ in many parts of the country. There are discussion groups, study groups,
meeting where a leader takes up the entire time himself, etc.

Here, briefly, is how meetings are conducted in the dozen or more Akron groups,
a method that has been used since the founding of A.A.:
The speaker can be selected from the local group, someone from another group or
another city, or on occasion, a guest from the ranks of clergymen, doctor, the
judiciary, or anyone who may be of help. In the case of such an outsider, he is
generally introduced by the secretary or some other member.

The leader opens the meeting with a prayer, or asks someone else to pray. The
prayer can be original, or it can be taken from a prayer book, or from some
publication such as "The Upper Room."

The topic is entirely up to the leader. He can tell of his drinking experiences,
or what he has done to keep sober, or he can advance his own theories on A.A.
His talk lasts from 20 to 40 minutes, at which time he asks for comment or
testimony from the floor.

Just before the meeting closes - one hour in Akron - the leader asks for
announcements or reports (such as next week's leader, social affairs, new
members to be called on, etc.). In closing the entire group stands and repeats
the Lord's Prayer. It is courteous to give the speaker enough advance notice so
that he may prepare his talk if he so desires.

The Physical set-up of groups varies in many cities. Those who are about to
start new groups may be interested in the method used by Akron Group No l. It is
merely a suggestion, however.

When there are but very few members it is customary to hold the meetings in
private homes of the members, on the same night of each week. When the group
becomes larger, however, it is desirable to hold the meeting in a regular place.
A school room, a room in a Y. M. C. A. or lodge, or hotel will do.

It has been the experience throughout the country that the more fluid the
structure of the group the more successful the operation.
Akron Group No. 1 has a very simple set-up. There is a permanent secretary, who
makes announcements, keeps a list of the membership, and takes care of
correspondence. There is also a permanent treasurer, who takes care of the money
and pays bills. Then there is a rotating committee of three members to take care
of current affairs. Each member serves for three months, but a new one is added
and one dropped every month. This committee takes care of providing leaders,
supplying refreshments, arranging parties, greeting newcomers, etc.

As the group grows older certain qualifications, in terms of length of sobriety,
can be made. Akron Group No. 1 requires a full year of continuous sobriety as
qualification to hold an office or serve.

There are no dues. There is a free-will offering at each meeting to take care of
expenses.

There is probably an older group in some community within easy traveling
distance of yours. Someone from that group will doubtless be happy to help you
get started.}

THE TWELVE STEPS

Alcoholics Anonymous is based on a set of laws known as the Twelve Steps. Years
of experience have definitely proved that those who live up to these rules
remain sober. Those who gloss over or ignore any one rule are in constant danger
of returning to a life of drunkenness. Thousands of words could be written on
each rule. Lack of space prevents, so they are merely listed here. It is
suggested that they be explained by the sponsor. If he cannot explain them he
should provide someone who can

THE TWELVE STEPS

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -- that our lives had become
unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to
sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we
understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of
our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends
to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so
would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly
admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with
God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the
power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to
carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our
affairs.

The Twelve Steps are more fully explained in another pamphlet published in Akron
and available through writing to Post Office Box 932. It is called "A Guide to
the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous" The price is 12 cents per copy, 9
cents in lot of 25 to 499, and 7 1/2 cents in lots of 500 or more. Checks or
money orders can be made out to A.A. of Akron.

SUGGESTED READING

The following literature has helped many members of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Alcoholics Anonymous. (Works Publishing Company.)
The Holy Bible.
The Greatest Thing in the World. Henry Drummond.
The Unchanging Friend. (A Series) (Bruce Publishing Co., Milwaukee .)
As a Man Thinketh. James Allen.
The Sermon on the Mount. Emmet Fox (Harper Bros.)
The Self You Have to Live With. Winfred Rhoades. (Lippincott.)
Psychology of Christian Personality. Ernest M. Ligon. (Macmillan Co.)
Abundant Living. E. Stanley Jones
The Man Nobody Knows. Bruce Barron