AA 12/12 p.23 "by going back in our own drinking histories, we could show that years before we realized it we were out of control, that our drinking even then was no mere habit, that is was indeed the beginning of a fatal progression. To the doubters we could say ""perhaps you're not alcoholic after all. Why don't you try some more controlled drinking, bearing in mind what we have told you about alcoholism?"" This attitude brought immediate and practical results"