And thanks for sharing that Big Book quote, Bobbieka. There's a lot of great stuff in that book. Bill Wilson really did understand alcoholics to the core. But there's also some outdated and/or poorly written and/or misogynistic crap. I really wish that AA would give the book a rewrite, but that's never ever going to happen. Too many oldtimers that view at as a sacred text, instead of what it is--a book written by an ordinary man in the 1930s.
The literature for Narcotics Anonymous is pretty much based on the AA books but is so much better written. I wish the NA program around my town was stronger, simply because I like the literature from there so much more. That being said, the fellowship I get from AA is invaluable. I'm glad I added it back to my recovery plan this time.
EDIT: From the NA "How It Works" read before every meeting. For those of you who've been to AA meetings, this is a good comparison of the level of writing between the two. I love these three paragraphs. I never really realized it before but SO MUCH of my own plan for recovery is based on these paragraphs (asking for help, helping someone else, not drinking no matter what, the first drink getting us drunk, etc., they're all in here):
We feel that our approach to the disease of addiction is
completely realistic, for the therapeutic value of one addict
helping another is without parallel. We feel that our way is
practical, for one addict can best understand and help another
addict. We believe that the sooner we face our problems within
our society, in everyday living, just that much faster do we
become acceptable, responsible, and productive members
of that society.
The only way to keep from returning to active addiction is
not to take that first drug. If you are like us you know that
one is too many and a thousand never enough. We put great
emphasis on this, for we know that when we use drugs in any
form, or substitute one for another, we release our addiction
all over again.
Thinking of alcohol as different from other drugs has caused
a great many addicts to relapse. Before we came to NA, many
of us viewed alcohol separately, but we cannot afford to be
confused about this. Alcohol is a drug. We are people with the
disease of addiction who must abstain from all drugs in order
to recover.
Now I kinda want to go to an NA meeting. I haven't been to one here in years but they used to be a little sketchy. Maybe I should try one again on my next day off. They're actually not that far from my house.