Blue Book (Alcoholics Anonymous)

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The Blue Book - so called because of the color of the cover - is actually called Alcoholics Anonymous . It is the German translation of the “Big Book” published in the USA in 1939 . This first publication by Alcoholics Anonymous ultimately gave them the name by which they later became known. Main authors are the two founders of Alcoholics Anonymous William Griffith Wilson (AA internal "Bill W.") and Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith ("Dr. Bob").

The book is still the basic text of Alcoholics Anonymous to this day. There have been a number of reprints and revisions, and translations into dozens of languages. The second edition (1955) already had 1,150,000 copies. In the early 1960s, Pastor Heinz Kappes also translated the book into German.

It is self-published and has no ISBN .

content

The book is over 400 pages long. The (life) story of Bill W. can be read in it to this day. It describes one's own experiences as an alcoholic and the conclusions that led to the twelve-step program . The work is described in twelve steps over several chapters using examples and personal experience. One chapter each is specifically aimed at agnostics , “To Wife” (the first Alcoholics Anonymous were only men) and employers. The second part of the book is a collection of life stories in which alcoholics tell their stories of suffering and recovery. In the German translation it is the stories of German alcoholics.

Often quoted passages are:

  • the " Twelve Steps " at the beginning of Chapter 5 "How It Works"
  • the " Twelve Traditions " in the appendix
  • the “Twelve Promises” in Chapter 6 “Realized” before step 10

According to the book, the main aim is to make it possible to find a power greater than the reader himself that will solve his problem.

In the Blue Book it is considered impossible that an alcoholic could become a moderate drinker. Only abstinence leads to the goal. As an example, the book cites the story of a man who, after 25 years of abstinence, started drinking moderately again and ended up in the hospital two months later. The motto is: once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.

Recovery only through belief in a Higher Power

The book says that it is impossible to stop drinking on your own. An improved philosophy of life or new values ​​would not help. Anyone who is an alcoholic has to recognize that he cannot help himself. Only a “higher power” can help. The example of a man named Fred is given, who no longer has his drinking under control, but ultimately leads an "infinitely more satisfying life than before" thanks to the previously unexplained program of Alcoholics Anonymous. Apparently “many doctors and psychiatrists” would agree with the AA's findings, but apart from the doctor who wrote the introduction, they are not mentioned by name. Instead, “one of these men” employed in a “world-famous hospital” is quoted as saying that in some cases there is no other solution than a spiritual one.

“Once More: The Alcoholic at Certain Times has no effective mental defense against the first drink. Except in few rare cases, neither he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a higher power. "

“Again, the alcoholic has no successful mental defense against the first drink. Except in very rare cases, neither he nor any other person can raise such a defense. The defense must come from a higher power. "

No cure for agnostics and atheists

In the Blue Book is an entire chapter to agnostics and atheists applies. There is a lot of understanding for such an attitude and it is accepted as an expression of modern society. But it clearly states that when you have little or no control over your drinking, you suffer from an illness that can only be overcome by a spiritual experience. For those who “feel” to be an atheist or agnostic, such an experience seems impossible, but continuing as before would be a disaster for them, especially if they are an alcoholic of the hopeless kind. To be condemned to death by alcohol or to live on a spiritual basis are not always easy alternatives. (Quote: Chapter We Agnostics , page 31: “To be doomed to an alhoholic death or to live on a spiritual basis are not always easy alternatives to face”)

But it is not difficult, many alcoholics have thought they are atheists or agnostics. A new philosophy of life and different moral concepts would not help. You have to find a force that is greater than yourself. But where do you find such strength? As soon as agnostics abandoned their prejudices against God and spirituality and showed a little will to believe in a supernatural power as one understands it, results would occur. If someone asks himself "Do I believe now or am I at least willing to believe that there is a force greater than myself?" And can answer this in the affirmative, rest assured that he is on the right path. It has been proven that one can build an effective spiritual structure on this simple cornerstone.

The following is a list that modern man and science would no longer believe in God and spirituality, although after assuming a belief in a power greater than oneself, one would feel so much strength, peace and happiness. The Wright brothers' pioneering work is compared to belief in God. Atheism and agnosticism are portrayed as repressed belief in God: If you are an alcoholic, you have to fearlessly face the statement that God is either all or nothing, either exists or not, then you recognize that God and faith have actually been deep inside all along have slumbered.

The following is the story of an alcoholic who doubts God in the hospital bed and then falls on his knees from the conviction of God's presence, then feels infinite strength and love and saw his alcohol problem "taken from him". The miracle of his healing occurred because of the circumstances that made him willing to believe in “his Creator”.

The twelve-step program

In the actual advice part of the book it is pointed out again that one has to do with the sly, insidious and strong alcohol, so there is only one who can help, “one” who has all the strength, this “one” is God. May he be found now. Then the Twelve Step Program , recommended as the program of recovery, is introduced. The original wording of steps one to nine is written in the past tense and was written by the authors as a retrospective guide to their own abstinence.

  1. We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol - and that we could no longer cope with our lives.
  2. We came to believe that some power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
  3. We made a decision to entrust our will and our lives to the care of God as we understood Him.
  4. We made a thorough and fearless inventory of ourselves.
  5. We openly admitted our mistakes to God, to ourselves, and to another person.
  6. We were completely ready to have God remove all these character defects.
  7. We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings from us.
  8. We made a list of every person we had harmed and became willing to make amends to everyone.
  9. We made everything right to these people - wherever possible - unless we had hurt them or others as a result.
  10. We kept taking inventory, and when we were wrong we immediately admitted it.
  11. Through prayer and meditation we sought to deepen the conscious connection to God - as we understood Him. We only asked him to let us know his will and to give us the strength to carry it out.
  12. After experiencing a spiritual awakening through these steps, we tried to convey this message to alcoholics and to base our daily lives on these principles.

The twelve steps are based on the teaching of the Christian awakening movement Oxford Group : Man is a sinner , man can be changed, confession of sin is the prerequisite for change, changed man has direct access to God, God works today too still miracles, and the changed person has the task of guiding others to change.

It is made clear again that no human force can free a person from alcohol. Only God can and will if he is sought. Living on the basis of one's own will is not crowned with success. Life without God is described as self-centered and dishonest. An alcoholic is an extreme example of excessive self-will, and you have to get rid of this "egoism", otherwise it will kill you. And God make it possible. A prayer is recommended in which one asks God to “release one from the bondage of self” so that one can better do God's will. Spirituality is the way of strength, and whoever does bad is spiritually ill.

A further chapter discusses the procedure for the careful proselytizing of alcoholics. The main thing is that he is willing to believe in a power greater than himself and to live according to spiritual guidelines. Finally, various alcoholic careers are presented which, thanks to faith, have been able to stop drinking.

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