Frequently Asked Questions

Below there are frequently asked questions arranged by category.

Not all records are digitized and available online for several reasons. Firstly, it takes money, resources and staff hours to digitize the vast…
While there is no formal list of promises in the Big Book, some A.A. members refer to the following passage from the Big Book, Chapter 6: Into Action…
The Fellowship has four books that are generally accepted as “textbooks.” The first is Alcoholics Anonymous, also known as “the Big Book,” originally…
There are many different ideas about what alcoholism really is. The explanation that seems to make sense to most A.A. members is that alcoholism is a…
An A.A. meeting may take one of several forms, but at any meeting you will find alcoholics talking about what drinking did to their lives, their…
Occasionally a person who has been sober through A.A. will get drunk. In A.A. a relapse of this type is commonly known as a “slip.” It may occur…
No. Neither GSO nor A.A. produces, distributes or sells chips, coins, medallions or any other sobriety tokens that are used throughout the Fellowship…
The service structure is the framework in which our "general services" are carried out. It is the structure that takes the place of government in A.A…
Many alcoholics, by the time they turn to A.A. for help with their drinking problems, have also accumulated substantial financial problems. Not…
The “Twelve Steps” are the core of the A.A. program of personal recovery from alcoholism. They are not abstract theories; they are based on the trial…
We in A.A. believe there is no such thing as a cure for alcoholism. We can never return to normal drinking, and our ability to stay away from alcohol…
A central office or intergroup is an A.A. service office that involves partnership among groups in a community — just as A.A. groups themselves are…