Alcoholics Anonymous
Search the Big Book
Search the current official Big Book reading page maintained by A.A.W.S.
Recovery literature and A.A. history
Search official A.A. literature.
Search the Big Book or Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions on AA.org, then explore brief notes about the fellowship's early history.
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Enter a word or phrase. Your search opens on AA.org, where the matching official reading PDFs are provided.
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
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Search the official Step and Tradition reading page maintained by A.A.W.S.
Search results and reading files are provided and hosted by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. on aa.org.
Early fellowship, 1935
Two moments at the beginning
These are short factual summaries written by Friendship House. They are history notes, not quotations from A.A. literature.
Bill W. and Dr. Bob met in Akron
Bill W. met Dr. Bob through local contacts, including Henrietta Seiberling. Their conversation became one of the key events in the beginning of Alcoholics Anonymous.
View the A.A. timelineA commonly recognized founding date
June 10 is commonly marked as the founding date of Alcoholics Anonymous and is associated with Dr. Bob's last drink.
Read A.A.'s historyA date worth keeping clear
The Big Book was first published in 1939.
The fellowship began taking shape in 1935. The book Alcoholics Anonymous came later and was first published on April 10, 1939.
The official Big Book search above opens the current reading page maintained by A.A.W.S. The 1935 material on this page is presented separately as history.
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Friendship House is independent and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, approved by, or endorsed by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. References to A.A. publications identify the material being discussed or linked. External source links open on aa.org.
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