"It may seem incredible that these men are to become happy, respected, and useful once more. How can they rise out of such misery, bad repute and hopelessness? The practical answer is that since these things have happened among us, they can happen with you.”

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, A Vision For You, pg. 153~

"So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They

arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of

self-will run riot, though he usually doesn't think so."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 62~

“We were having trouble with personal relationships, we couldn't control our emotional natures, we were a prey to misery and depression, we couldn't make a living, we had a feeling of uselessness, we were full of fear, we were unhappy, we couldn't seem to be of real help to other people…” - Pg. 52 - We Agnostics

"Modem-to-modem or face-to-face, A.A.’s speak the language of the heart in all its power and simplicity.”

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Working With Others, pg. xxiv

“We could wish to be moral, we could wish to be philosophically comforted, in fact, we could will these things with all our might, but the needed power wasn't there. Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly.” - Pg. 45 - We Agnostics

“If a mere code of morals or a better philosophy of life were to overcome alcoholism, many of us would have recovered long ago. But we found that such codes and philosophies did not save us, no matter how much we tried.” - Pg. 45 - We Agnostics

"We know that while the alcoholic keeps away from drink, as he may do for months or years, he reacts much like other men. We are equally positive that once he takes any alcohol whatever into his system, something happens, both in the bodily and mental sense, which makes it virtually impossible for him to stop. The experience of any alcoholic will abundantly confirm this."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 22~

"In this book you read again and again that faith did for us what we could not do for ourselves. We hope you are convinced now that God can remove whatever self-will has blocked you off from Him. If you have already made a decision, and an inventory of your grosser handicaps, you have made a good beginning. That being so you have swallowed and digested some big chunks of truth about yourself."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 70~

"Once more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental

defense against the first drink. Except in a few rare cases, neither

he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a Higher Power."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, More About Alcoholism, pg. 43~

“The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which we could never do by ourselves."

~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, There Is A Solution, pg. 25~