AA Fundamentals

A short definition of A.A's main purpose. Originally written by Grapevine editors in 1947 with updates by the Conference.

A.A.’s Twelve Steps are a set of spiritual principles. When practiced as a way of life, they can expel the obsession to drink and enable the sufferer to recover from alcoholism.

The Twelve Steps are outlined in the book Alcoholics Anonymous. They can be found at the beginning of the chapter “How It Works.” Essays on the Steps can be read in the book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.

The Twelve Traditions apply to A.A. as a whole. They outline how A.A. maintains its unity and relates itself to the world around it.

The Twelve Traditions provide guidelines for relationships between the groups, members, the global Fellowship and society at large. Questions of finance, public relations, donations and purpose are addressed in the Traditions. There is both a short form and a long form of the Traditions. The Traditions were first published in the April 1946 AA Grapevine under the title “Twelve Points to Assure Our Future.”

An excerpt in large type from Chapter 5 of the Big Book. This page, which includes the Twelve Steps, is often read at the start of meetings.

General Service Conference-approved.

Two of A.A.’s traditions address anonymity. The Eleventh Tradition states that our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films. The Twelfth Tradition says that Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.