Welcome Newcomer!!
This page will provide links to newcomer information pamphlets as well as links to the the "Big Book" (actually titled "Alcoholics Anonymous") and the "12 Steps and 12 Traditions", which provides more details about each of the 12 steps of the program as well as the 12 traditions, which are the basic principals that keep AA alive.
Newcomer Pamphlets
Almost all of us came to our first AA meeting with a lot of questions.: What is AA? Am I really an alcoholic? What does it mean to be an alcoholic?
Some of us were desperate, some of us had given up hope. These "pamphlets" are links to AA material that attempts to provide some initial answers to these questions. If you have more questions, you are not alone - we all had them as well. Please join one of our Zoom meetings either a little early, or with the ability to stay a little after the meeting. Simply say that you're new and you have some questions. You'll probably be pleasantly surprised that people will be more than happy to answer them and give you guidance.
Don't be afraid!! Everyone in that meeting had to attend their first meeting at some point. We all know what it feels like and we are more than happy to help you learn how to get and stay sober!!
Questions and Answers on Sponsorship
Meeting Guide App ( Find a meeting near you)
Call Someone
- At Meetings – Ask for phone numbers from members at your first few meetings. They will be happy to help!
- At Home or on the road – Call your local 24 Hour AA Hotline for Dallas (and surrounding cities) – 214-887-6699
- Out of Country – Online Intergroup 12th Step Committee – Request an international Help Line phone number for your country
Books
Known as the "Big Book," the basic text of Alcoholics Anonymous has helped millions of people recover from alcoholism since the first edition appeared in 1939. Chapters describing the A.A. recovery program — the original Twelve Steps — and the personal histories of A.A.'s co-founders remain unchanged since the original, while new stories have been added to the personal histories with each edition. Fourth Edition (2001).
The Big Book is also available in many forms such audio books and Kindle/eReader versions. You can also order a printed copy in pretty much any language as Braille and Large Print edition. These other versions can be found at https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/read-the-big-book-and-twelve-steps-and-twelve-traditions.
The “Twelve and Twelve” contains 12 essays by Bill W. that expand upon each of the Steps — the A.A. program of recovery — with helpful examples and personal insights, and another 12 that explain how the Traditions protect the unity of Alcoholics Anonymous. Originally published in Grapevine in 1952, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions is used today by A.A. members and groups worldwide.
As with the Big Book, the 12&12 is offered in a variety of languages and formats at https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/read-the-big-book-and-twelve-steps-and-twelve-traditions
AA Grapevine
The AA Grapevine is the international journal of Alcoholics Anonymous. Written, edited, illustrated, and read by AA members and others interested in the AA program of recovery from alcoholism, the Grapevine is a lifeline linking one alcoholic to another.
Often referred to as our "meeting in print," the AA Grapevine communicates the experience, strength, and hope of its contributors and reflects a broad geographic spectrum of current AA experience with recovery, unity, and service. Founded in 1944, the Grapevine does not receive group contributions, but is supported entirely through magazine subscription sales and additional income derived from the sale of Grapevine items.
The awareness that every AA member has an individual way of working the program permeates the pages of the Grapevine, and throughout its history the magazine has been a forum for the varied and often divergent opinions of AAs around the world. As such, articles are not intended to be statements of AA policy, nor does publication of any article imply endorsement by either AA or the Grapevine.
As Bill W. expressed it in 1946, "The Grapevine will be the voice of the Alcoholics Anonymous movement. Its editors and staff will be primarily accountable to the AA movement as a whole. . . . Within the bounds of friendliness and good taste, the Grapevine will enjoy perfect freedom of speech on all matters directly pertaining to Alcoholics Anonymous. . . . Like the Alcoholics Anonymous movement it is to mirror, there will be but one central purpose: The Grapevine will try to carry the AA message to alcoholics and practice the AA principles in all its affairs."
More information about how to subscribe can be found at https://www.aagrapevine.org/