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12 Steps in 4 Hours

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Learn ‘How It Works’ — Take all 12 steps in 4 hours!

This workshop is for newcomers, those coming back and recovered alcoholics/addicts who want to work with others.

  • Learn ‘how it works’ — Steps One through Step Nine;
  • Know how to stay spiritually fit with the daily program of action of Steps Ten and Eleven;
  • Know how to carry the message of our common solution to the addict who still suffers.

The program is FREE to all recovered and suffering addicts.

Questions? Call Cameron F.  (416.533.6024)
12 Steps in 4 Hours Workshop Facilitator

PLEASE REGISTER FOR THE NEXT 12 STEPS IN 4 HOURS WORKSHOP:

When you register you’ll receive the “zoom” meeting ID and password.

Download this FREE 12 Step workbook that guides the newcomer through all 12 steps in approximately 4 hours!

Other Helpful Downloads

BLANK-inventory-sheets
log-loser-worksheet-2024-11-8
how-to-win-the-newcomers-confidence-2024-11-8
responsible-vs-irresponsible-sponsorship
Step 3 Prayer & Meditation
Step 7 Prayer & Meditation
Step 11 Meditation (Kimia)

One Day At A Time Song by Tom S. (Toronto, ON)

Dr. Carl Jung Quotes

Download Cameron F.’s most recent “mucked” 12 Steps in 4 Hours Workbook.

Listen to the audio version of the 12 Steps in 4 Hours workshop as presented by Cameron F.

Download the workbook in another language.

Download Cameron F.’s most recent “mucked” 12 Steps in 4 Hours Workbook.

Since May 27, 2007, the “12 Steps in 4 Hours” Group of C.A. has now taken, as of September 2025,  more than 15,200 people through the 12 Steps in 4 hours.

Thanks to the Virtual ZOOM platform we, the 12 Steps in 4 Hours C.A. Group, have become a global recovery fellowship! Our attendance for the past several months have been 150 to 300 or more addicts from around the world looking for a Big Book solution focused meeting.

We’ve had people in recovery attend the workshop online from all over the world (92 Countries as of 2025), including Canada (from every province) and the United States (all 50 States, including Hawaii), Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Belgium, Bermuda, Benin (West Africa) Brazil, Bahrain, Cambodia, Czech Republic, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Dubai/United Arab Emirates, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Latvia, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Martinique, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Georgia, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Scotland, Siberia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Vietnam, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The 12 Steps in 4 hours workbook has been downloaded more than 50,000 times and has been translated into following languages: French, Ukrainian, Russian, Spanish, Dutch, Arabic, Swedish, Yiddish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Tamil, Slovenian, German and Vietnamese.

It only takes a day to learn ‘how it works’ and the rest of our lives to practice it.

Download this FREE 12 Traditions Workbook that guides the C.A. Member through all 12 Traditions in approximately 4 hours!

Download this FREE 12 Concepts Workbook that guides the C.A. Member through all 12 Concepts in approximately 4 hours!

Want to know if you are an Addict? Take this self-assessment test and find out if you are a REAL Addict or Alcoholic

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Identification—”How to share an effective ‘war’ story or How to Qualify as an Addict.

The message which can interest and hold these alcoholic (addicted) people must have depth and weight (our lack of control) (AA p. xxviii). 

Tell them (newcomers) enough about your drinking (using, acting-out) habits, symptoms, and experiences to encourage them to speak of themselves. (AA p. 91) Tell them how baffled you were, how you finally learned that you were sick. Give them an account of the struggles (failed strategies) you made to stop. Show them (newcomers) the mental twist (how my mind lies to me) which leads to the first drink (drug, obsessive-compulsive act) of the spree. (AA p. 92).

Listen to Chris Raymer, a recovered alcoholic addict from Texas, talk about the Big Book of A.A. definition of a “real” alcoholic addict.

Click here to download “Are you an addict” in MP3 format.

Take this self-assessment test and determine what type of drinker, user, or obsessive-complusive you might be. If the question does not apply to you – leave it blank. These behavioural characteristics can be found on (page: xxviii, 20-22, 24, 30, 43, 44 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, 2001)

Men and women drink (use or act-out) essentially because they like the effect (body allergy) produced by alcohol (drugs, obsessive-compulsive acts). Is this your experience – yes-no?

The sensation is so elusive that, while they admit it is injurious (yes-no?), they cannot after a time differentiate the true from the false.

To them, their alcoholic (addict) life seems the only normal one. They are restless, irritable and discontented (bored, depressed, anxious), unless they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort (body allergy) which comes at once by taking a few drinks—drinks (drugs, acts) which they see others taking (doing) with impunity.

After they have succumbed to the desire again, as so many do (Is this your experience – yes-no?), and the phenomenon of craving (body allergy) develops, they pass through the well-known stages of a spree, emerging remorseful, with a firm resolution not to drink (use or act-out) again. Is this your experience – yes-no?

This is repeated over and over. Is this your experience – yes-no?

…and unless this person can experience an entire psychic change there is very little hope of their recovery.

SELF-DIAGNOSIS

Analogy: Addicts are like drowning men and women. If we don’t find some way of keeping our heads above water, we are going to drown. So we look for some kind of power to keep us afloat. We notice there are “logs” floating on the surface. These logs look like they’re capable of keeping our heads above water, but when we reach for one of these logs we find that we can only hold on for maybe a day, a week, a month, a year, maybe longer, but at some point, the logs fails us as a power and we slip and drown.

“Logs” are best described as “easier softer ways,” “middle of the road solutions,” half measures” and “human aids.”

My Log List: STEP ONE (PART ONE) Admitting powerlessness: Check those strategies that failed to keep you permanently abstinent. My Loser List: STEP ONE (PART TWO) Admitting life is unmanageable. Check what you’ve lost as a result of your inability to stay stopped.
__ will power
__ resolutions, oaths, promises, contracts
__ controlled using, drinking, thinking, behaving
__ harm reduction, substitution strategies
__ ill health, sickness
__ ominous warnings from a doctor, judge, lawyer, employer
__ change of environment, trigger lists, avoiding people, places, things
__ counselling, therapy, group therapy
__ detox, treatment centres, spas, spiritual retreats
__ war stories, fear, horror
__ relationships, friends, spouse, children, family, sex, pregnancy
__ getting a pet (dog, cat)
__ church, prayer (faith without works)
__ having a sponsor
__ going to meetings, 90 meetings in 90 days, “meeting makers make it”
__ yesterday’s spiritual experience
__ self-help books, personal development courses
__ recovery knowledge
__ “Big Book” reading / studying
__ intelligence / education
__ frothy emotional appeals, interventions, threats, ultimatums
__ positive thinking, affirmations, self-talk
__ poetry: “Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow,” “The Man In the Glass”
__ guilt, shame, remorse
__ good days/bad days
__ keeping busy
__ money / no money
__ memory strategies “remember when,” “think, think, think,” “play the tape all the way through”
__ jail, incarceration
__ good reasons to stop, sufficiently strong reasons to stop, consequences
__ moral & philosophical convictions, reputation, behavioural modification
__ suffering, humiliation, pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization
__ sobriety time
__ exercise, holistic medicine, acupuncture, hypnotism, healthy diet, vitamins, fasts, cleansings		 __ time
__ family
__ spouse
__ children
__ friends
__ money
__ home / residence
__ health
__ safety
__ hygiene
__ opportunities
__ careers, jobs, employment
__ licence (vehicle, professional)
__ education
__ quality of life
__ hope
__ intelligence
__ mental acuity
__ self-respect
__ respect from others
__ self-esteem
__ self-confidence
__ self-improvement
__ self-control
__ emotional security
__ responsibility for myself
__ responsibility to others
__ volition & agency
__ reputation
__ freedom
__ morality
__ spirituality / God
__ peace of mind
__ sanity
__ faith
__ humanity

If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely (Do you honestly want to stop drinking, using or acting out – yes-no? and, based on your log list, have you been able to stay stopped – yes-no?), or if when drinking (using or acting out), you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably alcoholic (addict). (Do you exhibit little control, when drinking, using or acting out – yes-no?) If that be the case, you may be suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will conquer. (AA p. 44)

Important Note: The LOG list and the LOSER list are universal in application. ALL addicts burn the same logs and ALL addicts lose the same things pursuing their addiction pattern to the “gates of insanity or death.”

Relapse was unthinkable…What happened? A Confession of a Chronic Relapser

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“It only takes a few hours to learn “how it works” and the rest of our lives to practice it!”

Having worked with addicts from all over the world, the reasons for relapse amongst those with sobriety time seems to always point to same conditions–they stopped working their program. This share is a synopsis of their stories.

I got sober working the Twelve Steps of Cocaine Anonymous and that was a miracle in my life, because for years the only thing on my mind, morning, noon and night, was how do I get high, stay high and get higher. The desire to drink or use drugs was gone. Life was great. Family relationships improved. I started working again and I was able to save  a little money. Then I went on cruise control. I got cocky and complacent. My program began to waver.

The first principle I let go of was unselfish work with other addicts. This was my Twelfth Step. Intensive work with other addicts was too strenuous. I was too busy to carry the message to other suffering addicts, so I stopped working with newcomers and having fellowship with other recovered addicts.

Next to go was Step Eleven. I stopped listening to God through meditation and eventually I also stopped talking to God through prayer. My conscious contact with God diminished. What used to be an intuitive direction became muddle confusion.

Next, Step Ten ceased to be part of my daily routine. I got bogged down with the minutia of daily life. I stopped watching for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment and fear. I stopped asking God for guidance. I stopped discussing my shortcomings with others. I didn’t bother to clean up my mistakes or make amends for my wrongdoings nor did I turn my thoughts to someone I could help.

When I quit working my daily program of action, my spiritual fitness began to wane. I no longer wanted to clean up my past and set matters right. I discarded my Step Eight list of people I had harmed and ceased to make any further direct amends as suggested in Step Nine. Guilt, shame and remorse over the things I had done began to creep back into my thought-life disturbing my peace of mind and serenity.

Step Seven ceased being a part of my evening prayer and meditation. I no longer asked God to remove my defects of character nor did I ask God to give me strength to be honest, pure, unselfish and loving. With that, I ceased doing Step Six. I failed to see the futility and the fatality of my character defects and their terrible destructiveness. My shortcomings were no longer objectionable and became unwilling to let them go.

Next to go was Steps Four and Five.  I no longer confessed my shortcomings with others because I stopped taking a fearless and moral inventory of myself. Resentments, fears, and harms to others began to pile up and I once again became blocked from the sunlight of the spirit.

Now I no longer wanted to turn my will and my life over to God as suggested in Step Three. I had better ideas. A hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking and self-pity drove me to selfishness and self-centred behaviours. I gave up searching for the great reality deep down within me. I became unwilling to believe in a Power Greater than myself. I lost faith in Step Two and once again lack of power became my dilemma.

Having no power, I had no defence against my addiction. My sound reasoning failed to hold me in check. The insane idea won out. All had gone well for time and relapse was unthinkable, but I failed to enlarge my spiritual life and to my consternation I found myself drunk and high in a very short period of time. Once again I was at Step One— I was powerless over cocaine and all other mind altering substances and my life had become unmanageable.

I’ve heard this story many times over my years of working with others. Question: What can the relapser do about it?

Well, I’ve got good news and bad news. First the bad news. Unless we can experience and entire psychic change there is very little hope of our recovery (p. xxix) . The good news—there is a solution (p. 25).

A Big Book promise states: when the spiritual malady is overcome, my mind and body straightens out (p. 64).

So, imagine three layers. The first layer is our bodily reaction to alcohol and drugs when we ingest them — the physical craving. Under that is the second layer: the insanity of the mind just before the first drink or drug — the mental obsession. Under that is the third layer: the inward condition that triggers the second layer, which in turn triggers the first — the “spiritual malady.”

Symptoms of this “third layer” as described in the Big Book include:

  1. having trouble with personal relationships (yes / no?)
  2. not being able to control our emotional natures (yes / no?)
  3. being a prey to (or suffering from) misery and depression (yes / no?)
  4. not being able to make a living (or a successful life) (yes / no?)
  5. having feelings of uselessness (yes / no?)
  6. being full of fear (yes / no?)
  7. unhappiness (yes / no?)
  8. inability to be of real help to other people (p. 52) (yes / no?)
  9. being like “the actor who wants to run the whole show” (pp. 60-61) (yes / no?)
  10. “being driven by fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity” (p. 62) (yes / no?)
  11. self-will run riot (p. 62) (yes / no?)
  12. leading a double life (p. 73) (yes / no?)
  13. living like a tornado running through the lives of others (p. 82) (yes / no?)
  14. exhibiting selfish and inconsiderate habits (yes / no?)
  15. being restless, irritable, and discontented (page xxviii) (yes / no?)

So, ask yourself, Am I  suffering from the “spiritual malady” — particularly if you haven’t had a drink or drug in a while. Currently, what is the condition of your “inner life?” Are you experiencing any of the symptoms listed previously? ( ______  yeses / 15 symptoms) If so what can you do about it?

  1. Have you ever taken another addict through the Steps? If yes, how long ago?
  2. Was your Step 4 inventory thorough? Did you leave anything out? If yes, what was it you failed to analyze and discuss?
  3. Have you completed all your 9th Step amends wherever possible? If not, what remains to be done?
  4. Is there a wrong relationship in your life that you will not face and make right? If yes, what is it? i.e. a person, job, activity?
  5. Is there a bad habit, indulgence or character defect you will not give up? If yes, what is it? i.e. vulgar language, gossiping, philandering, social media, smoking, pornography, bigotry or prejudice?
  6. Is there a person (i.e. ex-spouse, partner or friend), institution (i.e. police, church, government, company) or principle (i.e. socialism, capitalism, woke-ism, communism, altruism) in your life you will not accept and/or forgive? If yes, who or what is it?
  7. Is there a restitution you will not make? If yes, what is it?
  8. Is there something God has instructed you to do that you will not obey? If yes, what is it?
  9. Are you working with the disciplines and practices of steps 10 and 11 (self-examination, meditation and prayer)… CONSISTENTLY… EVERY DAY? i.e. no half measures!

It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol (drugs, obsessive-compulsive behaviour) is a subtle foe. We are not cured of addiction. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God’s will into all of our activities. “How can I best serve Thee, Thy will (not mine) be done.” These are thoughts (Spiritual Principles) which must go with us constantly. We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish. It is the proper use of the will (God’s will NOT self-will). (AA p. 85) The spiritual life is not a theory, we have to live it. A new life has been given us or, if you prefer, “a design for living” that really works (AA p. 28) This is not an overnight matter, it should continue for our lifetime. (AA p. 84) Remember, recovery is NOT a sprint, it’s a marathon for life … And I’m for that, how about you?

The Myth of A.A. Identification: The Jay-Walker Story, A Case for Using the Big Book for Any and All Addictions

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Step One: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.

There’s a well known saying in A.A. that “only an alcoholic can identify with another alcoholic.” That’s why we have hundreds of different 12 Step fellowships—Alcoholics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, Codependents Anonymous, Food Anonymous, Sex, Love Addicts Anonymous and so on.

In the 12 Step rooms today we can witness all kinds of addictions and, in many cases, people who suffer from more than one kind of addiction. Furthermore, when one overcomes one addiction, often another substitute addiction arises.

In many 12 Step fellowships, it is difficult and sometimes forbidden to share and discuss these other afflictions because of Tradition Five: “Each group has but one primary purpose – to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.”

Many addicts feel that identification, one type of addict with another addict of the same type is vital to securing the confidence of the one who suffers and that the addict who is making the approach has a real solution to the addiction. However, there are many cases where a Big Book sponsor does not share the same addiction, but has been able to identify with another type addict and successfully show them how to recover using the Big Book as a recovery text. For example, we know of a Big Book sponsor in Alberta, who is an alcoholic but has successfully shown food addicts, sex addicts, drug addicts, emotion addicts, self-mutilation addicts, and others how to recover. There are other examples of these kinds of Big Book sponsors throughout Canada, United States and the UK.

In the Big Book of A.A., the jay-walker story makes an excellent case for using the Big Book as a recovery text for treating any and all addictions.

On pages 37-38 in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous it says:

“Our behavior is as absurd and incomprehensible with respect to the first drink as that of an individual with a passion, say, for jay-walking. He gets a thrill out of skipping in front of fast-moving vehicles. He enjoys himself for a few years in spite of friendly warnings. Up to this point you would label him as a foolish chap having queer ideas of fun. Luck then deserts him and he is slightly injured several times in succession. You would expect him, if he were normal, to cut it out. Presently he is hit again and this time has a fractured skull. Within a week after leaving the hospital a fast-moving trolley car breaks his arm. He tells you he has decided to stop jay-walking for good, but in a few weeks he breaks both legs.”

“On through the years this conduct continues, accompanied by his continual promises to be careful or to keep off the streets altogether. Finally, he can no longer work, his wife gets a divorce and he is held up to ridicule. He tries every known means to get the jaywalking idea out of his head. He shuts himself up in an asylum, hoping to mend his ways. But the day he comes out he races in front of a fire engine, which breaks his back. Such a man would be crazy, wouldn’t he?”

“You may think our illustration is too ridiculous. But is it? We, who have been through the wringer, have to admit if we substituted alcoholism or any addiction for jay-walking, the illustration would fit exactly. However intelligent we may have been in other respects, where alcohol has been involved, we have been strangely insane. It’s strong language but isn’t it true?”

What terms and phrases can we substitute for drinking, drink, alcohol, alcoholic when working with other addictions?

Alcoholism Alcoholic Alcohol Drink Drinking
(Mind-altering) Substance Addiction Addict Drugs, Cocaine, Crack, Marijauna, etc. Use Using
Nicotine Smoker Cigarettes Puff Smoking
Food Addiction Over-Eater Food Bite Over-eating
Gambling Addiction Gambler Gamble Bet Betting
Sex Addiction Sex & Love Addict Sex and or Love Act Acting Out
Codependence Care-Bear Relationships Care Worrying, People Pleasing, Placating or Fixing Others
Emotions Addiction Addict Control Care Worrying
Anger Addiction Addict Control Over-reaction Raging
Self-mutilation Addiction Self-harmer/Cutter Self-mutilate Cut Cutting
Anorexia/Bulimia Anorexic / Bulimic Food Restrict Restricting/Binging-Purging
Sugar Addiction Addict Sugar Sweet Sweet Eating
Debt Addiction Addict Money Purchase Spending.

Confessions of a Big Book Sponsor

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big book sponsorship
Bill W., Dr. Bob & Bill D.

I am a Big Book Sponsor. I practice the 12 Step Program as outlined in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, the original recipe for recovery as practiced by the original 100 who recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.

By working the Twelve Step program as described in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, I have had a spiritual awakening. The obsession to use cocaine or any mind-altering substances has been removed. My progressive addiction illness has been arrested. My disease has been placed into remission. I have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. As a result, I am able to remain, almost effortlessly, abstinent from cocaine and all other mind-altering substances. I have ceased fighting anything or anyone, even cocaine. My sanity has been returned. I am not fighting temptation, nor am I avoiding people, places and things on a trigger list. I feel as though I had been placed in a position of neutrality safe and protected by a Higher Consciousness. I have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem has been removed. It does not exist for me. I am neither cocky nor am I afraid. This is how I react so long as I keep in fit spiritual condition. Furthermore, by living in the disciplines of Steps 10, 11 and 12 everyday, I have a daily program of action that really works in rough going. I have way of living without cocaine or any mind-altering substances.

You can recognize me at 12 Step meetings because I am armed with the facts about myself. As an ex-problem addict, you will see me making an approach to the newcomer—looking for someone who is open-minded about our common solution—someone with an honest desire to stop using cocaine or any mind-altering substances—someone who wants what I have and is willing to follow the instructions as outlined in the Big Book—someone who wants to be joyous and free of active addiction.

To show other addicts precisely how I have recovered is the main purpose of this book. I carry a common solution—a recipe for recovery on which we can absolutely agree and upon which we can join together as brothers and sisters in harmonious action. My deportment shouts that I am a person with a real answer. I carry no attitude of Holier Than Thou. I do not talk down to the addict from any moral or spiritual hilltop. I ask for no payment. I have no axes to grind nor people to please. You can expect to endure no lectures from me. My only desire is to be helpful. I offer friendship and fellowship.

I have carried the message of the Big Book to many addicts and rarely have I seen a person fail who thoroughly follows our path. But untreated addicts are unlovely people. My struggles with them are strenuous, comic and tragic. Those who could not or would not see our way of life are often consumed by their temptations which leads them to the gates of insanity or death. Helping other addicts is the foundation stone of my recovery. A kindly act once in a while isn’t enough for me. I have shared time, energy and money. My business and personal life has been interrupted by the telephone ringing at any time of the day or night. My spouse sometimes feels neglected. I have made innumerable trips to police courts, detox centers, hospitals, jails and asylums. I have counseled frantic spouses and relatives. Occasionally I have to meet such conditions.

I have worked hard with many addicts on the idea that only an addict can help another addict. I have had many failures. I often hear that this is a “selfish program”, but whenever I put my sobriety first I could never stay sober. When I started showing the newcomer how to stay sober, I have found no trouble staying sober. As Doctor Bob once remarked, “strenuous work one alcoholic with another was vital to permanent recovery.”

Sometimes I am confronted with Big Book animosity, but my program tells me I have to look at my part. Have I been crusading, righteous, or critical? Have I been engaging in frothy debates or windy arguments? Have I been demonstrating an attitude of intolerance? Yes, there have been times when I have been all these things, but I claim spiritual progress not perfection and I am no saint. I must remember that when I focus my mind on what is wrong with the fellowship and the meetings today, the more I become restless, irritable and discontented. I must remember that the meetings are filled with many suffering and untreated addicts. Love and tolerance of others is my code. So, I practice acceptance and focus on what is good about the meetings and the fellowship. I try to see what I can positively add to the meeting—my only desire is to be helpful. I must remember that I have no monopoly on recovery, but I do know that the Big Book solution works.

Why do I continue to work with other addicts? Having had a spiritual experience, I try to practice the 12 Step principles in all my affairs. First, I take care of family, for sobriety is not enough and I am a long way from making good to my spouse, parents and children whom for years I have so shockingly mistreated. Second, I take care of my business, for there can be no family if I am not self-supporting. And third, in my spare time, I carry this message to other addicts. For me, this approach, in this order, is a balanced program.

Over the years I have witnessed a fellowship grow up about me. I have watched the spirit grow in the eyes of a suffering individual and seen them recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. I have seen them make a 180 degree turn in life, only to help some other suffering addict do the same. This is the experience I would not miss. I know you will not want to miss it either. Frequent contact with newcomers and with other Big Book sponsors is a bright spot in my day.
My life has taken on a new meaning and I seem to be of benefit to others. I have found a new freedom and happiness. I know serenity and peace. I continue to lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in the people in my life. My attitude and outlook on life has changed. Fear and economic insecurity is down and I know how to intuitively handle situations which use to baffle me. I realize that my Higher Power does for me what I could not do for myself alone.

Thus I grow spiritually and so can you with a Big Book in your hand. It contains all you will need to begin working with the addict who still suffers. I know what you are thinking, “I’m a newcomer myself and I do not have enough clean time to be of use to anyone. What could I possibly offer another newcomer? Maybe I should wait a year or two.” Rubbish! By working the Big Book solution, you will tap a source of power greater than yourself. To duplicate, with such backing, what I have accomplished is only a matter of willingness, patience and labour. Remember your reliance is always upon your Higher Power. It will show you how to create the fellowship you crave. Ask in morning mediation what you can do for the addict who still suffers. The answers will come if you work your program. But if you are shaky you had better work with another addict instead. Remember you have recovered and have been given the power to help others. You will soon find out that when all other measures fail, work with another addict will save the day. Give freely of what you have been shown and join us on the Broad Highway of the Fellowship of the Spirit. You will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.

Trust God, Clean House, Help Others.