The Big Book

The guiding book for AA is the Big Book, put together by AA founder Bill Wilson back in the 1930's. I read this today, and it seemed to explain a lot about me and my problems with alcohol: "Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics. No person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different from his fellows. Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death. We alcoholics are men and women who have lost the ability to control our drinking. We know that no real alcoholic ever recovers control."