Using the tenets of the Oxford Group, a Christian organization that was a precursor to AA, Wilson “began writing,” according to Susan Cheever, a columnist for The Fix and author of the Wilson biography “My Name Is Bill”: “’I relaxed and asked for guidance,’ he recalled later. The first piece of AA literature, in fact, dealt solely with the problems caused by alcohol and the steps its members felt were necessary to get and stay sober. It had taken over four years to produce 100 sober alcoholics in the three founding groups.”ĭuring its first decade, the members of Alcoholics Anonymous couldn’t conceive of their newfound sobriety as anything more than a personal solution to their own alcoholic dilemmas - in other words, no one had any expectations that AA would grow into a worldwide organization with more than 2 million members in 180 countries, according to Time magazine. In the fall of 1935, a second group of alcoholics slowly took shape in New York. Though the name Alcoholics Anonymous had not yet been coined, these three men actually made up the nucleus of the first A.A. As the AA website notes, “Both men immediately set to work with alcoholics at Akron’s City Hospital, where one patient quickly achieved complete sobriety. Smith, regarded as the co-founders of the movement, it would be several years before the organization found its footing. The Traditions provided us a way to not kill each other.” What Are the Twelve Traditions: First, the StepsĪlthough the foundation of Alcoholics Anonymous can be traced back to a 1935 encounter by Bill Wilson and Dr.
So what are the Twelve Traditions? Why are they important? How did they come to pass? It’s a complicated and fascinating history, but it boils down to a simple concept, according to one 12 Step fellowship : “The Steps provided us a way to not kill ourselves.
Narcotics Anonymous meetings usually include readings such as “Who Is an Addict?” and “Why Are We Here?” Both fellowships, and a number of others, emphasize the importance of the Twelve Steps … and likewise the Twelve Traditions, but by the time those are read aloud, many newcomers (and quite a few experienced members) are impatiently looking at their watches (or phones), ready for the meeting to get fully under way. Various Alcoholics Anonymous groups read both the Preamble and the Promises. The readings at various 12 Step recovery meetings are plentiful, regardless of the fellowship - but newcomers often listen to one of the longest and find themselves asking, “What are the Twelve Traditions?”
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