Quotes by Alcoholics Anonymous

"Suddenly the thought crossed my mind that if I were to put an ounce of whiskey in my milk it couldn't hurt me on a full stomach.  I ordered a whiskey and poured it in my milk.  I vaguely sensed I was not being any too smart,but felt reassured as I was taking the whiskey on a full stomach.  The experiment went so well that I ordered another whiskey and poured it into more milk.  That didn't seem to bother me so I tried another. Thus started one more trip to the asylum for Jim."

He made up his mind that until he had been successful in business and had retired, he would not touch another drop.  An exceptional man, he remained bone dry for twenty-five years and retired at the age of fifty-five ...Then he fell victim to a belief which practically every alcoholic has--that his long period of sobriety and self-discipline had qualified him to drink as other men. Out came his carpet slippers and a bottle.  In two months he was in a hospital, puzzled and humiliated.

"Heaven knows, we have tried hard enough and long enough to drink like other people.  Here are some of the methods we have tried:  Drinking beer only, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, drinking only at home, never having it in the house, never drinking during business hours, drinking only at parties, switching from scotch to brandy, drinking only natural wines, agreeing to resign if ever drunk on the job, taking a trip, not taking a trip, swearing off forever (with and without a solemn oath), taking more physical exercise, reading inspirational books, going to health farms and sanitariums, accepting voluntary commitment to asylums--we could increase the list ad infinitum."

"If anyone who is showing inability to control his drinking can do the right-about-face and drink like a gentleman, our hats are off to him.  Heaven knows, we have tried hard enough and long enough to drink like other people! 

"Physicians who are familiar with alcoholism agree
there is no such thing as making a normal drinker out of an alcoholic. 
Science may one day accomplish this, but it hasn't done so yet."

"We are like men who have lost their legs; they never grow new ones. Neither does there appear to be any kind of treatment which will make alcoholics of our kind like other men. In some instances there has been brief recovery, followed always by a still worse relapse."

"All of us felt at times that we were regaining control, but such intervals--usually brief--were inevitably followed by still less control which led in time to pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization.  We are convinced to a man that alcoholics of our type are in the grip of a progressive illness.  Over any considerable period we get worse, never better."

"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."

"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."

"A certain American businessman had ability, good sense, and high character.  For years he had floundered from one sanitarium to another. ...placing himself in the care of a celebrated physician...finished his treatment with unusual confidence.  His physical and mental condition were unusually good.  Above all, he believed he had acquired such a profound knowledge of the inner workings of his mind and its hidden springs that relapse was unthinkable.  Nevertheless, he was drunk in a short time."