Denver Sober Living, Detox & Treatment Directory

“If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it — then you are ready to take certain steps.” — Alcoholics Anonymous (1939) · Chapter 5 · How It Works

From Chapter 5, the sentence that opens the door to the Twelve Steps — and to the twelve days that follow here, one Step at a time.

The entry fee isn’t belief, intelligence, or even hope — it’s wanting what sober people have badly enough to go to any length. That phrase scares newcomers until they do the math: we already went to any length for the drink. Lengths are not new to us. The program just redirects a work ethic we tragically already proved we had. Over the next twelve days, we’ll walk the Steps one at a time, exactly as printed in 1939.

Quote from the 1939 first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous (public domain). Reflection original to denversober.com. This site is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.