Hello and welcome to A.A York & District Recovery Online Home Page (United Kingdom)

For Newcomers

If you think you have a problem with drinking, we are here to help. For local meetings, select ‘‘blended meetings list’’ in the menu. Then click new page, below it.

If you have any queries, please email a.a.p.i.yorkanddistrictawareness@gmail.com. We will reply to your email ASAP. Please note: the fellowship volunteers run this email so, it could be a few hours or more before a response is sent to you. We aim to response to you ASAP.

PREAMBLE OF A.A

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength and hope with each other,

That they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.

The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.

There are no dues or fees for A.A membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions.

A.A is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics,

Organisation or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes.

Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety

EXTRACT FROM OUR LITERATURE, LIVING SOBER

Even the words “stay sober”—let alone live sober—offended many

of us when we first heard such advice. Although we had done a lot of

drinking, many of us never felt drunk, and were sure we almost never

appeared or sounded drunk. Many of us never staggered, fell, or got

thick tongues; many others were never disorderly, never missed a day

at work, never had automobile accidents, and certainly were never

hospitalized nor jailed for drunkenness.

We knew lots of people who drank more than we did, and people

who could not handle their drinks at all. We were not like that. So the

suggestion that maybe we should “stay sober” was almost insulting.

Besides, it seemed unnecessarily drastic. How could we live that

way? Surely, there was nothing wrong with a cocktail or two at a business

lunch or before dinner. Wasn’t everyone entitled to relax with a

few drinks, or have a couple of beers before going to bed?

However, after we learned some of the facts about the illness called

alcoholism, our opinions shifted. Our eyes have been opened to the

fact that apparently millions of people have the disease of alcoholism.

Medical science does not explain its “cause,” but medical experts on

alcoholism assures us that any drinking at all leads to trouble for the

alcoholic, or problem, drinker. Our experience overwhelmingly con-

firms this.

So not drinking at all—that is, staying sober—becomes the basis of

recovery from alcoholism. And let it be emphasized: Living sober turns

out to be not at all grim, boring, and uncomfortable, as we had feared,

but rather something we begin to enjoy and find much more exciting

than our drinking days. We’ll show you how.