Among today's incoming AA members, many have never reached the advnaced stages of alcoholism,
though given time all might have.
Most of these fortunate ones have had little or no acquaintance with delirium,
with hospitals, asylums, and jails. Some were drinking heavily, and there had
been little more than a sometimes uncontrollable nuisance. Seldom had any of
these lost either health, business, family, or friends.
Why do men and women like these join AA?
The seventeen who now tell their experience answer that question. They saw that
they had become actual or potential alcoholics, even though no serious harm had
yet been done.
They realized that repeated lack of drinking control, when they really wanted
control, was the fatal symptom that spelled problem drinking. This, plus mounting
emotional disturbances, convinced them that compulsive alcoholism already had
them; that complete ruin would be only a question of time.
Seeing this danger, they came to AA. They realized that in the end alcoholism could
be as mortal as cancer; certainly no sane man would wait for a malignant growth
to become fatal before seeking help.
Therefore, these seventeen AA's and hundreds of thousands like them, have been
saved years of infinite suffering. They sum it up something like this: "We didn't
wait to hit bottom because, thank God, we could see the bottom. Actually, the bottom
came up and hit us. That sold us on Alcoholics Anonymous."