Page 11 - The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

FOREWORD TO THIRD EDITION

BY March 1976, when this edition went to the printer, the
total worldwide membership of Alcoholics Anonymous was
conservatively estimated at more than 1,000,000, with
almost 28,000 groups meeting in over 90 countries.

Surveys of groups in the United States and Canada indicate
that A.A. is reaching out, not only to more and more
people, but to a wider and wider range. Women now make
up more than one-fourth of the membership; among newer
members, the proportion is nearly one-third. Seven
percent of the A.A.’s surveyed are less than 30 years of
age—among them, many in their teens.

The basic principles of the A.A. program, it appears, hold
good for individuals with many different lifestyles, just as
the program has brought recovery to those of many
different nationalities. The Twelve Steps that summarize
the program may be called los Doce Pasos in one country,
les Douze Etapes in another, but they trace exactly the
same path to recovery that was blazed by the earliest
members of Alcoholics Anonymous.

In spite of the great increase in the size and the span of this
Fellowship, at its core it remains simple and personal. Each
day, somewhere in the world, recovery begins when one
alcoholic talks with another alcoholic, sharing experience,
strength, and hope.