Page 196 - The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

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DOCTOR BOB’S NIGHTMARE 181
1. Sense of duty.
2. It is a pleasure.
3. Because in so doing I am paying my debt to the
man who took time to pass it on to me.
4. Because every time I do it I take out a little more
insurance for myself against a possible slip.
Unlike most of our crowd, I did not get over my
craving for liquor much during the first two and one-
half years of abstinence. It was almost always with
me. But at no time have I been anywhere near yield­
ing. I used to get terribly upset when I saw my friends
drink and knew I could not, but I schooled myself to
believe that though I once had the same privilege, I
had abused it so frightfully that it was withdrawn. So
it doesn’t behoove me to squawk about it for, after all,
nobody ever had to throw me down and pour liquor
down my throat.
If you think you are an atheist, an agnostic, a
skeptic, or have any other form of intellectual pride
which keeps you from accepting what is in this book,
I feel sorry for you. If you still think you are strong
enough to beat the game alone, that is your affair.
But if you really and truly want to quit drinking
liquor for good and all, and sincerely feel that you
must have some help, we know that we have an answer
for you. It never fails, if you go about it with one half
the zeal you have been in the habit of showing when
you were getting another drink.
Your Heavenly Father will never let you down!