Page 200 - The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

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ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS NUMBER THREE 185
much, until she informed me that they were a couple
of drunks just as I was. That wasn’t so bad, to tell it
to another drunk.
She said, “You are going to quit.” That was worth a
lot even though I did not believe it. Then she told me
that these two drunks she had been talking to had a
plan whereby they thought they could quit drinking,
and part of that plan was that they tell it to another
drunk. This was going to help them to stay sober. All
the other people who had talked to me wanted to help
me, and my pride prevented me from listening to them
and caused only resentment on my part, but I felt as if
I would be a real stinker if I did not listen to a couple
of fellows for a short time, if that would cure them. My
wife also told me that I could not pay them even if I
wanted to and had the money, which I did not.
They came in and began to give me instruction in
the program that later became known as Alcoholics
Anonymous. There was not much of it at that time.
I looked up and there were two great big fellows
over six-foot tall, very likable looking. (I knew after­
wards that the two who came in were Bill W. and
Doctor Bob.) Before very long we began to relate
some incidents of our drinking, and pretty soon I
realized that both of them knew what they were talk­
ing about, because you can see things and smell
things when you’re drunk that you can’t other times. If
I had thought they didn’t know what they were talk­
ing about, I wouldn’t have been willing to talk to them
at all.
After a while, Bill said, “Well, now, you’ve been
talking a good long time, let me talk a minute or two.”
So, after hearing some more of my story, he turned