H.O.W.

According to page 550 in the 3rd edition of "Alcoholics Anonymous", HOW stands for honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness.  I love this book.  :-) I bought it in the summer of 1991 at  Dave Burton's barn sale in Del Valle, Texas. He sold it to me for a quarter and he saved my life. I remember I read that book when I was drinking. Sometimes I was so drunk the words were blurry and I saw more than one sentence at a time.  I squinted my eyes to see better or closed one eyelid to eliminate some of the extra sentences.  I remember thinking I really need to get my eyes checked.

Anyway, as a result of reading the literature, I quit drinking October 30, 1991.

On page xviiiis, FOREWORD TO THE SECOND EDITION, is written "A.A's message could be transmitted in the mail as well as by word of mouth." I guess I got the message by reading the "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous because it worked for me. I read it like I was reading a novel. The stories were interesting and it sufficed for a while. It was like those early alcoholics were talking and trying to help me.  In the FOREWORD TO THE THIRD EDITION, page xxii, "Each day, somewhere in the world, recovery begins when one alcoholic talks with an alcoholic, sharing experience, strength, and hope."

 I read it once in a while and then I relapsed July 4th, 1992.

What I didn't know was the history of how this book came to be. I had skipped reading the very beginning and had gone straight to the stories.   I didn't know the first 164 pages, although written by Bill W.,were actually a result of collaboration between over 100 alcoholic men and women who agreed with what was written. Now, I don't know about you, but for two alcoholics to agree about anything is pretty amazing. Can you imagine over a hundred?  When I heard about this, I focused a lot more on the 164, more than ever before.  But this came much, much later.  First I had to go through what is described here PERFECTLY by Don C., a Native American.