Early 1940's Philadelphia Intro To AA Pamphlet

INTRODUCTION TO AA
Philadelphia Group
1537 Pine Street

Alcoholics Anonymous
New Club House
219 South 36th Street
Phone: BARing 9698

Meetings:
Public - Thursdays
Members - Mondays
8:30 P.M.

This pamphlet is an attempt to set forth a few of the rudimentary ideas of A.A. Its purpose is to give the new member a working knowledge, so that he will have some understanding of the purposes, functioning and organization of A.A. What is covered here, we hope will give a prospective member an idea of how to at least start the A.A. program.

However, since the A.A. idea is ever evolving and developing, each new member is strongly advised to circulate freely at meetings and elsewhere with other members. It is, in fact, only by intimate personal discussion that a full understanding can be attained. All older members are willing and anxious, without obtrusion, to assist new men along this line.

I. What do the letters A.A. stand for?
Alcoholics Anonymous.

II. What is A.A.?
A.A. is a group of people for whom Alcohol has become a major problem in their lives and who, admitting it, have decided to do something about it. They have, on the evidence of their own lives, decided that for them Alcohol is a poison, and are honestly attempting to build a satisfactory mode of living without the use of Alcohol in any form.

III. What is an Alcoholic?
An Alcoholic is any person whose indulgence in Alcohol continuously or periodically results in behavior such as to disrupt his normal relations with his or her work, family or society, and is of such a nature as to cause him or her serious trouble.

An Alcoholic is any person whose mental or physical condition is so affected as to, in fact, seriously jeopardize his or her normal relations with her or his work, family or society. While the actual damage may not have been done, it is merely a matter of time or luck when something serious will occur. Therefore, so far as the necessity of their giving up drinking is concerned they are Alcoholic.

An Alcoholic is any person who experiences an abnormal craving after drinking, and, who finds it necessary to use Alcohol the next day as a medicine or drug to alleviate the very condition which Alcohol itself has created.

An Alcoholic is any person who under any or all of these conditions finds it impossible to di