Big Book Page 196
Personal Stories – Part I
"Then I recalled a book given to me by my sister Jean about drunks as desperate as I was who had found a way to stop drinking. According to this book, these drunks had found a way to live like other human beings: to get up in the morning, go to work, and return home in the evening."— Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, page 196. A short quotation, for identification and study. Read the whole page in your own copy →
What's on page 196
Page 196 sits in Personal Stories – Part I. The personal stories are the back half of the Big Book — members telling it in their own words. For a lot of people that's where the book finally lands.
Reading the page itself, the language here turns on anonymity. That's taken from the page's own words — not from anybody's summary of them.
Read it for yourself
Page 196 itself — the actual page, full size — is in the Big Book Search Engine, free with no account. The book belongs to Alcoholics Anonymous, and A.A. offers it to everyone: read it free at aa.org, buy a copy from A.A., or pick one up at a meeting.
Quick answers
What part of the Big Book is page 196 in?
Page 196 is in Personal Stories – Part I of Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition. The personal stories make up the back half of the book — members telling their own accounts in their own words.
What is on page 196 of the Big Book?
Page 196 sits in Personal Stories – Part I. Reading the page itself, its language turns on anonymity. Recovery Starts does not reproduce the Big Book — the book belongs to A.A. — so to read the page in full, get your own copy.
Can I read page 196 of the Big Book online for free?
Yes — free, no account. The Big Book Search Engine at read.recoverystarts.com shows the actual pages of the 4th Edition; page 196 is at read.recoverystarts.com/bigbook/read?page=196. The book itself belongs to A.A., which offers it to everyone: read it free at aa.org, buy a copy from the official A.A. store, or pick one up at almost any meeting.
This is an independent Big Book reference page from Recovery Starts — not official AA literature, not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, and not medical advice. Page references are to Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book), 4th Edition. Read the full book free at aa.org, or get your own copy from A.A. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).