A.A.’s FREEDOMS

Freedom in A.A. is not just the absence of drinking—it's the presence of a new way of living. The Big Book promises that we will 'know a new freedom and a new happiness' [Page 83] when we work the steps. This freedom includes being released from the obsession to drink, as the Doctor's Opinion describes: 'the great fact is just this, and nothing less: that we have had deep and effective spiritual experiences... which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward life' [Page xxviii]. But this freedom must be maintained daily; we are told on page 85 that 'we are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.' That spiritual condition grows as we carry the message to others—step twelve gives us the freedom to be channels of hope [Page 89]. So A.A.’s freedoms are both a gift and a responsibility: we are free from the bondage of self, and free to serve.