Alcoholics Anonymous, Fourth Edition

FOREWORD TO THIRD EDITION

BY March 1976, when this edition went to the
printer, the total worldwide membership of
Alcoholics Anonymous was conservatively estimated at
more than 1,000,000, with almost 28,000 groups
meeting in over 90 countries.

Surveys of groups in the United States and Canada
indicate that A.A. is reaching out, not only to more
and more people, but to a wider and wider range.
Women now make up more than one-fourth of the
membership; among newer members, the proportion
is nearly one-third. Seven percent of the A.A.'s
surveyed are less than 30 years of ageā€”among them,
many in their teens.

The basic principles of the A.A. program, it appears,
hold good for individuals with many dif-
ferent lifestyles, just as the program has brought
recovery to those of many different nationalities. The
Twelve Steps that summarize the program may be
called los Doce Pasos in one country, les Douze Etapes
in another, but they trace exactly the same path to
recovery that was blazed by the earliest members of
Alcoholics Anonymous.

In spite of the great increase in the size and the
span of this Fellowship, at its core it remains simple
and personal. Each day, somewhere in the world, re-
covery begins when one alcoholic talks with another
alcoholic, sharing experience, strength, and hope.