Working with other addicts

But the ex-problem addict who has found this solution, who is properly armed with facts about themself, can generally win the entire confidence of another addict in a few hours. Until such an understanding is reached, little or nothing can be accomplished.

That the person who is making the approach has had the same difficulty, that they obviously know what they are talking about, that their whole deportment shouts at the new prospect that they are a person with a real answer, that they have no attitude of Holier Than Thou, nothing whatever except the sincere desire to be helpful; that there are no fees to pay, no axes to grind, no people to please, no lectures to be endured these are the conditions we have found most effective. After such an approach many take up their beds and walk again. (A.A. Big Book, pg. 18-19)

This seemed to prove that one addict could affect another as no non-addict could. It also indicated that strenuous work, one addict with another, was vital to permanent recovery.

(A.A. Big Book, pg. xvi-xvii)

With blessings for peace and recovery,

Shira