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The Miracle of Back to
Basics is Featured in the May 2002 A.A. Grapevine.
Bruce D., of
Forest Park, IL, wrote an article for the May 2002 A.A.
Grapevine titled “From Self to Service.” In this piece, he describes how he unsuccessfully tried to
stay sober “on the fellowship” from 1985 to 2000.
Then, he was introduced to Back
to Basics—The Alcoholics Anonymous Beginners’ Meetings.
He took all Twelve Steps in a month, had the promised
spiritual awakening, and recovered from alcoholism.
As he learned in Back to Basics, he had to be
of service to others in order to stay sober himself.
In addition
to taking a meeting to the veterans hospital and doing set-up and
clean-up at the Suburban Fellowship Center, he is now the co-chair
of one of the two Back to Basics meetings at the club.
In the A.A.
Grapevine article, Bruce states, “In co-chairing a Back
to Basics AA meeting, I continue to work the Twelve Steps and feel
as if I have taken them all with other AA’s there.”
“Two years ago I had
nothing, least of all self-respect.
But God in his infinite mercy gave me a new life when I had
done everything not to deserve it.
For that I pay him back.”
Bruce, like the many thousands
who have had their lives changed by the Back to Basics
Beginners’ Meetings has chosen to be of service to others by leading the
sessions. As the Back
to Basics book states on page 123, “Please remember
that, in order to remain spiritually fit, we must be of service to
other alcoholics. We
can think of no greater service than helping others through the
Twelve Steps so they, too, can find the spiritual solution to
alcoholism.”
Bruce is a member of the host
committee that is bringing Wally P. to the Suburban Fellowship
Center on July 19-21, 2002 to conduct a Back to Basics
weekend seminar. Newcomers
will take all Twelve Steps on Saturday, July 20th using
the A.A. meeting format that Dr. Bob and the A.A. pioneers
utilized in the
1940’s to produce a 50-75% recovery rate from alcoholism.
“It works—it
really does.”
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