An Open Letter to the A.A. Fellowship,

My grandfather went to A.A. meetings in Akron, Ohio in the 1930’s. The only reason I say this is to help you understand some of the reasons I feel obligated to preserve and protect the legacy of those original 100 men and women.

I never met my grandfather because he died a few months before I was born. I never met Bill W. or Dr. Bob, but the words they wrote in that original manuscript saved my life over fifty years after the first publication.

It’s currently 2024 and it has been proposed that the time has come to revise, edit, and change that original text. Whatever agenda might be behind this, for it to proceed to this point is evidence enough for me that our trusted servants are no longer as trusted as we might like to believe.

Personal recovery depends on A.A. unity and this tradition must not be minimized. The proposal to modify the original text has already begun to alienate members and splinter the solidarity of the fellowship. Whatever the true motivation might be, one thing is for certain. Whether it’s put it to a vote, individual groups submit opinions, or it’s debated at conferences and conventions, that text will eventually be changed. There are numerous current day examples which demonstrate that our obsession to reframe perceptions, so they align with the lens we currently view the world with, supersedes common sense and has very little to do with the truth.

The good news is the “Big Book,” Alcoholics Anonymous, is in the public domain. This means that anyone can reprint it (with or without changes.) Since those who have been entrusted with protecting A.A. have found other priorities, I intend to provide an alternative.

I will publish an unedited version of the first 164 pages and make it available through online retailers. Any funds received will be used to build a publishing/distribution enterprise to ensure that if anyone, anywhere reaches out for help that the original message of A.A. is available to them.

I will also propose to every group I am part of that they should immediately stop contributing to G.S.O. I sincerely hope I am wrong, but if this current path does lead to a splintering of A.A., then something will need to fill that void. In the history of Christianity, it was the revisionists who formed something new, but the current A.A. service structure is forcing the traditionalists to do that.

Since my comments will likely cause backlash, I will operate under an additional level of anonymity by not even providing my first name.

Truly yours,
A.A. Member X