Literature – District 3 South Florida Conference

How do you and your group let Literature carry the message too?

Today, as in the early days of Alcoholics Anonymous, the A.A. message of recovery from
alcoholism is carried by one alcoholic talking to another. However, since the publication of the
first edition of the Big Book in 1939, literature has played an important role in spreading the
A.A. message and imparting information about the A.A. Twelve Step program of recovery.
A.A. co-founder Bill W., who often called the influence of A.A. literature “incalculable,” wrote
in the May 1964 issue of the Grapevine, “Suppose, for instance, that during the last twenty-five
years A.A. had never published any standard literature…no books, no pamphlets. We need little
imagination to see that by now our message would be hopelessly garbled. Our relations with
medicine and religion would have become a shambles. To alcoholics generally we would today
be a joke and the public would have thought us a riddle. Without its literature, A.A. would
certainly have bogged down in a welter of controversy and disunity.” (The Language of the
Heart, p. 348) Bill’s words ring just as true today.

We have so many literature resources available to us. How many of them have you read? The
Heartland Intergroup Office in Lakeland, https://www.heartlandintergroup.org has many books
and pamphlets that you can look at and purchase. Did you know that AA.org website offers each
person one free pdf download of each of the pamphlets. Click “AA basic Literature” for a short
listing.

Consider, personally, having extra literature (books and/or pamphlets) available to give to
someone in need of the gift of AA that you have already been given. Call it your 12 th step
packet. Click above “AA 12 Step Literature” for suggestions.

If your group doesn’t already, consider giving newcomers a meeting list, some basic recovery
pamphlets and, perhaps, a copy of Living Sober or the Big Book. Ask in your next group
business meeting, how your group can better help the next sick and suffering alcoholic with
literature. Click “AA Newcomer Literature” for suggestions and links. Our district 3 literature
committee created Literature Spotlight Flyers with QR codes to help those in need find these
resources – click “Literature Spotlight Flyers”.

Do you want to learn more about the AA service structure or are you new into AA service and
want some guidelines? Don’t reinvent the wheel! There is a lot of literature available. Click
“AA Service Literature” for suggestions.

You can purchase literature locally from the Heartland Intergroup Office or you may purchase literature from AA Headquarters (AA.org).

I am responsible,

When anyone, anywhere
Reaches out for help,

I want the hand of AA
Always to be there,

And for that
I am responsible