From The Big Book Online: They Nearly Lost All:

The fifteen stories in this group tell of alcoholism at its miserable worst.

Many tried everything—hospitals, special treatments, sanitariums, asylums, and jails. Nothing worked. Loneliness, great physical and mental agony—these were the common lot. Most had taken shattering losses on nearly every front of life. Some went on trying to live with alcohol.

Others wanted to die.

Alcoholism had respected nobody, neither rich nor poor, learned nor unlettered. All found themselves headed for the same destruction, and it seemed they could do nothing whatever to stop it.

Now sober for years, they tell us how they got well. They prove to almost anyone’s satisfaction that it’s never too late to try Alcoholics Anonymous.

1 My Bottle, My Resentments, and Me
From childhood trauma to skid row drunk, this hobo finally found a Higher Power, bringing sobriety and a long-lost family. PDF

2 He Lived Only to Drink
“I had been preached to, analyzed, cursed, and counseled, but no one had ever said, ‘I identify with what’s going on with you. It happened to me and this is what I did about it.’” PDF

3 Safe Haven
This A.A. found that the process of discovering who he really was began with knowing who he didn’t want to be. PDF

4 Listening to the Wind
It took an “angel” to introduce this Native American woman to A.A. and recovery. PDF

5 Twice Gifted
Diagnosed with cirrhosis, this sick alcoholic got sobriety—plus a lifesaving liver transplant. PDF

6 Building a New Life
Hallucinating and restrained by sheriff’s deputies and hospital staff, this once-happy family man received an unexpected gift from God—a firm foundation in sobriety that would hold up through good times and bad. PDF

7 On the Move
Working the A.A. program showed this alcoholic how to get from geographics to gratitude. PDF

8 A Vision of Recovery
A feeble prayer forged a lasting connection with a Higher Power for this Mic-Mac Indian. PDF

9 Gutter Bravado
Alone and unemployable, he was given two options by the court, get help or go to jail, and his journey toward teachability began. PDF

10 Empty on the Inside
She grew up around A.A. and had all the answers—except when it came to her own life.
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11 Grounded
Alcohol clipped this pilot’s wings until sobriety and hard work brought him back to the sky. PDF

12 Another Chance
Poor, black, totally ruled by alcohol, she felt shut away from any life worth living. But when she began a prison sentence, a door opened. PDF

13 A Late Start
“It’s been ten years since I retired, seven years since I joined A.A. Now I can truly say that I am a grateful alcoholic.”

14 Freedom From Bondage
Young when she joined, this A.A. believes her serious drinking was the result of even deeper defects. She here tells how she was set free. PDF

15 A.A. Taught Him to Handle Sobriety
“God willing, we . . . may never again have to deal with drinking, but we have to deal with sobriety every day.’’ PDF

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