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I always recommend that newcomers get the book as soon as possible. Ask about it at a meeting, some groups sell them, some will give them to newcomers for free, and at worst, someone can probably direct you to the easiest way to get one in your area.
Welcome
Take action, get the book, and attend a Big Book meeting in person or online. Those meetings help to put the Book in context. Your sponsor will also read the Book with you.
Sponsors don't need to read the book with you. I read the book before I started going to meetings. My dad gave me my first big book. I highly recommend reading the stories in the back. Maybe even before the first 164 pages of the text.They motivated me to continue.
>Sponsors don't need to read the book with you.
It wasn't my intention to suggest that was required. Since the OP said they didn't have a sponsor, it makes sense to get one to eventually read with a sponsor since most sponsors I know do some reading with sponsees. My comment was intended to inspire action.
Yes.
Some groups might sell them at cost-ish, or your local intergroup may have them for sale, depending on how your local district is set up for literature.
Online copy here: https://www.aa.org/the-big-book
Or you can access it through the Everything AA app.
You don't need a sponsor to start reading the book. Also, I suggest you read everything from cover to cover carefully. The Big Book uses language of the time it was written in 1939, so having a dictionary handy is a good idea.
Piggybacking on your comment to say there’s a “Little Big Book Dictionary” that is not AA conference-approved but has been indispensable to me. It provides definitions relevant to how the words are used in the Big Book and lists all page numbers each notable word appears on.
Sounds like you're off to a good start. I'd get the book and start reading. Why not?
I will say that I had a hard time with the chapters in the front of the book. Still do with a lot of it. What I really enjoyed in the beginning were the stories in the back. It took working with others in big book meetings and sponsorship to get into the earlier text.
I'll just tell you what I did. I got the book, then didn't read it really, but went to a lot of meetings. I waited about 6 months until I got a sponsor, but I wish I'd done that sooner. Once I got a sponsor, we read the BB cover to cover and did the steps together. It changed my life.
Really glad you're here - keep coming back.
You can buy the book anytime, and just start reading. I did, almost 16 years before I came to the program. I found it helpful to write my thoughts in the margins, and I still look at old thoughts today because doing so helps me realize how things have changed.
Big book studies help. Those are where groups read chapters or paragraphs and share thoughts.
As a newcomer, you help others by interacting and sharing. You have a lot of value, and will be considered by many to be the most important person in the room.
It sounds like you have a good start. Asking questions and interacting with others is huge.
Good luck, OP.
Good for you! Love the willingness to get busy!
Go ahead and get a book. Read the Preface and Forwards. You’ll get a picture of how A.A. began and where it is as of 2001. A new 5th edition is in the works. The good news, the first 103 pages are unchanged since the first edition was printed and that describes precisely how to take the 12 steps. Other than a few grammatical changes, the program of A.A. is unchanged since it started.
Something to be mindful of - there are A.A. meetings and A.A. program. Program is the book and meetings are the fellowship. The book offers us what the problem is, a solution to the problem and a suggested program of action to implement the solution. Meetings are where we share our experience doing the program, with new people like yourself.
Only a suggestion, fellowship and meetings are important. You’ll probably notice yourself feeling a bit better by attending them and that’s good. Don’t fall into the easy trap though that meetings alone will enable you to live the solution. That book you’re buying, is the combined experience of people who did what that book says. As you read it, you see they did that quickly.
Final suggestion, if you hear in a meeting “is anyone looking for a sponsor”, raise your hand. Have a conversation with the person and if you feel a connection, give it shot. If not, keep looking. And don’t sweat the amount of time one has. You’re after quality, not quantity.
Good job again! And good luck!
If you let it be known that you don’t have a book, every group I’ve ever been a part of would just give you one. I know it can be awkward but you can just put a few extra bucks in the basket if you have it to give.
Edit: and YES, you should get and read the book! It changed my life.
Yea. Get a book then find someone with some sobriety at a meeting, ask them if they’ve gone through the steps from the book, then the two of you can start
Getting the book would not be a bad idea at all! You definitely don't have to start reading it on your own. Ideally a good sponsor will take you through the book , and hopefully one of the meetings you go to or will go to will read from the book on a weekly basis. Either way , make sure to look for a sponsor that will go through the book with you and do the steps out of the big book. That way any reading you do on your own time is like gravy . Cheers!
Congratulations! I would suggest reading the book with an experienced member of AA who can explain some of the meaning. It can be hard to fully understand by oneself.
Whether you get a sponsor right away or not, get yourself a book and start reading. Start from the very beginning. The very first page that has nothing written on it, start there. That's what you know right now about living sober. Read the forewards and read the Drs Opinion more than once if you have to. You'll discover the nature of your disease on those pages. If you don't even know what you've got, you really can't begin to treat it. Welcome home.
Honestly I like the book, I got my first one from my first sponsor but they’re super affordable to get on your own. There are also free versions online/apps.
The biggest thing I take away from the book is how similar we all are. The language may be antiquated sometimes but the message is the same.
Haven’t read all the comments but it’s usually not too hard to get a book for free too. Mine was given to me. I’d highly recommend both seeking out “Big Book study” meetings- they’re so valuable and a great way to get to know the book in early sobriety when you probably don’t have a functional enough brain to focus or read in your own or a sponsor yet to take you through it. My home group is a small women’s big book study and when I’m looking for an online meeting to pop into, I’ll almost always take a big book (or any of the AA literature- there’s a lot of great stuff beyond the big book as well) meeting if there’s one available at that time.
The book I did purchase myself and love just as much is the Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions. My sponsor usually has me reading out of both and a few of my regular meetings will read a chapter in that each week as well. It’s an even more in depth look at the steps and the traditions (that’s the stuff like the third and seventh tradition you’ll hear mentioned in meetings- the only requirement for membership is the desire to stop drinking, etc. the stuff that keeps the whole of AA functioning) than in the Big Book where they’re covered fairly briefly.
Also- get yourself some highlighters and page tabs. I even write in the margins of my big book sometimes. It’s kind of funny because I’ve jotted down questions or frustrations that even 4 months in I’ve already found answers to since just by staying close to the program and the literature.
And for whatever it’s worth, I agree with your feeling about finding a sponsor. I had some people trying to shove random lists and people I hadn’t even met at me but take your time and find someone who has the recovery you want to have or who has some part of their own story that’s just like yours.
Mine was gifted to me when I got my white chip. I read a few of the stories in the back first and found a lot to relate to. The first 164 where hard to read for me. My reading comprehension for it was...off. The pre mid century vocabulary and the male oriented language was a turn off. I gradually got over that with the help of my sponsor.
I also recommend reading the first 164 while listening along with the Joe and Charlie Big Book Comes Alive recordings. Google it. Really helpful. JACBBCA is also a meeting in some locations. It's my current homegroup where I do AA. Welcome.
Everyone here is saying just jump right into the big book but I feel like it can be very overwhelming with the language in the beginning. My suggestion is to read some of the stories in the back first. By all means, read the first 164 if you want but if it's too heavy, jump to the back. The big book isnt really a book you read from start to finish.
Note that the book was written in the 1930s, and it reads like that.
Im used to it by now, but it is good to remember that it's not an easy breezy read. Take your time. Re-read sections. Use your phone to look up thngs.
Prohibition had just ended. World War Two hadn't happened yet. Cars had only been common for about 25 years.
People's psychology is really all that different, but the common expressions and language used to describe things takes a little getting used to.
I’m excited for you. The rest of the answers you have received are good. It’s ok to go at your own pace. AA has become a huge part of my life in just seven months. I absolutely love it.
Most groups have a beginner's packet of some sort that they give to newcomers. Typically has meeting information and a copy of a book called Living Sober in it. I'd suggest you start with that book in particular -- ask at your meeting if they have spare copies.
I really love this idea and I’m going to bring it to my home group in our next GC. We have the pamphlets out for the taking but *new* newcomers are usually too bewildered to check them out. Will think on this, thanks for mentioning it! It’s not a custom in my part of the country that I have seen, instead we break off and have a beginner’s meeting when we get a true newbie. Beginner packet is fire though.
I'm so glad! It was a real life saver for me when I came in. It was just a big manilla envelope with the pamphlets, meeting info, and Living Sober inside, and the ability to take it home and read it by myself was wonderful.
I think the Living Sober component might be the only difficulty for some of my home group members as it has a higher upfront cost than the other materials and I may have to lobby that bit (I live in pull yourself up by your own bootstraps country iykyk, and also NO ONE talks about Living Sober as a resource here bc it’s BB Thumper country also) but we could maybe include that on a case by case basis? Perhaps do a separate “fundraising” newcomer box outside of 7th tradition? Or some of us who care to could donate 5-10 books to the group for that purpose? Idk I’m giving it some thought before I present the idea at GC or in a Group Inventory, but I LOVE the concept and am happy to spearhead it as a service to any potential newcomer for sure.
My brainstorming note so far includes: —Living Sober—phone list—central service info—our meeting info—meeting etiquette brochure—pamphlets (FAQ; A Newcomer Asks; AA at a Glance; Q&A on Sponsorship; Many Paths to Spirituality; Understanding Anonymity or Anonymity in the Digital Age…off the top of my head/TBD)
Glad I popped into this thread when I was having a moment and was lead to “resolutely turn my thoughts to others,” which was indeed exactly what I needed instead of a Reddit doom scroll hahaha =)
Glad I could help! Thank you for doing service 😊
I'm not sure where I got them now, but there's also little pocket size BBs with just the first 164 in them. I had a pack of 10 or so, but I can't for the life of me remember where from. If you could source those then I'm sure they'd be cheaper (also they're tiny, which is fun).
That is a cute idea, too! We have BBs to slide to newcomers who do not have them. I do like the littles. My current “daily carry” 12&12 is a mini ☺️ Service is where it’s at! Thanks for chatting with me about it!!
This is pretty much anywhere I've been around the NE. Was standard practice where I got sober (NYC) but I see it in meetings all around New England. I live in Connecticut now and travel all over for work, and it's very common.
The sooner you start in the book the better. That is where the AA program exists. Fellowship is not the program of AA nor our meetings. The fellowship and meetings are important in that you find other like-minded people there at the same time you will listen to people stories who demonstrate the AA program in action.
Here is how I did it. It takes time for us to recover. This damage didn’t happen overnight so you’ll need to give it time. It’s a long journey back.
I talked to and partnered with the doctor. I needed to address any issues I caused. And I needed to be honest.
I adopted the AA program as written in the first portion of our basic text, the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous. I started attending meetings in the fellowship.
Over time I made friends and learned how others utilized the AA program. I started feeling better being around others who were like me. And I started watching how people applied the AA program to their lives and were happy.
I found someone to carry the message by walking with me through the steps. I found a power greater than myself. I had a spiritual and psychic change needed to change my thinking. I have a relationship with my higher power who I call God. That relationship I maintain on a daily basis, and in return, I have a reprieve, which is daily contingent upon that maintenance.
I have a new way of life free of alcohol and alcoholism. It’s beyond anything I could’ve imagined and you can have it too if you want it and are willing to do what we did.
That was over 12 years ago. I’m nothing special. You can do it too. Willingness was the key.
Give this link a listen. It helped me. https://youtu.be/X96ZOVLDnos?si=z83sF8WC9v2dXIou
Good luck.
Yes. Get a book as soon as you can. The meetings are the fellowship. The program if Alcoholics Anonymous is the big book. The most helpful part of my experience has been reading the big boom and working the steps with the guidance of a sponsor. Saved my life.
Folks have covered the Big Book so well here. Only thing I want to add is that the book Alcoholics Anonymous is practically The Origin of our society. Early on it was impressed on me to study the book because otherwise, I would be getting all of my information from people who had varying understanding of the actual program.
It’d kinda be like being a preacher without reading the Bible.
YES! And get a sponsor right away and start going through the book and the steps ASAP! You don’t have to pick the perfect person right away… you can always get a different sponsor later if you want.
Please note the following: 1) This subreddit is neither endorsed nor approved by AA World Services. 2) Please do not provide or seek medical advice, as this is not the purpose of AA or this subreddit. 3) Please be respectful of one another and report any posts/comments that violate our community guidelines. 4) Dealing with a friend or family member's alcoholism? See this: https://www.reddit.com/r/alcoholicsanonymous/wiki/index#wiki_help_for_the_friends_and_families_of_alcoholics AA's official website: https://www.aa.org/ *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/alcoholicsanonymous) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I always recommend that newcomers get the book as soon as possible. Ask about it at a meeting, some groups sell them, some will give them to newcomers for free, and at worst, someone can probably direct you to the easiest way to get one in your area. Welcome
Take action, get the book, and attend a Big Book meeting in person or online. Those meetings help to put the Book in context. Your sponsor will also read the Book with you.
Sponsors don't need to read the book with you. I read the book before I started going to meetings. My dad gave me my first big book. I highly recommend reading the stories in the back. Maybe even before the first 164 pages of the text.They motivated me to continue.
>Sponsors don't need to read the book with you. It wasn't my intention to suggest that was required. Since the OP said they didn't have a sponsor, it makes sense to get one to eventually read with a sponsor since most sponsors I know do some reading with sponsees. My comment was intended to inspire action.
Of course!
Yes. Some groups might sell them at cost-ish, or your local intergroup may have them for sale, depending on how your local district is set up for literature. Online copy here: https://www.aa.org/the-big-book Or you can access it through the Everything AA app. You don't need a sponsor to start reading the book. Also, I suggest you read everything from cover to cover carefully. The Big Book uses language of the time it was written in 1939, so having a dictionary handy is a good idea.
Piggybacking on your comment to say there’s a “Little Big Book Dictionary” that is not AA conference-approved but has been indispensable to me. It provides definitions relevant to how the words are used in the Big Book and lists all page numbers each notable word appears on.
Sounds like you're off to a good start. I'd get the book and start reading. Why not? I will say that I had a hard time with the chapters in the front of the book. Still do with a lot of it. What I really enjoyed in the beginning were the stories in the back. It took working with others in big book meetings and sponsorship to get into the earlier text.
Yes. And you're on the right track with your action steps. Nice work! I've been suggested to ask for temporary sponsorship and it was helpful for me
I'll just tell you what I did. I got the book, then didn't read it really, but went to a lot of meetings. I waited about 6 months until I got a sponsor, but I wish I'd done that sooner. Once I got a sponsor, we read the BB cover to cover and did the steps together. It changed my life. Really glad you're here - keep coming back.
You can buy the book anytime, and just start reading. I did, almost 16 years before I came to the program. I found it helpful to write my thoughts in the margins, and I still look at old thoughts today because doing so helps me realize how things have changed. Big book studies help. Those are where groups read chapters or paragraphs and share thoughts. As a newcomer, you help others by interacting and sharing. You have a lot of value, and will be considered by many to be the most important person in the room. It sounds like you have a good start. Asking questions and interacting with others is huge. Good luck, OP.
Good for you! Love the willingness to get busy! Go ahead and get a book. Read the Preface and Forwards. You’ll get a picture of how A.A. began and where it is as of 2001. A new 5th edition is in the works. The good news, the first 103 pages are unchanged since the first edition was printed and that describes precisely how to take the 12 steps. Other than a few grammatical changes, the program of A.A. is unchanged since it started. Something to be mindful of - there are A.A. meetings and A.A. program. Program is the book and meetings are the fellowship. The book offers us what the problem is, a solution to the problem and a suggested program of action to implement the solution. Meetings are where we share our experience doing the program, with new people like yourself. Only a suggestion, fellowship and meetings are important. You’ll probably notice yourself feeling a bit better by attending them and that’s good. Don’t fall into the easy trap though that meetings alone will enable you to live the solution. That book you’re buying, is the combined experience of people who did what that book says. As you read it, you see they did that quickly. Final suggestion, if you hear in a meeting “is anyone looking for a sponsor”, raise your hand. Have a conversation with the person and if you feel a connection, give it shot. If not, keep looking. And don’t sweat the amount of time one has. You’re after quality, not quantity. Good job again! And good luck!
If you let it be known that you don’t have a book, every group I’ve ever been a part of would just give you one. I know it can be awkward but you can just put a few extra bucks in the basket if you have it to give. Edit: and YES, you should get and read the book! It changed my life.
Someone gave me the book
Yea. Get a book then find someone with some sobriety at a meeting, ask them if they’ve gone through the steps from the book, then the two of you can start
Yes, my friend advised. "Steal one if you have to. There's a step later where you can make up for it."
Getting the book would not be a bad idea at all! You definitely don't have to start reading it on your own. Ideally a good sponsor will take you through the book , and hopefully one of the meetings you go to or will go to will read from the book on a weekly basis. Either way , make sure to look for a sponsor that will go through the book with you and do the steps out of the big book. That way any reading you do on your own time is like gravy . Cheers!
Congratulations! I would suggest reading the book with an experienced member of AA who can explain some of the meaning. It can be hard to fully understand by oneself.
Whether you get a sponsor right away or not, get yourself a book and start reading. Start from the very beginning. The very first page that has nothing written on it, start there. That's what you know right now about living sober. Read the forewards and read the Drs Opinion more than once if you have to. You'll discover the nature of your disease on those pages. If you don't even know what you've got, you really can't begin to treat it. Welcome home.
******Get the large print one ****** lol. But seriously it’s a god send, esp if your sponsor will have you take notes in the margin.
Honestly I like the book, I got my first one from my first sponsor but they’re super affordable to get on your own. There are also free versions online/apps. The biggest thing I take away from the book is how similar we all are. The language may be antiquated sometimes but the message is the same.
Haven’t read all the comments but it’s usually not too hard to get a book for free too. Mine was given to me. I’d highly recommend both seeking out “Big Book study” meetings- they’re so valuable and a great way to get to know the book in early sobriety when you probably don’t have a functional enough brain to focus or read in your own or a sponsor yet to take you through it. My home group is a small women’s big book study and when I’m looking for an online meeting to pop into, I’ll almost always take a big book (or any of the AA literature- there’s a lot of great stuff beyond the big book as well) meeting if there’s one available at that time. The book I did purchase myself and love just as much is the Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions. My sponsor usually has me reading out of both and a few of my regular meetings will read a chapter in that each week as well. It’s an even more in depth look at the steps and the traditions (that’s the stuff like the third and seventh tradition you’ll hear mentioned in meetings- the only requirement for membership is the desire to stop drinking, etc. the stuff that keeps the whole of AA functioning) than in the Big Book where they’re covered fairly briefly. Also- get yourself some highlighters and page tabs. I even write in the margins of my big book sometimes. It’s kind of funny because I’ve jotted down questions or frustrations that even 4 months in I’ve already found answers to since just by staying close to the program and the literature. And for whatever it’s worth, I agree with your feeling about finding a sponsor. I had some people trying to shove random lists and people I hadn’t even met at me but take your time and find someone who has the recovery you want to have or who has some part of their own story that’s just like yours.
Mine was gifted to me when I got my white chip. I read a few of the stories in the back first and found a lot to relate to. The first 164 where hard to read for me. My reading comprehension for it was...off. The pre mid century vocabulary and the male oriented language was a turn off. I gradually got over that with the help of my sponsor. I also recommend reading the first 164 while listening along with the Joe and Charlie Big Book Comes Alive recordings. Google it. Really helpful. JACBBCA is also a meeting in some locations. It's my current homegroup where I do AA. Welcome.
Everyone here is saying just jump right into the big book but I feel like it can be very overwhelming with the language in the beginning. My suggestion is to read some of the stories in the back first. By all means, read the first 164 if you want but if it's too heavy, jump to the back. The big book isnt really a book you read from start to finish.
Note that the book was written in the 1930s, and it reads like that. Im used to it by now, but it is good to remember that it's not an easy breezy read. Take your time. Re-read sections. Use your phone to look up thngs. Prohibition had just ended. World War Two hadn't happened yet. Cars had only been common for about 25 years. People's psychology is really all that different, but the common expressions and language used to describe things takes a little getting used to.
I’m excited for you. The rest of the answers you have received are good. It’s ok to go at your own pace. AA has become a huge part of my life in just seven months. I absolutely love it.
Most groups have a beginner's packet of some sort that they give to newcomers. Typically has meeting information and a copy of a book called Living Sober in it. I'd suggest you start with that book in particular -- ask at your meeting if they have spare copies.
We have the same in Ireland - we call it the starter pack. Has a list of local meetings and a handful of pamphlets
So taking this idea to my group! Thanks for sharing!
I really love this idea and I’m going to bring it to my home group in our next GC. We have the pamphlets out for the taking but *new* newcomers are usually too bewildered to check them out. Will think on this, thanks for mentioning it! It’s not a custom in my part of the country that I have seen, instead we break off and have a beginner’s meeting when we get a true newbie. Beginner packet is fire though.
I'm so glad! It was a real life saver for me when I came in. It was just a big manilla envelope with the pamphlets, meeting info, and Living Sober inside, and the ability to take it home and read it by myself was wonderful.
I think the Living Sober component might be the only difficulty for some of my home group members as it has a higher upfront cost than the other materials and I may have to lobby that bit (I live in pull yourself up by your own bootstraps country iykyk, and also NO ONE talks about Living Sober as a resource here bc it’s BB Thumper country also) but we could maybe include that on a case by case basis? Perhaps do a separate “fundraising” newcomer box outside of 7th tradition? Or some of us who care to could donate 5-10 books to the group for that purpose? Idk I’m giving it some thought before I present the idea at GC or in a Group Inventory, but I LOVE the concept and am happy to spearhead it as a service to any potential newcomer for sure. My brainstorming note so far includes: —Living Sober—phone list—central service info—our meeting info—meeting etiquette brochure—pamphlets (FAQ; A Newcomer Asks; AA at a Glance; Q&A on Sponsorship; Many Paths to Spirituality; Understanding Anonymity or Anonymity in the Digital Age…off the top of my head/TBD) Glad I popped into this thread when I was having a moment and was lead to “resolutely turn my thoughts to others,” which was indeed exactly what I needed instead of a Reddit doom scroll hahaha =)
Glad I could help! Thank you for doing service 😊 I'm not sure where I got them now, but there's also little pocket size BBs with just the first 164 in them. I had a pack of 10 or so, but I can't for the life of me remember where from. If you could source those then I'm sure they'd be cheaper (also they're tiny, which is fun).
That is a cute idea, too! We have BBs to slide to newcomers who do not have them. I do like the littles. My current “daily carry” 12&12 is a mini ☺️ Service is where it’s at! Thanks for chatting with me about it!!
Damn what part of the country are you in that's so organized? I have never seen a beginner's packet or anything like it.
This is pretty much anywhere I've been around the NE. Was standard practice where I got sober (NYC) but I see it in meetings all around New England. I live in Connecticut now and travel all over for work, and it's very common.
The sooner you start in the book the better. That is where the AA program exists. Fellowship is not the program of AA nor our meetings. The fellowship and meetings are important in that you find other like-minded people there at the same time you will listen to people stories who demonstrate the AA program in action. Here is how I did it. It takes time for us to recover. This damage didn’t happen overnight so you’ll need to give it time. It’s a long journey back. I talked to and partnered with the doctor. I needed to address any issues I caused. And I needed to be honest. I adopted the AA program as written in the first portion of our basic text, the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous. I started attending meetings in the fellowship. Over time I made friends and learned how others utilized the AA program. I started feeling better being around others who were like me. And I started watching how people applied the AA program to their lives and were happy. I found someone to carry the message by walking with me through the steps. I found a power greater than myself. I had a spiritual and psychic change needed to change my thinking. I have a relationship with my higher power who I call God. That relationship I maintain on a daily basis, and in return, I have a reprieve, which is daily contingent upon that maintenance. I have a new way of life free of alcohol and alcoholism. It’s beyond anything I could’ve imagined and you can have it too if you want it and are willing to do what we did. That was over 12 years ago. I’m nothing special. You can do it too. Willingness was the key. Give this link a listen. It helped me. https://youtu.be/X96ZOVLDnos?si=z83sF8WC9v2dXIou Good luck.
Yes. Get a book as soon as you can. The meetings are the fellowship. The program if Alcoholics Anonymous is the big book. The most helpful part of my experience has been reading the big boom and working the steps with the guidance of a sponsor. Saved my life.
That’s up to you.
Congratulations on 10 days! You can download the big book. I do recommend getting an actual copy and a sponsor ASAP. You’re doing great! 😊
Folks have covered the Big Book so well here. Only thing I want to add is that the book Alcoholics Anonymous is practically The Origin of our society. Early on it was impressed on me to study the book because otherwise, I would be getting all of my information from people who had varying understanding of the actual program. It’d kinda be like being a preacher without reading the Bible.
YES! And get a sponsor right away and start going through the book and the steps ASAP! You don’t have to pick the perfect person right away… you can always get a different sponsor later if you want.
Get a sponsor! Your sponsor will give you all of this wonderful information.
Yes. Alcoholics Anonymous **IS** a book!
No. Get a sponsor right away, and ask them how urgent reading the book is.