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Little Red Book Meeting

The Little Red Book meeting is a study of one of the earliest and most effective teaching tools in Alcoholics Anonymous history.

First published in 1946, the Little Red Book was written to help alcoholics understand and apply the Twelve Steps simply and clearly. It was widely used across the fellowship and proved highly effective in helping newcomers get sober and stay sober.

Both Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith reviewed and approved its use. At the time, there was no confusion about “conference approval” or rigid boundaries around what could be read. What mattered was whether something helped alcoholics recover. The Little Red Book did.

The book does not replace the Big Book. It teaches it.

It breaks the Steps down into clear language and practical guidance, helping newcomers grasp what the Big Book describes and apply it in daily life. It was especially valuable for those who struggled with long explanations or abstract language. The Little Red Book met alcoholics where they were and showed them what to do next.

Over time, as the fellowship grew and new policies around literature developed, the Little Red Book was quietly set aside by many. Not because it failed, but because the culture changed. In the process, a powerful teaching tool was lost to confusion rather than experience.

This meeting brings it back into use.

In our Little Red Book meeting, we read and study the text alongside the Big Book, keeping the original intent clear. We look at how the book explains the Steps, how it reinforces action, and how it helps translate recovery into daily living. The focus is not nostalgia or controversy. The focus is usefulness.

These meetings are practical, welcoming, and grounded. They help newcomers and old-timers alike reconnect with a simple, proven way of understanding the program. They remind us that early A.A. valued effectiveness over labels and recovery over rules.

The Little Red Book meeting is for anyone who wants clarity, simplicity, and a deeper grasp of how the Steps are meant to be lived.

This is not about reviving the past.
It is about recovering what worked and using it again.

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