“…we have admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our defects. This brings us to the Fifth Step in the program of recovery mentioned in the preceding chapter.” (page 72)

Each of the Twelve Steps is also mentioned in “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions“, of course, but our suggested directions for taking them can only be found within our Basic Text. You might also hear people speak of “working” the Steps, but that is something different even though there is work to be done as we take them. To “work” something is to practice one’s craft upon it, but we do not approach the Steps as craftsmen and they are not in need of any work being done to them unless someone is wishing to alter them to lead to a different experience or destination than what is shared in our Basic Text.

“Taking this book down from our shelf we turn to the page which contains the twelve steps. Carefully reading the first five proposals we ask if we have omitted anything…” (page 75)

Kind of like having a sponsor in print!

“The next chapter is entirely devoted to Step Twelve.” (page 88)

Sharing “our combined experience and knowledge” (page 19) with a still-suffering alcoholic is not the entirety of Step Twelve, but “Working With Others” offers some crucial insights and details as to how we might best do that.