Inc. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services 
Experience, Strength and Hope 
By member request: stories from the first three editions of the Big Book

Co-founder Bill W. was keenly aware of the importance of personal stories, writing, “The story section of the Big Book … is our principal means of identifying with the reader outside of A.A., it is the written equivalent of hearing speakers at an A.A. meeting; it is our show window of the results.”


Experience, Strength and Hope offers back to the A.A. Fellowship the candor, wisdom and wit of 56 members whose stories are no longer available in the fourth edition of
Alcoholics Anonymous. With each edition, new stories were added to reflect A.A.’s changing membership, while others had to be dropped. Numerous requests from A.A. members led to the publication of this book, where now can be found such classics as “A Feminine Victory, ” written by one of A.A.’s very first female members, and “The Car Smasher, ” by “A.A. Number 3” — third after the co-founders themselves.

A.A. membership continues to grow and change, but the voices contained here will never be outdated. From poignant accounts of sorrow and loss to more raucous tales laced with deprecating humor, this collection of stories offer today’s A.A. members the timeless gift of experience, strength and hope.


Experience, Strength and Hope has been approved by the General Service Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous.

About the author

Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (A.A.W.S.) is the corporate publishing arm of Alcoholics Anonymous, a worldwide fellowship that today numbers over two million individuals recovering from alcoholism. Best known as the publisher of the ‘Big Book, ‘ A.A.W.S.’s mission is to carry the message of recovery from alcoholism through print, ebooks, audio books, video, PSAs and more.