Corey moves into the chapter he calls one of the best pieces of writing in the whole book, and starts by breaking down the word itself, agnostic as simply not knowing, no shame attached. Working without a marked-up copy for once, he reads it clean and lets it stand on its own. The chapter’s opening line lands hard: if you cannot quit entirely, or have little control once you start, the book says plainly, you are probably alcoholic. Not him saying it. The book saying it.

He walks the four things the text asks a reader to lay aside, bias, obstinacy, sensitiveness, and unreasoning prejudice, and ties each one to his own resistance growing up in church and finding none of it took until he had nothing left to lose. The center of the study is the promise on page 46, that once willingness shows up, results follow, and that nobody has to consider anybody else’s conception of God, only find their own. He works the wind analogy at length, something you cannot see but can feel and trust is there, and closes on the bedevilments list from page 52, personal relationships, emotional nature, misery, fear, uselessness, each one a paper he was told to write out and answer honestly.

A study offered in the spirit of one alcoholic sharing experience, strength, and hope with another. Next week: the bottom of page 52 onward.

Read along at home. Reach out any time at wave@dailyripples.com.

Big Book study | We Agnostics | your own conception of God | laying aside prejudice | lack of power was our dilemma | the bedevilments | recovery literature | experience strength and hope | addiction recovery

Disclaimer: This Wave Book Study is an independent recovery study offered free of charge as a teaching aid. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (A.A.W.S.). Passages read and discussed are drawn from the book Alcoholics Anonymous (“The Big Book”), © A.A.W.S., Inc., and are used here for educational and discussion purposes with attribution. This study is not a substitute for the Big Book itself. We’d encourage you to get your own copy and read it. A.A.W.S. has not reviewed or approved this content, and the views expressed are those of the host alone.