Step 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

All the steps are listed on pages 59 & 60, but this is where the instructions for this step can be found in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.


AA, p. 72, paragraph 1

Having made our personal inventory, what shall we do about it? We have been trying to get a new attitude, a new relationship with our Creator, and to discover the obstacles in our path. We have admitted certain defects; we have ascertained in a rough way what the trouble is, we have put our finger on the weak items in our personal inventory. Now these are about to be cast out. This requires action on our part, which, when completed, will mean that 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.


AA, p. 73, lines 7-10

But they had not learned enough of humility, fearlessness and honesty, in the sense we find it necessary, until they told someone else all their life story.


AA, p. 73 last line

We must be entirely honest with somebody if we expect to live long or happily in this world.


AA, p. 75, paragraph 1

When we decide who is to hear our story, we waste no time. We have a written inventory and we are prepared for a long talk.


AA, p. 75, paragraph 2

We pocket our pride and go to it, illuminating every twist of character, every dark cranny of the past. STOP

Once we have taken this step, withholding nothing, we are delighted. We can look the world in the eye. We can be alone at perfect peace and ease. Our fears fall from us. We begin to feel the nearness of our Creator. We may have had certain spiritual beliefs, but now we begin to have a spiritual experience. The feeling that the drink problem has disappeared will often come strongly. We feel we are on the Broad Highway, walking hand in hand with the Spirit of the Universe.


AA, p. 75, paragraph 3

Returning home we find a place where we can be quiet for an hour, carefully reviewing what we have done. We thank God from the bottom of our heart that we know Him better. 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, for we are building an arch through which we shall walk a free man at last.



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