Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global mutual aid fellowship dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined Twelve Steps. Besides stressing anonymity and a sole focus on recovery, AA's Twelve Traditions aim to keep AA free to all with no governing hierarchy while disengaged from public controversies and unaffiliated with, nor endorsing or supporting, other institutions, organizations or causes. In 2021 AA estimated it was active in 180 countries with nearly two million members, with 73% in the United States and Canada.

AA’s origin dates to a 1935 Ohio meeting between Bill Wilson (Bill W) and Bob Smith (Dr. Bob). (For anonymity members often go by first name and last name initial.) Having met through the Christian revivalist Oxford Group, they continued under its aegis to fellowship with other alcoholics until forming what became AA. In 1939 the fellowship introduced its Twelve Steps with the publication of Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism. Informally called "the Big Book", later editions amended the subtitle with "Thousands of Men and Women".