Big Book Audit

Opinions address purposed changes 5th edition of The Big Book

1. A.A. as an organization obsessed with its own history and perhaps out of touch with today’s population.”

( I have found the power of credibility in the long history of AA ) ( Many members say the BB is a work of divinely inspired poetry. ) ( Our text has healed multitudes from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body ) ( The old-style writing makes us think - changing it in our minds to fit our individual situation )
( The internal translation work - Illuminating the importance of the personal journey )

2. Out of touch with today’s population.
( My perception is that BB renewal committees have addressed the continuous changes of life by introducing new stories in the back of the book )

3. Identifying Pronoun usage – where possible the gender-neutral form should be incorporated.

( I agree, gender-neutral terms are respectful of hardwon freedoms. )

4. To Wives, The Family Afterward, and To The Employer should specifically be evaluated for revisions.

( Ok, Please keep these chapters - just clean it up to an "all-inclusive level" )
( The male dominate tone of the BB has bugged since I woke up enough to hear it ) ( BUT making peace with things that bug me is a huge part of my recovery )
( To the Employer is out of touch ) ( It is important to inform alcoholics as well as the public at large, in writing. ) ( We do recover and become responsible members of society. )

5. Changes to the wording of the overall message should be minimized or avoided entirely.
( Yes Please! )

6. Blunt assessment

( Let us not be too blunt on the assessment of the first 164 pages of the BB. )

( Before any cut or change realize the magnitude of the task at hand ) ( I'm knowing you use deep breathing to go within to feel the group conscious. )
( You are entrusted with what so many of us consider a sacred text that saved our lives. )

7. Add pages 3 through 41 of the pamphlet “The A.A. Group” as an appendix in the next printing.
( Yes Ok, But please cut stories space. Respect the first 164. )

8. Revise our book to a language at a 5th-grade reading level so more people can understand; ( No, Make that a workbook with a respectful title such as BB Simplified. ) ( Or - In a Nutshell ) ( We can all learn to study and love 'In a Nutshell' ) AAs tend to love corny traditions. Please do not lose the poetic flow of our text. Click Here - Proposed Big Book Changes for 5th Edition