The AA Promises: Where They Appear and What They Mean

You have heard people in meetings talk about the promises like weather that is coming — soon, they say, soon — and you have sat there doing the math on your own wreckage and coming up short. Maybe you are afraid to want them. Maybe you are afraid to be fooled. Both are reasonable, and you can stay skeptical and keep sobering up at the same time. The passage members call the Promises is one short stretch of the Big Book, and its final lines are more honest than the hushed way people sometimes read it.

Where the passage actually lives

The passage is in Chapter 6 of the book Alcoholics Anonymous, the chapter titled Into Action, inside the discussion of Step Nine. A.A.'s own FAQ on the Promises is worth reading in full, because it makes a point that settles a lot of confusion: while there is no formal list of promises in the Big Book, some members refer to this passage by that name. The name is a member custom, not a piece of program structure. The steps themselves, including Step Nine, are outlined at the beginning of Chapter 5, How It Works.

That also explains the timing you hear about. The passage sits inside the Ninth Step discussion, which is why people read it in meetings after talking about amends. The step before it, Step Eight, is the list of people you harmed and the willingness to make amends to them all; Step Nine is making direct amends wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. All of that wording is on aa.org's steps page.

What it actually says

A.A.'s FAQ quotes the passage, and the shape of it matters more than any single line. It opens with a condition: "If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are half way through." Then it names what members reported — a new freedom and a new happiness; no regret of the past nor wishing to shut the door on it; comprehending the word serenity and knowing peace; seeing how experience can benefit others; the feelings of uselessness and self-pity disappearing; losing interest in selfish things and gaining interest in others; a whole attitude and outlook changing; fear of people and of economic insecurity leaving; knowing intuitively how to handle situations that used to baffle; and the realization that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

Then comes the line most people skim past: "Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us — sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them."

The passage stakes itself on work and time, not on a schedule. If you are in a meeting where it is read like a receipt already owed to you, you are hearing enthusiasm, not the text.

Why meetings read it, and what it is not

Groups set their own formats. Some read the passage after a member shares on Step Nine, some read it weekly as part of the meeting's close, some never read it. None of these is more correct — the format is the group's conscience, not a rule of the program. If the reading feels like a ritual you cannot connect to yet, you are allowed to sit through it silently, same as any other part of the meeting.

What it is not: a promise from A.A. the organization. A.A. says it cannot predict who will recover, nor has it the authority to decide how recovery should be sought by any other alcoholic. It is also not medical advice or a treatment plan. NIDA describes mutual-help groups like A.A. as peer-led rather than led by healthcare professionals, and not clinical treatment. What the passage is, is testimony — accumulated over decades, from people whose lives looked as hopeless as yours feel some nights.

When your body is the emergency

Call 911 if this is a medical emergency. Call or text 988 if you are in a mental health crisis. NIAAA says alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening when heavy drinking over time stops suddenly — that is a hospital night, not a meeting night. SAMHSA's National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), is free, confidential, and answered in English and Spanish.

If you want help finding treatment, call or text (800) 653-9376. The call is free to you; treatment providers pay for the referral.

What to do with the promises tonight

You do not have to believe them, and you do not have to fake it in a meeting. Try this instead: go to a meeting, listen for the reading, and notice which single line lands — even one. If none do, go back next week and notice again. The members who wrote those lines were describing what happened after they did the work they were afraid of. The work, not the belief, is the part you can start tonight.

Additional Resources

Sources cited on this page:

• A.A.: What are "The Promises"?
• A.A.: The Big Book
• A.A.: The Twelve Steps
• A.A.: What to Expect at an A.A. Meeting
• A.A.: Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
• NIAAA: Core Resource on Alcohol
• NIDA: Treatment
• SAMHSA National Helpline
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

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