אנו, חברי .A.A, הננו אנשים פעילים, הנהנים מהסיפוק שבא עם העיסוק בחיים המציאותיים… לכן אין זה מפתיע, שלעתים קרובות אנו נוטים להמעיט בערכם של הרהורים עמוקים ותפילה ולהתייחס אליהם כאל דברים שאינם נחוצים באמת.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 96
I had been slipping away from the program for some time, but it took a death threat from a terminal disease to bring me back, and particularly to the practice of the Eleventh Step of our blessed Fellowship. Although I had fifteen years of sobriety and was still very active in the program, I knew that the quality of my sobriety had slipped badly. Eighteen months later, a checkup revealed a malignant tumor and a prognosis of certain death within six months. Despair settled in when I enrolled in a rehab program, after which I suffered two small strokes which revealed two large brain tumors. As I kept hitting new bottoms I had to ask myself why this was happening to me. God allowed me to recognize my dishonesty and to become teachable again. Miracles began to happen. But primarily I relearned the whole meaning of the Eleventh Step. My physical condition has improved dramatically, but my illness is minor compared to what I almost lost completely.