Living Sober

Living Sober is a practical A.A. booklet about living without drinking. It collects methods A.A. members have used to avoid the first drink and explains that readers may use the suggestions that are helpful and set aside those that are not.

The booklet contains thirty-two numbered sections and an appendix. It begins by explaining how the booklet can be used, then turns immediately to staying away from the first drink and using a twenty-four-hour plan. Later sections address activity, rest, food, telephone contact, sponsorship, meetings, reading, professional help, medication, emotional entanglements, and the Twelve Steps.

Because each subject is a separate short section, a reader can go directly to the problem at hand. The contents connect immediate choices with telephone contact, sponsorship, meetings, A.A. literature, the Twelve Steps, and the continuing process of finding a personal way to live sober.

G.S.O.’s Suggestions for Leading Beginners Meetings identifies Living Sober as specifically designed for newcomers and as a source of possible answers to questions raised in beginners meetings. The booklet also directs medical questions to qualified professionals rather than treating member opinion as medical advice.

The complete official text and chapter-by-chapter audio are available on AA.org. Readers can move directly to a named section, listen instead of reading, or use the official edition page for current publication formats.