Alcoholics Anonymous      (The Big Book) The book that has helped millions into recovery. 2 million groups worldwide use this book daily. If you have a question about recovery or life in sobriety you can find it in here. I can't stress enough the importance of this book. All 12 step groups our based on this book. Some have found this book helpful even if they suffer from addictions other than alcohol, and even if the other addiction has its own recovery book.

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions      (12 by 12) This book goes more in-depth around the 12 steps and traditions with a chapter for each. This book is used for individual and group study. Look for a 12 by 12 meeting. 

N.A. Text : Narcotics Anonymous      "Over the last 10 years I have utilized this book in my recovery. Its principals are simple and facilitate the answers to the problems that addiction presents. Although many books have been written about addiction, this book focuses on recovery. It covers every aspect of recovery from addiction. Following this simple yet comprehensive book has changed my life. Hundreds of recovering addicts helped to write this book, and this attests to its universality."

It Works : How and Why : The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous    by World Service Office "This book is a must have for the Addict. Recovery is possible by following simple program. This book could save your life." "I am a drug addict and I am 16 years old. I haven't read this cover to cover but I do know that it is a wonderful book and it has helped many of my friends. I love you Narcotics anonymous."

You Can Free Yourself from Alcohol and Drugs; How to Work a Program That Keeps You in Charge      by Doug Althauser. Great Book!! Would work well in conjunction with AA and the Big Book. Many self-test and assignments. Excellent advice on working a program and not diving in to quickly. May be less shocking than leaving an AA Big Book around to give someone a hint.

The Addiction Workbook : A Step-By-Step Guide to Quitting Alcohol and Drugs      by Patrick Fanning, John O'Neill. My concern with this book is that it states that there are "Problem" and "Compulsive" drinkers/users who don't need the recovery programs. May lead to those who do need the programs to use this book as a tool for denial and not get the treatment they so desperately need.

Came to Believe      I came thru the doors of A.A. an agnostic. If there really was a God, then how could he of let me sink to the dept of pain and despair that I had. This book helped me thru this question and others. It helped jumpstart me into Step 2. I have read this book over and over and every time I feel my faith waning I read it again. Many of us will read our exact experiences in the stories of this book. I was one with a slow spiritual awakening. Many of us don't find that instant awakening that is described in the big book. I can't recommend this book enough. 

Beacon of Hope: A Guide to Internal Truth    by Marcia J. Lawton I enjoyed this book. It tells the story of a alcoholic who becomes a psychologist and her spiritual journey. It is interesting to hear the story from both that of an alcoholic and a Addictionolgist. Her voice is very clear. The role of spirituality and recovery is the emphasis of the book. If your in recovery this book would be helpful. Like an extended story from "Came to Believe" .

Daily Reflections : A Book of Reflections by Aa Members for Aa Members      "This little meditation book is a great help for people in recovery seeking to build and maintain a firm spiritual foundation one day at a time. Using A.A.'s "take what you can use and leave the rest" rule of thumb will make this book of tremendous value to most anyone, regardless of religion (or lack thereof)."

Laugh! I Thought I'd Die (If I Didn't : Daily Meditations on Healing Through Humor)      by Anne Wilson Schaef. I'd rather laugh than cry so I use this book much more than "Daily Reflections". I love the fact that one of my favorite sayings "Where ever you go, there you are" about trying to move away from our problems was actually coined by Kermit the Frog. All the insight of other meditation books are in here, just with a humorous slant.

A Day at a Time : Daily Reflections for Recovering People      by Jane T. Noland "I have used this meditation book as a recovering person since 1983 and have given it as gifts for years. This is my favorite of these type books because it is not purely Christian in its focus. There are quotes included by many diverse authors (Epicurius, Homer, Thomas Merton, Emerson, even Elizabeth Barret Browning to name but a few). It also leads one thru the twelve steps as a suggested program of action rather than a guilt obsessed "should book"."

Meditations for People Who (May) Worry Too Much      by Anne Wilson Schaef (Editor), Cheryl Woodruff (Editor), "A wise and graceful sequel to that beloved book, which is also a collection of daily meditations, Schaef encourages us to give up the worries that trouble so many of our lives.
Schaef helps us to smile at our worries and encourages us to re-examine our discontent and our desperate need to control our lives. She ponders with us the true nature of love, solitude, creativity, friendship, sorrow, intimacy, and all the experiences that go into making a life. Best of all, she inspires us to respect our own particular inner rhythm and intuitive wisdom, to live this moment, now, with trust and joy."