Alcoholics Anonymous: An Interpretation of the Twelve Steps

Alcoholics Anonymous: An Interpretation of the Twelve Steps.

This pamphlet is undated and has no publishing information inside. It is believed that this pamphlet is the “Detroit Pamphlet” from the mid 1940’s.

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No author or publisher stated, not dated, circa mid-1940s, 20 pages including the cover, 5-1/2” x 8”, folded and stapled (removed). A price on the cover, no missing pages, the card stock cover has minor wear, and the text pages are age-toned with nicked corners. The staples have been removed.

The cover is yellow card stock and the text has been centered in the page with equal right and left margins.

While the pamphlet is undated, from the markings on the cover and the title name change, this is the Detroit Pamphlet. It has one added quotation and poem that differ from the Washington D.C. pamphlet. This pamphlet has added poems and quotations, including the Kipling poem on the inside cover, a quote “Lest We Forget” by Stephen Grellet (1773-1855), a poem “What Do You Owe?” by Mrs. Richard E. Johnson, and the poem “Tell Her So” on the rear inside back cover. The Kipling poem is actually “Brother Square-Toes” from Rewards and Fairies. Stephen Grellet was a Quaker missionary.

The contents include the Preface, Discussion No. 1: The Admission, Discussion No. 2: The Spiritual Phase, Discussion No. 3: Inventory and Restitution, and Discussion No. 4: Active Work.

The “Suggested Test Questions” in Discussion No. 1 does credit Johns Hopkins University Hospital for the first 35 questions.

Here is some historical information about the early development of step study guides:

During the early 1940s, AA members developed Twelve Step study guides intended to teach the twelve steps through a series of discussions, usually
with a leader and experienced member participation.
The earliest of these study guides is thought to be the “Instructor’s Outline, which appear as early as May 1942 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The guide
was used by a discussion leader to teach the steps in four discussion classes, held over the course of four weeks. The guide was published as a pamphlet called “Alcoholics Anonymous: An Interpretation of the Twelve Steps.” By 1946, Barry C. and Ed W. expanded the discussion into a hardcover book called “An Interpretation of the Twelve Steps of the Alcoholics Anonymous Program,” which was affectionately called “The Little Red Book.” In 1949, Barry and Ed’s book adopted the name “The Little Red Book” as the title of their book.

The use of study guides for the Twelve Steps extended beyond Minneapolis, as did versions of the study guide. The study classes appeared in Detroit in June 1942 and Washington D.C. by 1944, whom
published the pamphlet in 1944. Study guides were published in Detroit, Washington D.C., Oklahoma City,
Corpus Christi, and other cities. The study guide was also published with different names, including An Interpretation of our Twelve Steps, An Interpretation of the Twelve Steps, The Tablemate, and the Table Leader's Guide. Some adopted local nicknames, such as the Detroit pamphlet, the Washington D.C. pamphlet, the Seattle pamphlet, etc. While the basic text remained the same, local variations of the study guide included supporting readings, poems, graphics, and note/memo pages that allowed the student
to write notes. In the late 1990s, the study guide was developed into a book called “Back to Basics: The Alcoholics Anonymous Beginners' Meetings.
Here are the Steps we took... in Four One-Hour Sessions”

Most of these guides were centered around four discussion topics or classes, which included:
Discussion No. 1---The admission, Step No. 1
Discussion No. 2---The spiritual phase, Steps 2,3,5,6,7, and 11
Discussion No. 3---The inventory and restitution, Steps No. 4, 8, 9 and 10
Discussion No. 4---The active work, which is Step No. 12

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Please view all of the photos for the conditions.