continue for years to come. In any event, Mrs. Reinhold Niebuhr
told an interviewer that her husband was definitely the prayer's
author, that she had seen the piece of paper on which he had
written it, and that her husband-now that there were numerous
variations of wording -"used and preferred" the following form:
"God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things which should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other."
While all of these searchings are intriguing, challenging, even
mysterious, they pale in significance when compared to the fact
that, for fifty years, the prayer has become so deeply imbedded
into the heart and soul of A.A. thinking, living, as well as its
philosophy, that one could almost believe that the prayer
originated in the A.A. experience itself.
Bill made this very point years ago, in thanking an A.A. friend
for the plaque upon which the prayer was inscribed: "In creating
A.A., the Serenity Prayer has been a most valuable building
block-indeed a corner-stone."
And speaking of cornerstones, and mysteries and
"coincidences"-the building where G.S.O. is now located borders
on a stretch of New York City's 120th St., between Riverside
Drive and Broadway (where the Union Theological Seminary is
situated). It's called Reinhold Niebuhr Place.
--
(end of article)
(A long version of the Prayer)
God grant me the SERENITY to
accept the things I cannot change;
COURAGE to change the things I can;
and WISDOM to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it:
Trusting that He will make all things
right if I surrender to His Will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen
(Another long version of the Prayer from Ireland)
God take and receive my liberty,
my memory, my understanding and will,
All that I am and have He has given me
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference
Living one day at a time
Enjoying one moment at a time
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it
Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to his will
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy in the next. AMEN
(thanks to Noel D. from Ireland for the long version)
Read the Serenity Prayer in your own native language
Finnish [93] Danish [94] French [95] German [96] Hebrew [97] Icelandic [98]
Italian [99] Japanese [100] Norweigen [101] Polish [102] Portuguese [103]
Spanish [104] Swedish [105]
(Special thanks to Sunil K. from Mumbai, India for the whole idea)
and Anna B. from Sweden and Jorge L. from Portugal for numerous contributions!
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++++Message 1964. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Price of the Big Book
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/30/2004 3:00:00 PM
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Hi Susan
Big Book price changes over the years should have their amounts
converted to today's dollar values. Otherwise it's not an "apples to
apples" comparison. Your simple question turned out to be a fairly
challenging piece of research. I relied principally on the final reports of
the
General Service Conferences and some issues of Box 459 as source references.
The
Conference Reports were difficult to use in that they stated that prices would
go up/down but wouldn't always state by what amount or when.
The initial price of the Big Book was $3.50 in April 1939. It will
return to $6.00 in 2004. A special (and temporary) $5.00 introductory price
was
set for the 4th edition. First impression might be that the price today
is nearly double that of 1939. Far from it. The price value today is actually
just a fraction of what it was in 1939. The $3.50 selling price in 1939 would
be equivalent to around $47
today.
As a result of the high price of the book, the printer, Edward
Blackwell of Cornwall Press, was told to use the thickest paper in his shop.
The large, bulky volume became known as the 'Big Book.'' The idea
was to convince the alcoholic he was getting his money's worth (the name
'Big Book'' has stuck ever since).
Bill W reported that the cost of printing the first edition Big
Book was 35¢ per copy ($4.73 today). That provided a return of $3.15 per book
sold ($42.57 today). The intent of the book from day 1 was to generate funds
to
cover essential services provided by the NY office (GSO today). Also, both Dr
Bob and Bill received royalties on the book for life. The '$47 today''
amount was derived using Consumer Price Index conversion factors published by
Robert C Sahr of the Political Science Dept. of Oregon State University.
The history of Big Book price changes over the years is difficult
to pin down with precision. Many past adjustments were made to literature
prices. In the latter 1980's literature prices were lowered over concerns
whether AAWS (and AA) were being self-supporting due to the return received on
the large quantity of literature sold to institutions like Hazelden. In the
1990's, price adjustments were used as the primary tool to manage the
level of the [prudent] Reserve Fund. Here's what I was able to cull from
the source references:
*Year* *Price* *2004
Value*
1939 $3.50 $47.30
1955 $4.50 $31.47
1975 $5.75 $20.00
1977 $5.15 $15.90
1980 $4.65 $10.54
1986 $5.30 $9.03
1990 $4.60 $6.57
1994 $5.00 $6.31
1997 $6.00 $6.99
2002 $5.00 $5.19
Soon $6.00
Price-wise, the Big Book is a truly
remarkable value. It's even better in the soft cover version. Content-wise
- how does that TV commercial go? - Priceless!
Cheers
Arthur
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-----
*From:* Susan Krieger
[mailto:susank@qis.net]
*Sent:* Wednesday, July 28, 2004
5:57 PM
*To:* AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers] Price
of the Big Book
12.0pt;">
Starting in 1939 when the book was published is there any
way of finding out the original price and a history of GSO's price changes
throughout the past 65 years?
12.0pt;">
trudgetheroad
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++++Message 1965. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Serenity Prayer and New York
Herald Tribune
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/30/2004 3:07:00 PM
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From 1957 to 1999, different
pieces of literature have varying accounts of the story (sometimes
contradictory):
*
bold;">AA Comes of Age from AAWS (pg 196) 1957*
_
italic;">Has it occurring in 1942. Wording of prayer is slightly different
using
the pronouns 'us'' and 'we.''_
In early 1942,
nonalcoholic Secretary Ruth Hock left us to be married…. Just before Ruth
left, a news clipping whose content was to become famous was called to our
attention by a New York
member, newsman Jack. It was an obituary notice from a New York paper
Underneath
a routine account of the one who had died, there appeared these words: 'God
grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change
the things we can and wisdom to know the difference.'' .. Howard walked
into the office. Confirming our own ideas, he exclaimed, 'We ought to
print this on cards and drop one into every piece of mail that goes out of
here. I'll pay for the first printing.''
*
bold;">Bill W by Robert Thomsen (pgs 261-262) 1975*
_
italic;">Has it occurring in Newark,
NJ - which places it in early
1940_
One morning Ruth
found in the mail a newspaper clipping containing a three-line prayer. It had
been torn from an unidentified newspaper and sent in by an anonymous member.
She read it and was instantly struck by how much AA thinking could be
compressed
into three short lines. On her own, Ruth had the prayer printed on cards, and
without asking anyone, she began slipping a card into each piece of mail that
went out from the Newark
office. … And in this way the Serenity Prayer became part of the AA canon,
its phrases part of the alcoholic lingo.
*
bold;">Pass It On from AAWS (pg 252) 1984*
_
italic;">No date is given for the letter used as a point of reference but the
news article is placed in 1941_
… The prayer
had found its way into the Vesey
Street office shortly before that letter was
written … It was discovered in the 'In Memorium'' column of an
early June 1941 edition of the New York Herald Tribune. The exact wording was
'Mother - God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot
change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
Goodbye.'' Said Ruth 'Jack C appeared at the office one morning, and
he showed me the obituary notice with the `Serenity Prayer.' I was
as much impressed with it as he was and asked him to leave it with me so that
I
could copy and use it in our letters to the groups and loners. Horace C had
the
idea of printing it on cards and paid for the first printing.''
*
bold;">Grateful to Have Been There by Nell Wing (pg 167-168) 1992*
_
italic;">Seems to be taken from Pass It On - has Ruth writing to a member
in Washington DC on June 12, 1941_
The prayer entered
unobtrusively in 1941. It was discovered in the 'In Memorium'' obituary
column of an early June edition of the New York Herald Tribune. The exact
wording
was 'God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
Goodbye.'' Some fifteen years later, reminiscing about this event, Ruth
Hock Crecelius, our first non-alcoholic Secretary said: 'It is a fact
that Jack C appeared at the office [30 Vesey Street, Manhattan] one morning
for
a chat, during the course of which he showed me the obituary notice with the
'Serenity Prayer.'' I was as much impressed with it as he was and
asked him to leave it with me so that I could copy it and use it in our
letters
to the groups and loners… At this time, Bobbie B [who became Secretary
when Ruth married in February 1942] who was also terrifically impressed with
it, undoubtedly used it in her work with the many she contacted daily at the
24th St
Clubhouse… Horace C had the idea of printing it on cards and paid for the
first printing. … On June 12, 1941, Ruth wrote Henry S, a Washington DC
member and printer … [she asked Henry what it would cost to print it on a
small card].
*
bold;">Women Pioneers in 12 Step Recovery by C Hunter, B Jones and J Zieger
(pgs
79-80) 1999*
_
italic;">No mention of dates_
Ruth played a major
part in introducing the serenity Prayer to the Fellowship. Jack C, a New York
newspaperman
and recovering drunk, brought a newspaper clipping to the office. It was an
obituary that closed with the words: 'God grant us the serenity to accept
the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can and wisdom to
know the difference.'' Bill and Ruth agreed with Jack that 'never
had we seen so much AA in so few words.'' And Ruth began at once to tuck
the prayer into the letters she was sending out. Not long afterward, Horace C,
an older member and friend of Bill came in with the suggestion to print the
prayer on cards that could be included with all the outgoing letters. Everyone
thought it was a wonderful idea but they had no money to implement it -
so Horace personally paid to have the cards printed.
I think there is a
fair chance that the obituary may have been printed prior to June 1941 and it
may also be from a newspaper other than the NY Herald Tribune.
Cheers
Arthur
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-----
*From:* Tim Sheehy
[mailto:tsirish1@yahoo.com]
*Sent:* Friday, July 30, 2004 7:43
AM
*To:* AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* RE: [AAHistoryLovers]
Serenity Prayer and New York
Herald Tribune
12.0pt;">
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue;">There is a grapevine article in the
January 1950 edition describing the origins of the serenity prayer as we know
it.
-----Original Message-----
*From:* Glenn Chesnut
[mailto:glennccc@sbcglobal.net]
*Sent:* Wednesday, July 28, 2004
10:12 AM
*To:* AA History Lovers
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers]
Serenity Prayer and New York
Herald Tribune
Cora F.
seems to have discovered what may be yet a new problem in tracking down the
origins of the Serenity Prayer. So far, everyone has taken as a starting
point
the tradition that the prayer came from a newspaper clipping described as
follows: Nell Wing for example, in Appendix B to _
italic;">Grateful to Have Been There_ (p. 167), says that the prayer
was discovered in 1941 in the "In Memoriam" obituary column of an
early June edition of the _New York Herald
Tribune_.
Cora F.,
whom I already know to be a very careful researcher with really sharp eyes,
says "I copied down the relevant dates, went to the library at the big
university, and spent several hours over two afternoons with a diabolical
microfilm viewer. No luck."
Has
anyone else in our web group tried to verify that the copy of the prayer
which
came into the New York AA office in fact came from an obituary in the _New
York Herald Tribune_ in 1941? If it
cannot be found in that newspaper during that time period, was the person
who
brought it in to the AA office mistaken in saying that it came from the
_Herald Tribune_? There were a lot of
newspapers in New York
in those days. Or did the date perhaps get remembered incorrectly? Or was
the
newspaper clipping which was brought into the office in June 1941 a memento
which the person had kept from a much earlier time? Cora F. says that she
was
looking at the obituaries in and around early June 1941.
12.0pt;">
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++++Message 1966. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Serenity Prayer and New York
Herald Tribune
From: t . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/30/2004 10:27:00 PM
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--Grapevine, July 1950
ORIGINAL CLIPPING
Reprinted below is the original clipping of The Serenity Prayer which
appeared in the New York Times obituary columns. An early AA member
saw it and thinking, it particularly fitting for AAs, brought it to the old
Vesey Street office. Soon it began to appear on cards and in AA literature
until it became an integral part of the AA way of life.
Mother--God grant me the serenity to accept
things I cannot change, courage to
change things I can, and wisdom to know
the difference. Goodby.
----------------------
The above short Grapevine piece credits it to having been found in the NY
Times,
rather than the NY Herald Tribune. Could be why you are having a hard time
finding
it. Unfortunately, no date is given for when it was published.
In the article, the second paragraph [starting with "Mother"] has lines above
and
below it, and looks like an enlarged photostatic copy from the newspaper
column.
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++++Message 1967. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Another "Original" Preamble
From: Rickydotcom . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/31/2004 11:21:00 AM
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Greetings,
The other "original preamble" you refer to is called
the "Old Baltimore Prologue." Long time AA members in
Maryland date its use back to 1946. In fact at most
AA meetings in Baltimore today, the officially
recognized "AA Preamble" is called "the Prologue."
I attempted to search online for the origins of the
"Old Baltimore Prologue" without success. I would be
grateful to anyone who could shed some light on its
origins.
Thank you.
Rick B.
Hagerstown, Maryland
Link to "Old Baltimore Prologue"
http://www.recoveryemporium.com/Articles/OldPreamble.htm
Can anyone identify the source of the following. Its
language appears to be close to Oxford Group
principles?
"Alcoholics Anonymous is a group of people for whom
alcohol has become a major problem and who have banded
together in a sincere effort to help themselves and
other problem drinkers recover their
healthy and maintain sobriety.
Definitions of alcoholics are many and varied. For
brevity we think of an alcoholic as one whose life has
become unmanageable, to any degree, due to the use of
alcohol.
We of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the alcoholic
is suffering from a disease for which no cure has yet
been found. We profess no curative powers but have
formulated a plan to arrest alcoholism.
The only requirement for A.A membership is a desire to
stop drinking.
There are no dues or fees in A.A.
Activities are supported by the voluntary
contributions of the members.
Alcoholics Anonymous does not perform miracles,
believing that such power rests only in God.
We adhere to no particular creed or religion. We do
believe, however, that an appeal for help to one's own
interpretation of a Higher Power, or God, is
indispensable to a satisfactory adjustment
to life's problems.
Alcoholics Anonymous is not a prohibition or
temperance movement in any sense of the word. Neither
have we any criticism of the controlled drinker. We
are concerned ONLY with the alcoholic.
From the vast experience of our many members we have
learned that successful membership demands total
abstinence. Attempts at controlled drinking for the
alcoholic inevitable fail.
We attempt to follow a program of Recovery which has
for its chief objectives, sobriety for ourselves; help
for other alcoholics who desire it; amends for past
wrongs; humility; honesty; tolerance; and
spiritual growth.
We welcome and appreciate the cooperation of the
medical profession - the clergy, and the public in
general." unknown
=====
"He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by
changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life away in
fruitless efforts. (Samuel Johnson) "
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++++Message 1968. . . . . . . . . . . . Ruth''s Prayer
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/2/2004 9:36:00 AM
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Ruth O'N. got sober on 4/14/48. Within a few months, at a meeting in Brooklyn
NY,
she was given a business card by another AA member. On one side of the card
was
the Four Absolutes of the Oxford Group (Absolute Honesty, Absolute
Unselfishness,
Absolute Love, and Absolute Purity) and on the other side of the card was the
following prayer. She still recites it daily and shares it when she speaks (as
she did
this past Saturday). It has come to be know as 'Ruth's Prayer'':
Thank You, dear God, for another day,
The chance to live in a decent way,
To feel again the joy of living
and happiness that comes from giving.
Thank You for friends who can understand
and the peace that flows from Your loving hand.
Help me to wake with the morning sun,
With the prayer today, 'Thy will be done.''
For with Your help I will find the way.
Thank You again, dear God, for AA.
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++++Message 1969. . . . . . . . . . . . Wilmington Baltimore Preamble Prologue
From: ny-aa@att.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/3/2004 2:51:00 PM
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Hi, Group:
I have seen the old Alcoholics Anonymous Preamble that Lee asked about
referred
to as "The Old Baltimore Prologue" and as "The Wilmington AA Preamble" with
various explanations. Most of those are people saying that they remember it
or their sponsor remembers it from a long time ago.
One source includes more details. Article 247 here in AAHistoryLovers forwards
some research by Bill Lash which explains the dual Wilmington and Baltimore
origin. Bill says it was by sportswriter Mickey M who wrote it for the
Wilmington (Delaware) Group in June or July 1944. That was long before the
Grapevine's AA Preamble. While covering horseraces at Pimlico, Mickey gave
it to the Baltimore Group as well.
---------------
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/247
THE HISTORY OF THE WILMINGTON PREAMBLE
From: "Lash, William (Bill)"
The Wilmington Preamble has long been surrounded by controversy and discussion
of such has sparked many a debate almost from its inception in the early years
of Alcoholics Anonymous. The history of our fellowship has mostly been passed
from member to member over the expanse of many years; member whose very
disease
has a tendency to distort one's memory. Inaccuracies may prevail. The
following is in no way an attempt to dispel those controversies, but an effort
to establish an accurate history of the birth of the Wilmington Preamble and
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