Basic Text, Narcotics Anonymous
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BBT6E_Softcover_8Apr08.epsT6E_Softcover_8Apr08.eps 110/14/20080/14/2008 110:24:110:24:11 AAMM NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS Other Publications Available from NA World Services Books It Works: How and Why Just for Today – Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts The NA Step Working Guides Sponsorship General New M embers Who, What, How, & Why (IP 1) NA White Booklet Another Look (IP 5) An Introductory Guide to NA Just for Today (IP 8) Recovery and Relapse (IP 6) Living the Program (IP 9) Am I an Addict? (IP 7) Sponsorship (IP 11) One Addict’s Experience… (IP 14) For the Newcomer (IP 16) Self-Acceptance (IP 19) For Those in Treatment (IP 17) Money Matters: Self-Support in NA (IP 24) Welcome to NA (IP 22) Youth By Young Addicts, For Young Addicts (IP 13) For the Parents or Guardians of Young People in NA (IP 27) Public R elations Service Membership Survey Twelve Concepts for NA Service Information about NA The Group Booklet NA: A Resource in Your Community The Group (IP 2) PI and the NA Member (IP 15) Funding NA Services (IP 28) H&I Service and the NA Member (IP 20) Special Behind the Walls In Times of Illness The Loner — Staying Clean in Isolation (IP 21) Staying Clean on the Outside (IP 23) Accessibility for Those with Additional Needs (IP 26) For a complete list of NA literature in all languages, visit our website at www.na.org. NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS Sixth Edition O W S L L H E I P F A P D P R O V E Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Chatsworth, California Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions reprinted for adaptation by permission of AA World Services, Inc. Copyright © 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2008 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All rights reserved. World Service Office PO Box 9999 Van Nuys, CA 91409, USA Tel 818.773.9999 Fax 818.700.0700 Website: www.na.org World Service Office–EUROPE 48 Rue de l’ Été B-1050 Brussels, Belgium Tel +32/2/646 6012 Fax +32/2/649 9239 World Service Office–CANADA 150 Britannia Rd. E. Unit 21 Mississauga, Ontario, L4Z 2A4, Canada Tel 905.507.0100 Fax 905.507.0101 Published 1983. Second Edition 1983. Third Edition 1984. Third Edition (Revised) 1986. Fourth Edition 1987. Fifth Edition 1988. Sixth Edition 2008. Printed in China. 12 11 10 6 5 4 ISBN 9781557767349 (Hardcover) WSO Catalog Item No. EN-1101 ISBN 9781557767356 (Softcover) WSO Catalog Item No. EN-1102 ISBN 9781557767868 (Pocket-sized Softcover) WSO Catalog Item No. EN-1106 ISBN 9781557767851 (Gift Edition) WSO Catalog Item No. EN-1107 O W S L L H E I P F A P D P R O V E This is NA Fellowship-approved literature. Narcotics Anonymous, and The NA Way are registered trademarks of Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Incorporated. BT6E_CR page_3rdPrtg.indd 1 5/5/2010 9:24:26 PM Table of Contents Our Symbol xv Preface to the Sixth Edition xvii Preface to the First Edition xxi Introduction xxv Our Program: Narcotics Anonymous Chapter One Who Is an Addict? .............................................................................3 Chapter Two What Is the Narcotics Anonymous Program? .............................. 9 Chapter Three Why Are We Here? ......................................................................... 13 Chapter Four How It Works ...................................................................................17 Chapter Five What Can I Do? ............................................................................... 54 Chapter Six The Twelve Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous .......................60 Chapter Seven Recovery and Relapse .....................................................................77 Chapter Eight We Do Recover ................................................................................ 87 Chapter Nine Just for Today—Living the Program ............................................93 Chapter Ten More Will Be Revealed .................................................................101 v Our Members Share Introduction to Our Members Share ..........................................111 Beginnings Reflections ......................................................................................117 The short passages that begin this section are excerpted from sto- ries in previous editions of the Basic Text. I Found the Only NA Meeting in the World .............................121 When he was using he went from one “mother” to another—from his mother’s house to the military to marriage—until his wife tired of the insanity and found the only NA meeting in the world. In his story from our First Edition, this addict admits that it took him time but finally he learned to take action and be responsible for himself. Mid-Pacific Serenity ......................................................................128 He lived in a place that many call paradise, but in his story from our First Edition, this beachcomber shares that for an addict, “skid row is in the mind.” Through NA, he has found a sense of peace and a new way of life. If You Want What We Have .........................................................135 After a lifetime of using, this “southern gentleman” learned that the most gracious thing he could do was open the doors to an NA meeting. In this story from our First Edition, he recalls that the first time a man told him he loved him was in Narcotics Anony- mous. Fearful Mother ...............................................................................142 In this story originally published in our Little White Book and added to the Basic Text at the Second Edition, a mother learns that she can come out of the paralyzing fear of addiction and turn her whole life around. She claims her seat as a woman in NA and hopes that one day more women will find recovery. Jails, Institutions, and Recovery .................................................147 This addict found freedom behind bars through the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous. This is a story from our First Edition. vi I Was Different ..............................................................................151 Not all addicts reach jails or institutions in order to hit their bot- tom. In his story, originally published in the Little White Book and later included in our Second Edition, this “different” addict ex- plains that his disease kept him confined to a life of fear and loneli- ness. He found serenity in a simple life in Narcotics Anonymous. Coming Home Reflections ......................................................................................157 These snapshots of our members’ experiences finding NA are meant to be similar to the sharing at a topic meeting. Start a Meeting, They Will Come ...............................................161 He checked himself into treatment to avoid prison, but while he was there he found hope in the pages of a Basic Text. There was no NA in his part of rural Illinois, so he started a meeting and he’s stayed clean through his own growing pains and those of the fellowship. The Point .........................................................................................165 This addict from the “wrong side” of Chicago’s south side lost his best friend and his marriage to the disease of addiction. Recovery hasn’t restored the things he’s lost, but it has helped him make amends. Carrying the Message ..................................................................171 They used together and got clean together, but this addict got ac- tive in the program and his brother did not. This Saudi Arabian member found in the loss of his brother a powerful drive to carry the message. Young Addict, Young NA Fellowship Grow Up Together .......................................................................176 She found NA when she was only fifteen. From her very first meet- ing, she knew NA was where she needed to be. Now, more than twenty years later, she’s gone from a hostile, wasted teenager to a grateful member of the program. vii A Quiet Satisfaction .....................................................................179 At the end of his using even the other street boys and the dealers didn’t want him around, but NA felt like home from his very first meeting. Sometimes he is the only person in the room, but that only renews this Kenyan addict’s commitment to recovery. The Only Requirement .................................................................184 When he got to NA he was also in a drug-replacement program. He wanted what he saw in the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous, but was afraid of returning to his old life if he quit methadone. For ten months he went to meetings every day—and finally he got clean. Restored to Dignity ......................................................................187 She walked into NA—literally—and was treated with more love and respect than she ever had been. For this Mexican woman, a chance encounter on the beach opened the door to hope and freedom. Second Chance .............................................................................192 A host of bad choices ultimately led to relapse for this addict with thirteen years clean. It was a hard road back to recovery, but NA loved her until she could love herself. Sowing the Seed ............................................................................198 NA helped this Israeli addict rediscover his love of life. He had al- ways felt like an outsider before he got clean. Now he has a home group and understands fellowshipping to be a spiritual principle. Sandwich .......................................................................................203 A simple act of kindness showed this Dutch addict