Staying Sober

How, then, do we manage to stay sober in such an informal, loosely knit fellowship?  The answer is that, once having achieved sobriety, we try to preserve it by observing and following the successful experience of those who have preceded us in A.A.  Their experience provides certain “tools” and guides which we are free to accept or reject, as we may choose.  Because our sobriety is the most important thing in our lives today, we think it wise to follow the patterns suggested by those who have already demonstrated that the A.A. recovery program really works.