Join Wayne Giles as he reads and expands on the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, offering deeper understanding and practical advice for those on their recovery journey. In this Step 1 AA session, Wayne examines the critical distinction the Big Book makes between consciousness and memory, particularly in the context of the first drink. The authors of the Big Book emphasize that alcoholics are without defense against the first drink, not because of a lack of memory, but because consciousness—the active awareness of the consequences—fails to intervene.

“Memory is fickle; it’s tied to all kinds of weird things. But consciousness is something different. The almost certain consequences that follow taking even a glass of beer do not crowd into the mind to deter us. That’s kind of what they’re saying, right?”

Wayne explains tha ...