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 highlights the significance of medical testimony in the early days of Alcoholics Anonymous, a time when alcoholism and addiction were not yet recognized as medical conditions. He explains that while doctors typically know more than we do, their testimony is particularly powerful when it aligns with the lived experiences of those in recovery.

“Convincing testimony must surely come from medical men who have had experience with the sufferings of our members and have witnessed our return to health.”

Wayne emphasizes that the authors of the Big Book understood the importance of this “double witness”—the medical community witne ...