About Our Meeting and Big Book Step Study Format

“Sobriety- the freedom from alcohol- through the teaching and practicing of the twelve steps is the sole purpose of an AA group.”

    The Orleans Men’s Big Book Step Study is an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting focused on the studying, discussing, and practicing of the twelve steps as they are laid out in the big book. Each week, our group focuses on a different step, as they are described in the first 103 pages of the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Our group will start the meeting by reading a given step out of the book. Afterwards, a speaker who, having gone through the steps as laid out in the big book, shares their experience on the step being studied. Then, other attendees who have experience with the given step, and are qualified to share in accordance with our group conscience, also share their experience with the step being studied.

More Information About Big Book Step Study Format

    The Orleans Men’s Big Book Step Study adheres to the big book step study meeting format. This means that the men attending this meeting are working the steps as they are laid out in the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous specifically. In order to qualify to share at this meeting, attendees must have completed a fourth and fifth step out of the big book, with help from a big book sponsor, and have had continuous sobriety since doing so. Our meeting respects other methods of doing the steps such as AAWOL, Hazelden, Joe & Charlie, the Little Red Book, and more- but adheres to our format with the purpose of carrying a message that is consistent with our experiences of doing the work out of the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous.

More Information About the Meeting Cycle

Our group follows a fifteen week meeting cycle, as described in the table below.

Week	Steps
1	1- Part 1
2	1- Part 2
3	2
4	2
–	–
5	3
6	4
7	4
8	4
9	5
10	6&7
11	8&9
12	10
13	11
14	12- Part 1
15	12- Part 2

Topic and Page Number

The Doctors Opinion, Page XXIII-XXX

Chapter 3: More About Alcoholism, Page 30-43

Chapter 2: There is a Solution, Page 17-29 and Appendix II

Chapter 4: We Agnostics, Page 44-57 and Appendix II

Appendix II: Page 567

Chapter 5: How it Works, Page 58-63

Chapter 5: How it Works, Page 64-67

Chapter 5: How it Works, Page 67-68

Chapter 5: How it Works, Page 68-71

Chapter 5: How it Works, Page 72-75

Chapter 6: Into Action, Page 76

Chapter 6: Into Action, Page 76-84

Chapter 6: Into Action, Page 84-85

Chapter 6: Into Action, Page 85-88

Chapter 7: Working with Others, Page 89-96

Chapter 7: Working with Others, Page 96-103