Introduction

(from the Grey Form)

This book is the shared common and personal experience of the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous. We welcome you to read this text, trusting that you will choose to share with us the new life we have found. We have by no means found a "cure" for addiction. We offer only a proven plan for daily recovery.

In N.A., we follow a program adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous. In the last forty-five years, more than one million people have recovered in A.A., most of them just as hopelessly addicted to alcohol as we were to drugs. We are grateful to the A.A. fellowship for showing us the way to a new life.

The Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous, as adapted from A.A., are the basis of our recovery program. We have only broadened the perspective of addiction. We follow the same path with a single exception; our identification as addicts is all-inclusive in respect to any mood-changing, mind- altering substance. "Alcoholism" did not cover the total spectrum as comprehensively as does addiction. We believe that we have been guided by a Greater Consciousness as a Fellowship, and are grateful for the Direction that has enabled us to build upon an already-proven program of recovery.

We have come to Narcotics Anonymous by various means and believe that as our common denominator is that we failed to come to terms with our addictions, however varied. Because of the degree and variety of addictions found within our Fellowship, we have approached the solution contained within this book in general terms. We pray that we have been searching and thorough, so that every addict who reads this volume will find the hope we have found.

Based on our collective experience, we believe that every addict, including the "potential" addict, suffers from an incur- able disease of body, mind and spirit. We were in the grip of a hopeless dilemma. The solution of which is spiritual in nature. Therefore, this book will deal in great part with spiritual matters.

We are not a religious organization. our program is a set of spiritual principles through which we are recovering from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. Throughout the compiling of this work, the prevailing theme has been the conscious prayer and meditation:

"GOD, grant us knowledge that we may write according to Your Divine precepts; instill in us a sense of Your purpose, make us servants of Your will and grant us a bond of selflessness that this may truly be Your work, not ours, in order that no addict, anywhere, need die from the horrors of addiction."

Everything that occurs in. the course of N.A. service must be motivated by the desire to more successfully carry the message of recovery to the addict who still suffers. It was for this reason that we began this work. We must always remember that as individual members, groups, and service committees, we are not, and should never be, in competition with each other. We work separately and together to help the newcomer and for our common good. We have learned, painfully, that internal strife cripples our Fellowship; it prevents us from providing the services necessary for growth.

It is our hope that this book will help the suffering addict find the solution we have found. our purpose is to remain clean, just for today, and to carry the message of recovery..

Thank you,

WORLD LITERATURE CONFERENCE III

WORLD SERVICE CONFERENCE - LITERATURE COMMITTEE, NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS

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One story from old California recovery is where two old-timers drove two hundred miles each way on Friday night for two years. They finally found someone to take the H&I commitment and they failed to show up the first Friday they were supposed. The H&I meeting at that institution was cancelled. This is what Californians were conditioned to expect from newcomers. When the members working on the Basic Text came out with material like the extract above, the Californians went into shock. It was far, far easier to believe the members working on the Basic Text were flawed newcomers, lucky in writing but yet to experience the ‘big let down’ of the reality of NA recovery they had found. It looked so different to us, it took years to puzzle together.

The Memphis Grey Form succeeded in waking up the Fellowship to the reality how much a book can help a spiritual fellowship unify and effectively carry its message. Many members got clean and many meetings were started by the members who wrote the Basic Text. It is estimated that over 1200 members participated directly in the writing, with many more reading, discussing and participating in the approval of the book over a period of years.

When the Book came out in 1983, the cash flow at WSO rose to unprecedented levels. 2500 numbered copies were sold for $25 each to raise money within NA to publish our newly written and approved Basic Text. With a book to sell and all the other items carried by WSO such as booklets and pamphlets, the Office flourished. Bob Stone, who had served as parliamentarian for our World Service Conference (WSC) for several years, was hired to manage the WSO. Care was taken to inform Jimmy K in a thoughtful and timely manner by a close and trusted friend. Instead of telling Jimmy, the friend thought he would take it badly. So, Jimmy came to help out as manager of WSO one day and found the door locked. Unfortunately, it seemed to Jimmy that he was being fired rather than relieved of a burdensome responsibility, ill befitting an older gentleman with health problems. This was the beginning of controversy between NA members and the WSO staff. Word went out that Jimmy had been locked out of the Office. That the new manager, appalled by the number of keys floating around, had the locks changed and Jimmy had not yet been by to pick up his key. Indeed, he did not know that Bob Stone had been installed as WSO manager. All this made for difficulty and there are still those who feel Jimmy was somehow wronged, even though all NA member acknowledge his years of service and the crucial roles he was fortunate to play at different points in our history from the inception of NA in California, the growth through the years, the telephone at Jimmy’s house and the WSO located all during the 1970's at Jimmy home. Perhaps the negative side of addicts took these simple elements and created the myth of Jimmy getting fired by an ungrateful Fellowship. Of course, Jimmy still came by the WSC every year to autograph books. Jimmy Kinnon was one of the first tragedies of the Traditions Wars.

The vote was a central theme in the new service structure because in a very real sense, the Fellowship controlled World Services. After all, the Fellowship, not the WSO or any other service organization had just written the NA Basic Text, Narcotics Anonymous. Members did not have to be told this, they knew from their own recent experience. They had been included in the process and even those who had not been able to attend a single World Lit Conference felt they were involved and played an important part in the process of writing and approving the Basic Text. The legalities of a corporation follow a logic of their own. Basically, a corporation has to stand on its own to the extent that it can make decisions and commitments irregardless of all other individuals and corporations. That’s what you want with a corporation. A distinct legal entity that is accountable, definable and responsible on its own. Any other way, the corporation would be a subsidiary of another corporate entity - one that was a stand alone entity. Because of this legality, as soon as the Office was formed, the notion that it could sue a member was brought up. It was presented and believed that the WSO, not the Fellowship, owned and controlled the Basic Text as well as all other intellectual properties, literature and so forth. This was certain to breed problems and animosity began almost right away.

Chapter Four