What is the origin of introducing oneself with the statement “I am an alcoholic” at A.A. meetings?
A. As with the origins of other customs in A.A., this is something of a mystery. However, we came across a Box 4-5-9 article on the subject in the April-May 1987 issue: “Who was the first to start a meeting or a qualification with the statement, ‘I am an alcoholic’? How did the worldwide custom begin? As late co-founder Bill W. used to observe, “Nobody invented A.A., it just grew.” And so probably did its classic introduction at meetings. ‘Many members ask us these questions,’ says G.S.O. archivist Frank M. ‘Unfortunately, only a few of the early-timers are left, and not many of them are able to provide plausible theories. So we can only speculate.’ According to an early friend of A.A., the late Henrietta Seiberling, the expression dates back to meetings of A.A.’s forerunner, the Oxford Group Movement, which had its heyday in the early 1930s. Mrs. Seiberling, a nonalcoholic who had sought spiritual help in the Oxford Group meetings, introduced Bill to A.A.’s other founder, Dr. Bob, the
