by  Wally  P. Made  a  list  of  all  persons  we  had  harmed,  and  became  willing  to  make  amends  to  them  all. Made  direct  amends  to  such  people  wherever  possible,  except  when  to  do  so  would  injure  them  or others. In  our  journey  through  the  Twelve  Steps,  as  they  were  taken  during  the  early  days  of  Alcoholics Anonymous,  we  have  followed  the  ”Big  Book”  directions  for  our  Surrender  (Steps  One,  Two  and Three)  and  our  Sharing  (Steps  Four,  Five,  Six  and  Seven).    As  I  mentioned  in  an  earlier  article,  this process  was  usually  completed  in  one  sitting  and  took  a  couple  of  hours. We  are  now  ready  to  make  our  Amends  (Steps  Eight  and  Nine).    Amends  is  a  two-­‐part  process: making  restitution  to  those  we  have  harmed  and  forgiving  those  who  have  harmed  us. We  start  by  reviewing  our  Fourth  Step  inventory.    It  contains  our  Eighth  Step  amends  list.    The  Big Book  authors  confirm  this  in  the  third  paragraph  on  page  76:

“.  .  .  Let=s  look  at  Steps  Eight  and  Nine.    We  have  a  list  of  all  persons  we  have  harmed and  to  whom  we  are  willing  to  make  amends.    We  made  it  when  we  took  inventory.” If  we  used  the  Assets  and  Liabilities  Checklist  described  on  pages  64  to  69  of  the  Big  Book,  we  have inventoried  our  resentments,  fears  and  harms.    Although  there  are  no  hard  and  fast  rules,  the  “Big Book”  authors  explain  that  we  overcome  our  resentments  with  forgiveness  (page  67),  our  fears  with faith   (page   68),   and   our   harms   (selfishness,   dishonesty,   inconsideration,   jealousy,   suspicion   and bitterness)  with  amends  (page  69).

In  order  to  forgive  those  we  resent  and  to  walk  through  our  fears,  we  need  to  pray.    The  resentment prayer  is  at  the  top  of  page  67,  and  the  fear  prayer  is  in  the  third  paragraph  on  page  68.    These prayers  are  identified  by  the  word  “ask.” The  Ninth  Step  is  described  on  pages  76  to  83.    On  page  76,  paragraph  three,  the  “Big  Book”  authors tell  us  what  we  need  to  do:

“.  .  .  Now  we  go  out  to  our  fellows  and  repair  the  damage  done  in  the  past.    We attempt  to  sweep  away  the  debris  which  has  accumulated  out  of  our  effort  to  live  on self-­‐will  and  run  the  show  ourselves.    If  we  haven’t  the  will  to  do  this,  we  ask  until  it comes.” If  needed,  the  sponsor  and  sponsee  once  again  pray  together.    This  time  they  pray  for  the  sponsee to  have  the  courage  and  conviction  to  approach  those  he  or  she  is  presently  unwilling  to  face. The  “Big  Book”  authors  provide  us  with  detailed  information  on  each  of  the  four  types  of  amends. They  are  direct  amends,  living  amends,  amends-­‐in-­‐kind,  and  amends  to  those  who  cannot  be  seen. The  sponsor  and  sponsee  together  decide  which  amends  to  make.    They  do  this  with  a  back-­‐and-­‐ forth  role  play  until  the  likely  outcomes  have  been  thoroughly  examined. There  are  “Big  Book”  passages  that  describe  each  of  these  amends.    Direct  amends  to  those  we dislike  and  to  those  we  owe  money  are  explained  in  the  first  paragraph  on  page  77  and  the  second paragraph  on  page  78. In   the   first   paragraph   on   page   83,   we   learn   about   living   amends.     This   type   of   amends   is straightforward.    We  start  acting  like  a  person  in  recovery,  someone  who  is  living  a  life  based  on “humility,  fearlessness  and  honesty.”    This  is  one  of  the  greatest  amends  we  can  make,  especially  to family  and  friends. The  amends-­‐in-­‐kind  is  described  on  page  82,  paragraph  one.    Some  examples  of  this  “in  lieu  of”  or “indirect”  amends  are  taking  a  meeting  into  a  halfway  house  or  prison;  volunteering  at  a  homeless shelter  or  assisted  living  facility;  or  serving  a  Twelve-­‐Step  group  by  accepting  and  fulfilling  a  service commitment. In  the  third  paragraph  on  page  83,  the  “Big  Book”  authors  give  directions  on  what  we  do  if  we  can’t make  amends  to  someone  face-­‐to-­‐face.    Here,  the  sponsor  and  the  sponsee  sit  down  and  write  a letter   to   the   person   on   the   amends   list.     Then   the   sponsee   reads   it   aloud   and   puts   it   into   an envelope.    Together,  they  go  to  the  post  office  and  mail  it.    The  envelope  has  no  name  on  it.    It  also has  no  address,  no  return  name,  no  return  address,  and  no  stamp.

Another  way  to  send  the  letter  is  to  burn  it.    This  is  a  relatively  new  phenomenon,  but  again,  this  is something  the  sponsor  and  sponsee  do  together.    What  is  amazing  is  that  the  letter  goes  exactly where  it  needs  to  go  in  order  for  us  to  heal. Taking  the  Steps  is  all  about  healing–healing  the  pain,  remorse,  shame  and  guilt  associated  with  our past  behaviors  and  actions.    We  heal  as  the  direct  result  of  making  amends  to  those  we’ve  harmed and  forgiving  those  who  have  harmed  us.    As  we  heal,  we  improve  our  conscious  contact  with  the “One  who  has  all  power.” In  the  next  article  we  will  take  Step  Ten,  the  first  step  of  Guidance.    We  will  learn  how  to  enhance our  “vital  sixth  sense”  by  practicing  Steps  Four  through  Nine  on  a  daily  basis. Wally   P.   is   an   archivist,   historian   and   author   who,   for   more   than   twenty-­‐three   years,   has   been studying  the  origins  and  growth  of  the  Twelve-­‐step  movement.  He  is  the  caretaker  for  the  personal archives  of  Dr.  Bob  and  Anne  Smith. Wally   conducts   history   presentations   and   recovery   workshops,   including   “Back   to   the   Basics   of Recovery”  in  which  he  takes  attendees  through  all  Twelve  Steps  in  four,  one-­‐hour  sessions.    More than  500,000  have  taken  the  Steps  using  this  powerful,  time-­‐tested,  and  highly  successful  “original” program  of  action.