help books

WELCOME

Welcome to the website of Practice These Principles.

Much has been written about working the Steps and staying sober, little about practicing their principles and living sober. Our books and site hope to help remedy that. Both are focused on exploring the wealth of wisdom in that memorable phrase that concludes the Twelve Steps: "practice these principles in all our affairs."

Though generally glossed over and misunderstood, those seven words are crucial. They mark the path that leads beyond not drinking toward achieving the three key goals of recovery in AA: spiritual growth, character development, and emotional sobriety. These are what will bring us the freedom and the joy of living that the program promises us.

If these goals have meaning for you and you are interested in how 12-Step recovery might help you work toward them, then you may wish to join us in this exploration, whether you are in AA or another fellowship or in no fellowship at all, and regardless of your religious affiliation or lack thereof.

Practice These Principles—Steps 1,2,3

Hardcover, Paperback, and Kindle 

PTP123
PTP4

Practice These Principles—Step 4

Hardcover, Paperback, and Kindle 

This site introduces and supplements the books and through a variety of features seeks to widen and deepen our understanding and practice of the principles as they relate to our individual, everyday lives.

Minor posts to this site are added weekly; major posts monthly. Also, new material is added without notice to existing posts as additional helpful resources are found: quotes, meditations, books or chapters thereof, movies, videos and audios, and more.

Readers may also be interested in the Facebook, Goodreads, YouTube, and Pinterest pages of Practice These Principles, the last of which is in five languages in addition to English.

This is a work in progress. PTP123 was originally published February 9, 2012, and a second edition issued July 25, 2022. PTP4 was published July 4, 2021. Further volumes are planned on the rest of the Steps, the 12 Traditions, and the fellowship as it manifests itself in the rooms. The next volume is on Step 5, which is now being written one day at a time.

PTP Kindle editions are available worldwide through amazon.com and local-country amazon sites. Paperback editions are available in the U.S.AustraliaCanada, France, GermanyItaly, Japan, NetherlandsSpain, and  the UK. Hardcover editions are available in same except Australia, Japan, and the UK. For more information, see Book Orders.


At a reader’s request, most public libraries will be happy to stock PTP.

Recent Posts

09/11/24: Remembering 9/11.

06/10/24: Founders' Day, June 10. The 89th Anniversary of AA’s founding.

05/28/24: On the second anniversary of his death, I honor the memory of my sponsee Ray. S.

05/03/24: Big Book Q&A Update

04/03/24: Emotional Sobriety: Shame, in Emotional Sobriety.

01/08/24: Reflections in Recovery: Billy's Death, now on audio.

12/16/23: Slogans: "Feelings Are not Facts"." In Reflections.

11/01/23: Reflections in Recovery: How Important Is It?, now on audio

10/02/23: The Prayer, in Audios & videos, The Language of the Heart.

09/19/23: The Return of the God Hypothesis, in Audios & Videos, God As We Understood Him.