Now we come to what can be taken as an official definition of Alcoholics Anonymous. It is known as the A.A. Preamble. It is reproduced here with permission of the A.A. Grapevine, a monthly journal of the Fellowship. Most A.A.s are probably familiar with it. I resort to The Preamble.
Preambles are introductions.
Ours introduces us to one another, to newcomers, and to the general public. It describes concisely who we are and what we are up to. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. Alcoholics Anonymous can also be defined as an informal society of more than 2,000,000 recovered alcoholics in the United States, Canada, and other countries.