“The more I drank, the less important membership in a club seemed to me. I used to be a member of the track team, of the golf club, of a racquetball club until my drinking took it all away from me. At the nadir of my drinking I thought, “What club would want me as a member?”
What really matters from the point of view of social capital and civic engagement is not merely nominal membership, but active and involved membership.
— Robert D. Putnam
The only requirement for membership is an honest desire to stop drinking. We are not allied with any particular faith, sect or denomination, nor do we oppose anyone. We simply wish to be helpful to those who are afflicted.
— Page xiv Alcoholics Anonymous
