Of alcoholics who came to A.A. and really tried, 50% got sober at once and remained that way; 25% sobered up after some relapses, and among the remainder, those who stayed on with A.A. showed improvement. Other thousands came to a few A.A. meetings and at first decided they didn’t want the program. But great numbers of these–about two out of three–began to return as time passed. (pg. xx, A.A. Big Book, 4th Edition)
The Grapevine Newsletter, August 1946, Pg.1
The Minneapolis Group, in March, 1943, inaugurated a system for keeping a record of the recovery of members from three months on up. As a result, the following exact percentages have been arrived at:
| Recovery Rates For the Year 1945 | ||||
| 5 year members | 100% successful | 0% slipped | ||
| 4 year members | 100% successful | 0% slipped | ||
| 3 year members | 100% successful | 0% slipped | ||
| 2 year members | 89% successful | 11% slipped | ||
| 18 month members | 90% successful | 10% slipped | ||
| 1 year members | 80% successful | 20% slipped | ||
| 9 month members | 82% successful | 18% slipped | ||
| 6 month members | 70% successful | 30% slipped | ||
| 3 month members | 48% successful | 52% slipped | ||
| *Of those who slipped in 1945, only 16.5% have worked back to any degree of recovery! | ||||
| Overall Recovery Rates From 1943 – 1945 in Minneapolis | ||||
| 1943 | 78% successful | 22% slipped | ||
| 1944 | 83% successful | 17% slipped | ||
| 1945 | 77% successful | 23% slipped | ||