Step 5: Telling One Person
Step 5 — Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Integrity. I admitted to God, to myself, and to one other human being exactly where I went wrong.
Secrets keep people sick. This step takes the inventory you wrote and says it out loud — all of it — to one trustworthy person. Not at a meeting, not to the group chat: one person, face to face. Don't stall hunting for the perfect listener; a sponsor, someone solid in recovery, a counselor, or a clergy person all work. People walk out of this hour lighter than they've been in years.
What to read alongside Step 5
📚 Companion reading: Big Book chapter 6 (Into Action), pages 72–75.
Why it has to be said out loud, to an actual person.
What working Step 5 looks like
These are the reflection questions 1more24 asks you at this step. The answers underneath are written examples — one person's, invented for this page.
Who could hear your fifth step? What makes them safe? Write a name and a deadline for asking them.
Is anything missing from your inventory because you couldn't imagine saying it out loud? Add it now — that item is usually the one doing the most damage.
Invented, not anyone's real writing — and it couldn't be. Every member's journal is encrypted with their own password, so this application cannot read a single word of it. Step 5 asks 1 more question once you're signed in.
Working Step 5, not just reading it
1more24 gives this step a private journal, reflection questions written for it, and a companion who knows where you are in the work. Everything you write is encrypted with your own password — nobody else can read it, not even us. Free and open to all.