Misconceptions about Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) abound in spite of (or because of) the thousands of theses, dissertations, books, professional and popular articles, and Internet commentaries that have been written about AA. One of the most pervasive characterizations of AA is that it is a "treatment" for alcoholism--a characterization that distorts the meaning of both mutual aid and alcoholism treatment. This article describes 12 character-defining moments in the history of AA that highlight the differences between AA and alcoholism treatment.