The author goes on to express some familiar ideas from the Big Book. For example, If our Step Four inventory has revealed...

	... experiences we’d rather not remember, if we have come to know how 
	wrong thinking and action have hurt us and others, then the need to quit 
	living by ourselves with those tormenting ghosts of  yesterday gets 
	more urgent than ever. We have to talk to somebody about them...

	So intense, though, is our fear and reluctance to do this, 
	that many A.A.’s at first try to bypass Step Five. We search 
	for  an  easier  way—which usually consists of the general  
	and fairly painless admission that when drinking we were 
	sometimes bad actors...

	Few muddled attitudes have caused us more trouble than holding back on 
	Step Five. Some people are unable to stay sober at all; others will relapse 
	periodically until they really clean house.  (Page 55-56)  

The last sentence reprises the only reason for taking the Fifth Step given in the Big Book. Now we see two more reasons. "This practice of admitting one’s defects to another person is, of course, very ancient. It has been validated in every century, and it characterizes the lives of all spiritually centered and truly religious people." (Page 56) Also, " [p]sychiatrists and psychologists point out the deep need every human being has for practical insight and knowledge of his own personality flaws and for a discussion of them with an understanding and trustworthy person." (Page 56) Therefore, in addition to engaging in a spiritual exercise by talking about ourselves, it is also psychologically healthy to discuss the insight and knowledge we've gained from our inventory with another.

The author expands on the last point: "What are we likely to receive from Step Five? For one thing, we shall get rid of that terrible sense of isolation we’ve always had. Almost without exception, alcoholics are tortured by loneliness... There was always that mysterious barrier we could neither surmount nor understand. It was as if we were actors on a stage, suddenly realizing that we did not know a single line of our parts. That’s one reason we loved alcohol too well. It did let us act extemporaneously." (Page 57) Joining A.A. and being around others like us helped ease that sense of isolation, "[b]ut we soon discovered that while we weren’t alone any more in a social sense, we still suffered many of the old pangs of anxious apartness. Until we had talked with complete candor of our conflicts, and had listened to someone else do the same thing, we still didn’t belong. Step Five was the answer. It was the beginning of true kinship with man and God." (Page 57)

Yet another benefit of Step Five is that we learn more about forgiveness. "Our moral inventory had persuaded us that all-round forgiveness was desirable, but it was only when we resolutely tackled Step Five that we inwardly knew we’d be able to receive forgiveness and give it, too." (Page 58)

The author then discusses at some length humility, a quality mentioned briefly in the Big Book as a benefit of this Step. "Another great dividend we may expect from confiding our defects to another human being is humility— a word often misunderstood. To those who have made progress in A.A., it amounts to a clear recognition of what and who we really are, followed by a sincere attempt to become what we could be." (Page 58) This is one of several definitions of humility found in the Twelve and Twelve. "Though now recognized, our defects were still there. Something had to be done about them . And we soon found that we could not wish or will them away by ourselves." (Page 58) The last statement reflects a sentiment from the Big Book (Page 62) that we are powerless without God's help to get rid of our self-centeredness.

"More realism and therefore more honesty about ourselves are the great gains we make under the influence of Step Five." (Page 58) As this is similar to the definition just given of humility, the author may have this quality in mind as he lists some discoveries we will likely make about ourselves at this point:

	Because we were still bothered by fear, self-pity, and hurt feelings, it was 
	probable we couldn’t appraise ourselves fairly at all. Too much guilt and 
	remorse might cause us to dramatize and exaggerate our shortcomings. 
	Or anger and hurt pride might be the smoke screen under which we were 
	hiding some of our defects while we blamed others for them. Possibly, too, 
	we were still handicapped by many liabilities, great and small, we never 
	knew we had. (Page 59) 

"Hence it was most evident that a solitary self-appraisal, and the admission of our defects based upon that alone, wouldn’t be nearly enough. We’d have to have outside help if we were surely to know and admit the truth about ourselves— the help of God and another human being." (Page 59) This statement reminds us of a similar Big Book passage: "We think we have done well enough in admitting these things to ourselves. There is doubt about that. In actual practice, we usually find a solitary self-appraisal insufficient." (Page 72) Since the Twelve and Twelve passage explicitly refers to gaining insight into ourselves as we discuss ourselves with another person, the shorter Big Book passage may have been intended to imply the same thing without saying so outright.

Going to God alone has two disadvantages, we are told. One, we may get used to the idea that He knows all about our defects, as it is less embarrassing than talking with a person. The author then gives a concise and eloquent summary of this Step: "Until we actually sit down and talk aloud about what we have so long hidden, our willingness to clean house is still largely theoretical. When we are honest with another person, it confirms that we have been honest with ourselves and with God." (Page 60) "The second difficulty is this: what comes to us alone may be garbled by our own rationalization and wishful thinking. The benefit of talking to another person is that we can get his direct comment and counsel on our situation, and there can be no doubt in our minds what that advice is." (Page 60) There is no explicit mention in the Big Book of gaining further insight into our inventory or of getting advice from our partner; these features of Step Five are mentioned for the first time in the Twelve and Twelve. People of high spiritual development always consult with others on advice they think they have received from God. "Surely, then, a novice ought not lay himself open to the chance of making foolish, perhaps tragic, blunders in this fashion. While the comment or advice of others may be by no means infallible, it is likely to be far more specific than any direct guidance we may receive while we are still so inexperienced in establishing contact with a Power greater than ourselves." (Page 60) There is a similar warning in the Big Book (Page 87) of an inexperienced person possibly making mistakes based on misinterpreted spiritual ideas.

The discussion then shifts to a consideration of selecting the person to hear our inventory. As in the Big Book, great importance is placed on this decision: "Here we ought to take much care, remembering that prudence is a virtue which carries a high rating." (Page 61) Two qualities are listed here as desirable in our partner: "We shall want to speak with someone who is experienced, who not only has stayed dry but has been able to surmount other serious difficulties. Difficulties, perhaps, like our own." (Page 61) Finding someone who has overcome difficulties like ours is a new suggestion in the Twelve and Twelve. It was hardly realistic at the time of the Big Book for a newcomer to find a sober member of the Fellowship before sharing his inventory, but is a simple matter now. It is assumed that the newcomer has a sponsor who plays a major role in the previous Steps. The sponsor already knows our story, but we may not have great confidence in him, and we may want to tell part or all of it to someone else. "It may turn out, however, that you’ll choose someone else for the more difficult and deeper revelations. This individual may be entirely outside of A.A. — for example, your clergyman or your doctor. For some of us, a complete stranger may prove the best bet." (Page 61) Given the assumption of having an A.A. sponsor, the idea of a newcomer going outside the Fellowship for advice is striking. As we saw in the Big Book's treatment of this Step, no special spiritual knowledge seems to be required of the partner who hears the inventory; we see in this passage that no knowledge of A.A. and the Steps is required, however desirable and available these qualities may be. Indeed, by suggesting a stranger in some cases, the author implies that personal knowledge of the newcomer and his story is also optional. This conclusion seems borne out by the very next line: "The real tests of the situation are your own willingness to confide and your full confidence in the one with whom you share your first accurate self-survey." (Page 61)

At this point, we see a rare positive reference to will/will-power: "Even when you’ve found the person, it frequently takes great resolution to approach him or her. No one ought to say the A.A. program requires no willpower; here is one place you may require all you’ve got." (Page 61) Like the other two, this one involves using it in a new, non-self-centered way. But the conversation tends to get easier once we start. Our sponsor or other partner involved may share stories from his or her experience to help us relax, as may have happened during Step Four. As a feeling of ease begins to set in, we begin to realize certain spiritual benefits very similar to the Big Book's Fifth Step Promises:

	Provided you hold back nothing, your sense of relief will mount
	from minute to minute. The dammed-up emotions of years break
	out of their confinement, and miraculously vanish as soon
	as they are exposed. As the pain subsides, a healing tranquillity
	takes its place. And when humility and serenity are so combined, 
	something else of great moment is apt to occur. Many an A.A., 
	once agnostic or atheistic, tells us that it was during this stage of 
	Step Five that he first actually felt the presence of God. (Page 62) 

As with the Big Book's treatment of this Step, these results come after discussing ourselves with another human being. In neither book is there any explicit instruct on how or when to admit our defects to God. In fact, the Twelve and Twelve does not explicitly mention praying at all in discussiong this Step. This is an integral part of the Step, but we seemingly must find our own way in this matter.

The discussion of this Step concludes, as all of them do in this book, with a summary of what has been accomplished and our progress so far toward recovery.

There is no indication in the Twelve and Twelve that this Step should be repeated. As the Fourth and Fifth Steps are intimately related, this may shed light on this book's ambiguous wording of the Fourth Step: the "persistent effort" and "lifetime practice" mentioned on Pages 43 and 50 may, in fact, be intended as Tenth Step activities, not included in a repeated Fourth Step.