Thirty-Four Questions You Can Skip

You know who you want to ask. Their share sounded like your life, and the ask has been sitting in your mouth ever since. Then you saw the sponsorship pamphlet, thirty-four questions deep, and you decided you were not allowed to speak until you could pass it. So you have not asked. The person may have gone home. You are still at the table with a stapled quiz you cannot answer.

You can skip it.

Questions and Answers on Sponsorship, pamphlet P-15, uses shared experience to answer 34 questions. Those questions are for people seeking sponsors, for people who want to sponsor, and for groups that are planning sponsorship. You do not have the answers. Guessing at them would only give you a fake rule to be afraid of.

Passing was never the price of asking

You do not have to finish P-15 before you ask someone to sponsor you. You do not have to start it. The pamphlet is shared experience for when you want that kind of company. It is not an entrance form, and it is not a score. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. A sponsor is not in that sentence. You can be in the room tonight with no sponsor at all.

If you want words for the ask, they are on the page about how to ask someone to sponsor you. Use that when you are ready to say the sentence to a person. You can say it with the pamphlet still closed. You can also not say it. After the meeting, talk is optional. You can listen and leave, and leaving is not a failed application.

There are no dues or fees. Introducing yourself is not mandatory. You need not join a prayer. Membership is voluntary. You can sit and listen, or you can share. Groups normally offer pamphlets free of charge. P-15 was never a ticket you had to buy or a test you had to hand in.

Three readers, none of them graded

When you do open it, know who it was gathered for. One reader is you, if you are looking for a sponsor. Another is a member wondering whether to sponsor. Another is a group figuring out its own sponsorship plans. That is a wide little book. It is still paper. Your group may handle sponsorship in its own way, because groups choose their own format. You do not have to wait until a group finishes planning, and you do not have to know the 34 answers, before you take a chair.

There is another page if the pamphlet itself is what shook you, the one about picking it up and feeling like homework. This night is narrower. This night is the person you have not asked because you think a stack of questions stands between your mouth and theirs. It does not.

You do not need a preview of the questions to want a sponsor. Wanting one is human. Having one is not required for the meeting you go to tonight.

Go with nobody's name next to yours

aa.org is not a meeting finder. Local A.A. resources have the lists, and there is a pointer for online meetings. Meetings are in person, online, or by phone. Online can be video off or a dial-in if you cannot stand to be seen while you are this unsure. Closed meetings are for members, or for people with a drinking problem and a desire to stop drinking. Open meetings are for anyone interested. The meetings search is a start. Listings there are not verified, so confirm the time.

If a meeting feels like the wrong place to ask, you can still attend it. Asking is a conversation you may have afterward, with a person whose share helped, if you choose to stay. You may also find you have nothing to say. Both are allowed. A.A. cannot predict who recovers, and it has no authority to decide how recovery should be sought. A pamphlet does not get that authority either.

If you are sick, the delay is dangerous for a different reason. Call 911 if you are sick, confused, or cannot breathe. Call or text 988 if you are in a mental health crisis. If heavy drinking stops suddenly, NIAAA says withdrawal can be life-threatening. NIDA says mutual-help groups such as A.A. are peer-led, not led by healthcare professionals, and not a substitute for treatment. A meeting is peer support, not detox. A sponsor, later, would be another member, not a doctor on call.

If you need help finding treatment, call (800) 653-9376, which is free to you because treatment providers pay for the referral, and the line is not an intergroup, and the line is not A.A., and it is not SMART Recovery. FindTreatment.gov lists programs. SAMHSA's National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), is free, confidential, and available 24/7 in English and Spanish.

Tonight, with no sponsor

Skip the 34 questions. Find a meeting on the meetings search and confirm it. Go with no sponsor. Listen. If you still want to ask someone, use the page that tells you how to ask, and ask as a person who has not passed anything. The pamphlet can stay on the table. You were never supposed to clear it first.

Additional Resources

Sources cited on this page:

• A.A. World Services: 2025 Literature Catalog
• A.A.: The Twelve Traditions
• A.A.: Need help with a drinking problem?
• A.A.: What to Expect at an A.A. Meeting
• A.A.: Find A.A. near you
• A.A.: What does Conference-approved mean?
• NIDA: Treatment, including mutual-help groups
• NIAAA Core Resource: Alcohol Use Disorder, From Risk to Diagnosis to Recovery
• SAMHSA National Helpline
• SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
• SmarterRecovery meetings page (public meeting search; listings are not verified)
• SmarterRecovery about page (calling is free to the caller)

Common Questions