600 guides in moments in the room
Nar-Anon Is Not Your NA Meeting
You followed them into an NA meeting and felt lost in the back row. Nar-Anon is your room. Their meeting is for people who want to stop using.
Nar-Anon or Al-Anon for Your House
The house has drinking, or pills, or both, and you do not know which family meeting is yours. Al-Anon and Nar-Anon are different rooms. You can try either.
Nar-Anon Suggests Six Meetings
One awkward Nar-Anon meeting is not a verdict. The fellowship suggests at least six before you decide, and unsure after one is not failure.
Native and New and Still Welcome
You walked in and wondered if the room had a place for you. It does. Desire to stop drinking is the line. You are welcome regardless of race.
New York Does Not Run Your Night
You think an office in New York must approve you, or can throw you out. It does not govern you. A local group decides its own format. You can just go.
Nine Stories and You Still Feel Different
Nine members tell stories in a pamphlet for people who feel different. You still may not see yourself. You can walk in without matching them.
No Car, and You Still Need a Meeting
You cannot drive tonight. Meetings are in person, online, or by phone, and members choose the format. Confirm the listing before you count on it.
No Cash, and the Books Are Out
The books are on the table and you do not have cash. You can let them sit there. A meeting does not charge dues, and you can still listen.
No Cross-Talk at a Nar-Anon Meeting
You wanted to answer them and the room did not allow it. Nar-Anon lets one person speak at a time, and you can just listen.
No Meeting in Town Tonight
The only room nearby already met, or it meets tomorrow. A phone meeting is still a meeting. You do not have to drive exhausted to the next county.
No Sign on the Door
You are circling a building, looking for a white and blue meeting disc. Not every door has one. Read the listing for a floor or a room, then ask or go online.
Nobody Can Promise You Will Recover
You want a guarantee before you walk in. A meeting will not hand you one. A.A. cannot predict who will recover or decide how recovery should be sought.
On Hold With the Pharmacy
You are on hold about a refill and the music is making you want to use. Stay on the line if the medicine is prescribed. Do not let a meeting cancel it.
One Tradition Printed at a Time
You think you must know all twelve Traditions before you return. The Grapevine printed them one at a time. Hearing one in a meeting is enough.
Outside Contributions and a Check
Someone who is not a member wants to give the group a check, or you do. Groups ought to decline outside contributions. The group does not have to take it.
Pass It On Is Not Your Life
Pass It On is a biography of Bill Wilson and how the message spread. You do not have to live a founder's life to belong in a meeting tonight.
Personal Stories Are Not a Contest
Your story feels too plain or too ugly to count. The Big Book groups stories into three parts. You do not have to match one to walk in.
Practice These Principles at Home
You were kind in the meeting and cruel in the kitchen. Step Twelve asks you to practice these principles in all your affairs. Home is the affair tonight.
Pregnant and the Meeting Is at Seven
You are pregnant and the meeting is at seven. You can go and listen. A meeting is not prenatal care. Warning signs belong with a clinician or 911.
Probation and You Are Afraid to Share
You are on probation and afraid that speaking will be used against you. You can only listen. Sharing is up to you. The meeting is not the court.
Ramadan and the Meeting Coffee
It is Ramadan and they are pouring coffee. You can pass the cup. Coffee is not a membership fee. You are welcome regardless of religion.
Reading One Step Without the Other Eleven
You saw all twelve steps and thought you had to take them in tonight. They are listed at the start of How It Works. You only need the one step in front of you.
Search by the Group Name
You remember the group name and not the street. Meeting Guide searches by keyword. If the name is missing, the local entity may not have sent it.
Serving All Alcoholics Is Not Due Tonight
A newcomer leaflet about carrying the message is not homework due before you count. You can be the person still suffering, and you can only listen.
Shaking After You Sat Through It
You white-knuckled the hour and feel worse in the lot. Stopping heavy drinking suddenly can be life-threatening. Call 911 if you are sick.
Shaky and the Party Is Tonight
The party is tonight. You meant to drink, or you stopped and you are shaky or scared. Heavy drinking stopped suddenly can be life-threatening. Get medical help.
Sick, and You May Leave Early
You are chronically ill and afraid that leaving early means you do not belong. No national rule sets how long you must stay. A desire to stop is enough.
Sick, and You Still Want a Chair
You are sick and you still want a chair. If you cannot breathe or stay awake, call 911 first. If you can sit safely, an NA meeting can be the chair.
Sixteen Minutes Is Not Tonight
DV-09 Hope runs 16 and a half minutes, with subtitles in English, French, and Spanish. It explains a few basics. It is not the meeting you need tonight.
Sober and Furious Tonight
You are sober and furious, and the fury wants a drink as its translator. You can take the anger to a meeting and not drink over it.
Someone Asked for Your Phone Number
Someone asked for your phone number and you froze. You can say no. You can give it. Either answer is allowed, and nothing is demanded of you.
Someone Asked How Long You Have
Someone asked how long you have, and the number felt like a test. You can answer, or you can say you would rather not. Either one is allowed.
Someone Asked You to Sponsor Them
Someone asked you to sponsor them and you are not sure you may say no, or yes. You can tell the truth. A meeting still exists for both of you tonight.
Someone Named Your Old Bar
A share named the bar you are trying not to picture, and your mouth went dry. You can stay without talking. If you are about to go there, find another meeting.
Someone Offered Help and You Froze
Someone offered help after the meeting and you froze. You can say not tonight, or you can say nothing and leave. Nobody assigns you a person to talk to.
Someone Said the Tapes Are Illegal
Someone said the Joe and Charlie tapes are illegal because they are not Conference-approved. That label is not a ban on what you may read.
Someone Saved You a Chair
Someone saved you a chair and the kindness froze you. You can sit, or you can take a different seat. You do not have to perform gratitude.
Someone Told Your Week First
They described your week before you could speak. You froze. You can pass. You do not have to claim the story out loud tonight.
Step Eight and the List You Fear
Step Eight is a list of people you harmed and a willingness to make amends. You do not contact them tonight just because the list exists.
Step Eleven When You Cannot Sleep
Step Eleven is prayer and meditation to stay in contact with the God you understand. On a sleepless night, keep it small and get help if you are in crisis.
Step Nine Before You Send the Text
Step Nine is direct amends except where contact would injure someone. Do not send the midnight text. Say it to a sober person first.
Step One When You Cannot Stop
Step One is admitting alcohol has you, not performing a speech. If you are shaking or seizing, get medical help before a meeting.
Step Ten When You Were Wrong Today
Step Ten is a short inventory when you were wrong, done promptly. It is not a trial you hold at 1 a.m. over your whole life.
Step Three You Can Decide Tonight
Step Three is a decision to turn your will over to the God you understand. It is not a vow that you will never be scared again.
Step Twelve When Someone Asks for Help
Step Twelve is carrying the message and practicing the principles. Helping tonight can be as small as listening, and it is not a paid job.
Step Two If You Do Not Trust God
Step Two asks you to consider a Power greater than yourself. You can stay tonight without joining a church or faking a prayer.
Steps Six and Seven Without a Show
Steps Six and Seven are about being ready to let defects go and asking for that help. You do not have to perform either one in public.
Sweat Through Your Shirt in the Chair
You are sweating in the chair and sure everyone sees it. You can stay by the door and listen. If you are confused, vomiting, or cannot breathe, call 911.
Talking to People After the Meeting
The parking lot feels worse than the meeting. People may talk and offer help. You can leave. A phone number is yours to take or refuse.
Tell Your Dentist Before the Prescription
Your dental appointment is tomorrow. Members are not physicians. It can help to tell the dentist about past alcohol use before a pain prescription.
Telling a Child Where You Go
Your child asked what the meeting is. One plain sentence is enough tonight. You can say you go so you do not drink. You do not owe them your inventory.
That New York Number Is Not a Hotline
212-870-3023 and [email protected] check pamphlet versions and new covers. They are not a crisis line, a meeting finder, or the treatment referral line.
The 1941 Article Can Wait
Someone said you must read the 1941 article before you count as a real member. You do not. It marked a surge of interest. Your seat is a desire to stop.
The 1946 Articles in Your Hand
P-17 holds Bill's 1946 and 1947 Grapevine articles on how the Traditions grew. Someone said study that before you belong. You can sit tonight without it.
The 1977 Tapes Are Not a Course
Someone assigned the Joe and Charlie tapes like a class. The 1977 set is not homework you must finish. A meeting tonight needs only a desire to stop drinking.
The 2021 Traditions Intro Can Wait
Someone said you must learn why the Traditions exist before you can sit. The 2021 booklet can wait. A desire to stop drinking is enough tonight.
The A.A. Meeting Guide App
Meeting Guide is a free A.A. app for iOS and Android. It lists in-person and online meetings and refreshes twice a day. aa.org is not the finder.
The Abridged Recording Left the Stories
You pressed play and the Big Book stories never started. That six-disc set is the abridged audio. You are not in the wrong program. A meeting still counts.
The Access Guideline Is Shared Experience
Someone treated an access guideline like a building code or a promised ramp. It is shared experience. You can ask what this room can actually do.
The Access Stories Already in Sign
An ASL disc of access stories is not a test you pass before you count. It will not bring an interpreter, a ride, or a ramp to the meeting you need tonight.