600 guides in moments in the room
Three Videos in the Waiting Room
Three short videos for professionals may play where you are waiting. They are not your meeting. You do not have to discuss them with the receptionist.
To Employers, When Work Already Knows
Chapter 10 is titled To Employers. It is not an HR policy and not a confession you must make at work tonight. You can still sit in a meeting and listen.
To Wives, When You Are Not a Wife
Chapter 8 is titled To Wives. If you are a husband, a partner, an adult child, or the drinker, you were not skipped. Al-Anon is for anyone the drinking affects.
Tradition Three and the Door
If you want to stop drinking, you can come in. That desire is the only membership requirement. Money and conformity are not the test at the door.
Tradition Two: The Chair Does Not Govern
The chair told you what you have to do, and it felt like an order. Leaders are trusted servants who do not govern. The chair does not own your night.
Translating in Your Head
The meeting is in a language you only half have. You are tired from translating. Listen for what you catch, and look for one in the language you think in.
Twelve Members and the Same Door
You are Black and wondering if the room is for you. Twelve members share in the pamphlet that replaced an older title. Desire to stop is the line.
Twelve Points and the Long Form
You heard a short wording and a long one, and you think one is fake. Both forms of the Traditions exist. You do not have to reconcile every line tonight.
Twelve Points Is Not a Contract
You heard twelve points and thought you signed something. The Traditions came out in April 1946 under that title. There is no contract and no due date.
Twelve Questions Without a Score
Someone scored the 12 questions and said you failed. The pamphlet description has no score. You can sit tonight without a number attached to you.
Two Numbers, and You Cannot Dial
You have two numbers that could help and you cannot make yourself dial either one. A meeting can be the third door. You can listen without placing the call.
Two or Three Steps, and You Got Lost
The group took two or three Steps at once and you lost the thread. You can listen. You do not have to recap the Steps you missed. You still belong.
Two People Offered to Sponsor You
Two people offered to sponsor you. You can pick one, or you can ask for time. You do not have to decide in the parking lot tonight.
Two Texts at Once
Two people you sponsor texted and you have nothing wise to say. You can answer that you are here and name a meeting. You are not their doctor.
We Agnostics, When the Title Stings
Chapter 4 is titled We Agnostics, and the title can make you feel caught. You do not have to finish it or believe in God to sit in a meeting tonight.
What a Big Book Meeting Is
A Big Book meeting is the group reading that book and talking. You can come without a copy, and you do not have to read aloud.
What a Fifth Step Is
Step Five means telling God, yourself, and another person the exact nature of your wrongs. It is not a speech to the room. You choose who hears it.
What a Fourth Step Inventory Is
Step Four is a searching and fearless moral inventory. People usually write it with a sponsor. You do not have to start it alone in the middle of the night.
What a Service Commitment Is
A coffee ask can feel like a trap. You do not have to take a job to attend. Groups often need help setting up, and the chair can say what this group needs.
What a Step Study Meeting Is
A step study is the group reading and talking about a step. You do not have to be caught up, and nobody publishes a national week-by-week calendar.
What a Temporary Sponsor Does
Some groups use temporary sponsor for a person who talks with you while you are new. The group decides that practice. It is not a paid national office.
What an A.A. Intergroup Does
You need a person, not a blog. aa.org is not a meeting finder. A metro intergroup may employ a secretary. Use Find A.A. Near You or Meeting Guide.
What Group Conscience Means
A chair who bosses you is not the group. Tradition Two says leaders are trusted servants. Group conscience is not a poll you have to win tonight.
What If You Cry in the Meeting
You are afraid tears will make a scene. Nothing in A.A. meeting information bans crying. You can stay quiet. You do not owe a speech.
What Is an A.A. Home Group
A home group is the meeting you keep coming back to. You do not file a national form. A small group may elect a secretary. You can sit without a job.
What NA Means by Any Addict
The words any addict made you wonder if you are bad enough. NA's welcome is a desire for freedom from active addiction. Nobody ranks your drug.
What Narateen Is, for Teens and Parents
Narateen is Nar-Anon's room for a teen affected by someone else's addiction. Alateen is for someone else's drinking. Here is which door to try tonight.
What Ninety in Ninety Means
Ninety in ninety is a suggestion some members make to go often at the start. It is not a membership rule. Missing a day does not close the door.
What the A.A. Grapevine Is
The magazine on the table is the A.A. Grapevine, the fellowship's principal newspaper. Trustees guard it. The Traditions first appeared there in April 1946.
What the Meeting Chair Is Actually Doing
You cannot tell what the person up front is doing. The group chose the format. Introductions are optional, and you do not have to pray. You can just listen.
What to Wear to an AA Meeting
You are afraid your clothes will give you away. A.A. meeting information lists no dress code. Rooms are ordinary places. Come as you are.
What We Were Like, and You Are Listening
A speaker is sharing what they were like. You are in the audience. Any sobriety minimum is that group's preference. Speaker meetings are often open.
When a Share Turns Political and You Lock Up
A share turned into politics and your body locked up. A.A. has no opinion on outside issues. You do not have to debate. Talk about drinking after, or go home.
When Getting In Is the Barrier
The barrier is your body or the building, and the shame of needing a way in. Phone meetings and video-off meetings exist. You can still hear A.A. tonight.
When Only a Few People Show Up
Only a few people showed up, and it feels like a private talk you crashed. A tiny room can still be a group. You do not have to entertain them.
When the Group Fights and You Want to Leave
The group is arguing and you want out. Common welfare comes first. Stay for the rest of the hour or go to another meeting. The fight is not a verdict on you.
When the Holiday Meeting Moves
You showed up and the holiday room was dark. Groups choose the time and place, so listings change. Confirm today with Meeting Guide or the local office.
When the Listing Is Wrong and the Door Is Shut
The address was wrong or the door was locked. Groups supply listings, and you can suggest a fix in the Meeting Guide app. This site's search is not verified.
When the Meeting Is in a Church
The meeting is in a church, and you think the door means you are joining it. The church is the room. You can sit there without converting.
When They Are Sober and You Still Hurt
They stopped drinking or using, and you are still a wreck. You can go to Al-Anon, Alateen, or Nar-Anon while the house is quiet.
When They Read How It Works
Many meetings read a piece of How It Works from the Big Book. You do not have to memorize it, agree out loud, or freeze.
When You Only Know One Person There
You are going because one familiar person said they would be there. You can sit even if you only say one sentence, and you can leave.
When You Want Them to Go to a Meeting
You cannot carry an adult into a meeting. Membership is voluntary. Tonight you can get yourself to a family room, and call for help if they are willing.
When Your Spiritual Path Feels Wrong
You were told there is one spiritual way and you do not have it. Many Paths to Spirituality shares a wide range of experience, including atheists and agnostics.
Where Do I Go From Here Is One Sheet
You are leaving treatment with a single no-charge sheet about outside A.A. help. It is not a ride or a person at the gate. Confirm a meeting listing.
Where to Start in the Twelve and Twelve
You have Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions in your hands and no idea which page to open. It is the essay book. Here is a place to start tonight.
Women in the Pamphlet, and Your Life
The women's pamphlet is full of lives you fear are not yours. You do not have to match a story to sit. A desire to stop drinking is enough tonight.
Working With Others When You Are New
Chapter 7 is titled Working With Others. If you are brand new, carrying a message can wait. Tonight you are the one who needs a chair. You can listen.
You Agreed to Make the Coffee
You agreed to make the coffee and you are late, or you forgot how. The meeting can start anyway. Ask for help, or say you cannot, and still listen.
You Almost Drank and You Put It Back
You almost drank and you put it back. That hard minute still leaves you welcome in a meeting. You can listen. Go before the bottle comes back out.
You Are Afraid They Will See the Screen
You want an online Al-Anon meeting and you fear they will see the screen. Headphones and camera off can help. If the fear turns into danger, call 911.
You Are Chairing and You Want a Drink
You are chairing tonight and you want a drink. You can still open the meeting, or ask someone else to chair. Your desire to stop still counts.
You Are Counting Hours
You are counting hours, not days, and the number feels too small to say. Small is still real. An NA meeting can hold the next hour with you.
You Are Done Tonight and You Still Love Them
You are done for tonight and you still love them. Both can be true. You can stop the argument and go to an Al-Anon meeting tonight.
You Are Driving Everyone Home
You are the designated driver and you want a drink. The want is real. You can still not drink, get them home, and then find a meeting.
You Are Early, and Outside
You are early and you are standing outside because going in first feels worse than being late. You can wait, then walk in and only listen.
You Are Grown, and Alateen Is Behind You
You opened an Alateen link and you are an adult. Alateen is mostly for teenagers. Al-Anon is mutual support for someone else's drinking, and there are no dues.
You Are Holding the Door
Your hand is shaking on the meeting door. You can still go in and only listen. A desire to stop drinking is enough, and N.A. is the other door.
You Are Leaving the Shelter for a Meeting
You are in a shelter and the meeting is across town. If you cannot get there, use a phone or online meeting. No dues. You are welcome regardless of income.
You Are Listening Through the Wall
You can hear a roommate or partner using on the other side of the wall. If you are safe, get to a meeting. If this is an overdose or you are unsafe, call 911.