The Blog

No Tourists Allowed: Seeking Inner Peace and Sobriety in War-Torn Sudan (Excerpt) by Shannon E. As I sit here soaking in lavender oil and the ease of Sunday morning, I reflect fondly on the irreverent way I left war-torn Sudan.  I was, in every sense, a heartbroken girl fleeing in a panic, and due to my PTSD I was headed for the … Read More

The first time I admitted to another human being, and probably to myself, that I was an alcoholic was to my then husband. We were at one of his friend’s wedding and I had to stay in the car because I was so drunk and was having a meltdown.  A couple of weeks before, I had spent five nights in … Read More

Tradition Four While answering the telephones at Central Office, on several occasions I received a call of this nature: “Group is doing it wrong.  Something has to be done. Call the AA Police.” Sorry there is no AA Police. In my home group, on the last meeting of the month, the current chair asks for a  volunteer to chair for … Read More

Step Four Myth Buster Myth #1 “Writing a 4th step takes a Long Time.” I began my first 4th step with gusto, and then proceeded to ignore it for 3 months.  Whenever someone would ask what step I was on I would tell them step 4 and then make a very sincere face implying, “And you know how hard that … Read More

The Twelve Traditions A Distillation of A.A. Experience (excerpt) As newcomers, many of us say to ourselves, “Let the group officers worry about the Traditions. I’m just an average member. They’re rules for running groups, aren’t they? And everybody tells me, ‘There are no rules in A.A.’!” Then we look closer—and find that the Traditions are not rules—and they are … Read More

(Excerpts) Published in 1941, this marks a high light in A.A. history. It sparked the first great surge of interest in A.A. THREE MEN sat around the bed of an alcoholic patient in the psychopathic ward of Philadelphia General Hospital one afternoon a few weeks ago. The man in the bed, who was a complete stranger to them, had the … Read More

My Story Becoming an alcoholic at age 13 was pretty easy, after all I did have a rough start in life. I didn’t have money or fancy clothes, I shopped at the Salvation Army and was always made fun of for being ugly or poor and I was never any good at sports. My father abandoned me, my sister and mother … Read More