An answering service call I took five months ago has shown me how AA functions in other cultures. The call was from a Latino mother. “Mi español es muy poco, muy mal,” I told her, but I got across my being in AA, took her phone number, and said that “un hombre con español” wouldContinue reading “One Language – Grapevine Article July 1996 by Louise S.”
Category Archives: Loneliness
Sunlight and Air – Grapevine Article May 1999 by Cheryl M.
Step 5 – Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. I came to Alcoholics Anonymous young in years but sick of soul and full of secrets. Now, in my middle age, I no longer harbor secrets, and my soul is in better health than ever. It’sContinue reading “Sunlight and Air – Grapevine Article May 1999 by Cheryl M.”
An Experience In Daily Living – Grapevine Article by D.W
He found that there is no panacea for living problems I WAS HAVING trouble living and was unable to ask for help. Suffering blackouts, financial ruin, and separation from my wife and child, I was sure I was insane. I felt certain the end was near but was helpless either to hasten its coming orContinue reading “An Experience In Daily Living – Grapevine Article by D.W”
Response Ability – Grapevine Article June 2011 by Joe V.
The burdens of obligation transform to gifts of sobriety Before and during my drinking days, people were always talking to me about responsibility. I “had a responsibility” to be an excellent student, obedient son and religious child. I was also somehow responsible that children on the other side of the world didn’t go to bedContinue reading “Response Ability – Grapevine Article June 2011 by Joe V.”
Elder Statesman Without A Country – Grapevine Article February 1983 by B.B.
When he stopped working the Steps, he was an AFTER FOURTEEN and a half years of sobriety, I found myself in an all too familiar place: tired of living, bored with AA meetings, full of self-pity, and wondering, “Is this all there is?” I had been very active in AA in the early years–secretary, chairmanContinue reading “Elder Statesman Without A Country – Grapevine Article February 1983 by B.B.”
Learning To Feel – Grapevine Article February 2023 by Laura S.
Early in my sobriety, my sponsor Linda told me that I was allowed to call and whine about a situation exactly once. After that, we were going to talk about solutions, not problems. She also gave me a time limit on feeling sorry for myself. I can’t remember if it was 10 minutes or 15Continue reading “Learning To Feel – Grapevine Article February 2023 by Laura S.”
Discovering True Worth – Humility’s Role In Overcoming Shame and Pride – Practicing These Principles by Ray A.
Feeling that we are different, that we don’t belong or fit in, is a staple of the alcoholic story. However, few openly connect the feeling with shame. Bill W does. In Pass It On and Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, we read about two circumstances that fostered the emotion in him growing up. The firstContinue reading “Discovering True Worth – Humility’s Role In Overcoming Shame and Pride – Practicing These Principles by Ray A.”
Spiritual Honesty – Grapevine Article April 1985 by W.H.
AS A RECOVERING member of Alcoholics Anonymous and an agnostic, I would like to present a few thoughts on our Fellowship from an agnostic viewpoint. One thing that makes my own experience unusual is that I came into the program eighteen years ago professing a conventional belief in God and had no problem accepting theContinue reading “Spiritual Honesty – Grapevine Article April 1985 by W.H.”
Using the 11th Step / St. Francis Prayer
The Saint Francis Assisi Prayer, often used as an 11th Step Prayer in Alcoholics Anonymous, is an immensely popular and empowering prayer used in recovery. Anyone moving through recovery will eventually encounter the prayer and will get to work through its significance and impact on their spirituality, life, and outlook. If you’re just starting your recoveryContinue reading “Using the 11th Step / St. Francis Prayer”
A Dose Of Reality – Grapevine Article November 2005 by Jill L.
I recently went on a Twelfth Step call with another recovering alcoholic to a woman’s home. What I saw and felt there is almost impossible to put into words, but I felt the need to try for those in the Fellowship who may be getting somewhat complacent. After many years of sobriety it’s easy toContinue reading “A Dose Of Reality – Grapevine Article November 2005 by Jill L.”