Open Self Help AA Meeting



Open Self Help AA Meeting

It was a Friday afternoon, and I drove to a much-needed meeting that I had signed up for hoping to reach on time, thinking of various scenarios of what it would be like where I was headed. As soon as I reached, I rushed into the building, and looked for number 23 on the doors. As soon as I found the right door, I entered the room to a group of twenty people who had gathered to talk about their experiences they had faced under the addiction of alcohol.

The room was, filled with the smell of cigarette, which I noticed as I quietly entered the room. The roof of the room was black with mold and the stains on the carpet had almost taken over the pattern on the carpet. The first thought that entered my head was how the room was a reflection of the lives of the people there, stained and darkened.

The meeting began as soon as the man who introduced himself as Paul started to talk in the mike, at the podium, at the raised platform at the front of the room, “Hi, My name is Paul and I am an alcoholic.” The entire room replied to Paul in unison, “Hi Paul”. Few others followed the standard procedure of introduction same as Paul and introduced themselves. One woman introduced herself as an alcoholic and explained this was her first time at the meeting.

The first part of the meeting was reading of the Big Book as they referred to it. The first part of the reading session was an Alcoholic Anonymous creed, summarized and the second part was a passage from the “Book”. All those present at the meeting had a copy of the book and they treated it as if it was the holy bible (Gross, 2010).

After the session of reading was over, Paul initiated the time of discussion by sharing his testimony. The way he spoke and his narration gave the impression that he had shared the story millions of times before. The groups nod and affirm the way a congregant affirms their pastor with an, amen. Paul then leaves the discussion open for a suggestion of a topic. A young man, who looked like he was in his late 30's, breaks the silence by discussing alcohol and its powerlessness. Following that, everyone in the room speaks, as if they have no fear left anymore. All the stories varied as some had been sober for a few days, some months and some for years.

There is diversity in the group but their stories are almost identical. One woman spoke about how everyday she would promise to herself that she would stop and that went on for 10 years. Another man spoke about how he had been sober for three years until one day he was, offered a drink. He thought he had overcome his addiction but that one drink led to ten more years of ...