Newcomer Questions Answered

Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol. The sensation is so elusive that, while they admit it is injurious, they cannot after a time differentiate the true from the false. To them, their alcoholic life seems the only normal one. They are restless, irritable and discontented, unless they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes at once by taking a few drinks—drinks which they see others taking with impunity. After they have succumbed to the desire again, as so many do, and the phenomenon of craving develops, they pass through the well-known stages of a spree, emerging remorseful, with a firm resolution not to drink again. This is repeated over and over, and unless this person can experience an entire psychic change there is very little hope of his recovery.”

Phone List (TheZooPhoneList@gmail.com)

We have a phone list for sponsorship and sober support.

E-mail us at thezoophonelist@gmail.com and let us know if you are looking for a sponsor or willing to be a sponsor or sober support for males or females.

Include your phone number, location and time zone as well as whether you're on Telegram or WhatsApp for the Phone List. Add your sobriety date if you want to.

What is Alcoholics Anonymous?

We are a Fellowship of men and women who have lost the ability to control our drinking and have found ourselves in various kinds of trouble as a result of drinking. We attempt — most of us successfully — to create a satisfying way of life without alcohol. For this, we find we need the help and support of other alcoholics in A.A.

If I go to an A.A. meeting, does that commit me to anything?

No. A.A. does not keep membership files or attendance records. You do not have to reveal anything about yourself. No one will bother you if you don’t want to come back.

What happens if I meet people I know?

They will be there for the same reason you are there. They will not disclose your identity to outsiders. At A.A. you retain as much anonymity as you wish. That is one of the reasons we call ourselves Alcoholics Anonymous.

Character Defects & Their Opposites, AA Principles & the 7 Deadly Sins

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1auwonb9foPPvxxv6SyomusUXWXpuLuaCV7Wqc_i4XpM/edit?usp=sharing

Newcomer Welcome Kit:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PipHgHlXERAJjpBjJpVfBRrVooncAGfF2Ai3NLxIKz4/edit?usp=sharing

What happens at an A.A. meeting?

An A.A. meeting may take one of several forms, but at any meeting, you will find alcoholics talking about what drinking did to their lives and personalities, what actions they took to help themselves, and how they are living their lives today.

How can this help me with my drinking problem?

We in A.A. know what it is like to be addicted to alcohol and to be unable to keep promises made to others and ourselves that we will stop drinking. We are not professional therapists. Our only qualification for helping others to recover from alcoholism is that we have stopped drinking ourselves, and problem drinkers coming to us know that recovery is possible because they see people who have done it.

Why do A.A.s keep on going to meetings after they are cured?

We in A.A. believe there is no such thing as a cure for alcoholism. We can never return to normal drinking, and our ability to stay away from alcohol depends on maintaining our physical, mental, and spiritual health. This we can achieve by going to meetings regularly and putting into practice what we learn there. In addition, we find it helps us to stay sober if we help other alcoholics.

How do I join A.A.?

You are an A.A. member if and when you say so. The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking, and many of us were not very wholehearted about that when we first approached A.A.

How much does A.A. membership cost?

There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership. An A.A. group will usually have a collection during the meeting to cover expenses, such as rent, coffee, etc., and to this, all members are free to contribute as much or as little as they wish.

Is A.A. a religious organization?

No. Nor is it allied with any religious organization. There’s a lot of talk about God, though, isn’t there? The majority of A.A. members believe that we have found the solution to our drinking problem not through individual willpower, but through a power greater than ourselves. However, everyone defines this power as he or she wishes. Many people call it God, others think it is the A.A. group, still, others don’t believe in it at all. There is room in A.A. for people of all shades of belief and non-belief.

Can I bring my family to an A.A. meeting?

Family members or close friends are welcome at “Open” A.A. meetings. Discuss this with your local contact.

What advice do you give new members?

In our experience, the people who recover in A.A. are those who:

a) stay away from the first drink;

b) attend A.A. meetings regularly;

c) seek out the people in A.A. who have successfully stayed sober for some time;

d) try to put into practice the A.A. program of recovery;

e) obtain and study the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

The above is from the pamphlet “A Newcomer Asks” published by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., who holds the copyright. The pamphlet in full can be viewed at

https://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/p-24_anewcomerask.pdf

What is the “The Big Book” and how do I get one?

“The Big Book” is the colloquial name for Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism. This book is our basic text which explains how to recover from alcoholism.

The book can be purchased at:

https://onlineliterature.aa.org/

The Big Book can also be found online at:

https://www.aa.org/pages/en_US/alcoholics-anonymous

What is a sponsor and how do I get one?

A sponsor: “…an alcoholic who has made some progress in the recovery program shares that experience on a continuous, individual basis with another alcoholic who is attempting to attain or maintain sobriety…”

Finding a sponsor is easy. While attending a meeting listen to the people sharing. Find someone who has the kind of sobriety you long for. Ask them if they would be willing to sponsor you.

“Asking someone to sponsor you is one of the greatest gifts you can give to another person in recovery.”

You will also find the names and numbers of people who want to sponsor in the chat function on Zoom during our meetings.

More information on sponsorship can be found in the link below.

https://www.aa.org/assets/en_US/p-15_Q&AonSpon.pdf

“We believe, and so suggested a few years ago, that the action of alcohol on these chronic alcoholics is a manifestation of an allergy; that the phenomenon of craving is limited to this class and never occurs in the average temperate drinker. These allergic types can never safely use alcohol in any form at all; and once having formed the habit and found they cannot break it, once having lost their self-confidence, their reliance upon things human, their problems pile up on them and become astonishingly difficult to solve.”

-Alcoholics Anonymous p. XXVIII

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