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Why Are You N.U.T.S?

Newcomer Info

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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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How do I Get a Sponsor?

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Email our sponorshop coordinators if you are looking for a sponsor or looking for sponsees at WhyAreYouNuts@gmail.com

More Newcomer Info

Your Questions Answered –

  • Frequently Asked Questions About A.A. – Answers the questions most frequently asked about A.A. by alcoholics seeking help, as well as their families and friends.
  • How It Works – A brief summary of the A.A. program directly from the “Big Book” of Alcoholics Anonymous, chapter 5.
  • Is A.A. for You? – Symptoms of alcoholism are summed up in 12 questions most A.A.s answered to identify themselves as alcoholics.
  • A Newcomer Asks – Gives brief and straightforward answers on 15 points that once puzzled many of us.
  • Where Do I Go From Here? – For people leaving treatment facilities, information of continuing help offered by A.A.
  • Questions and Answers on Sponsorship – Utilizes shared A.A. experience to answer questions likely to be asked by people seeking sponsors and those wanting to be sponsors.

Other Online Literature & Resources –