The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
My sponsor's wife and I are looking at Alanon literature to order for our meetings. Besides the meditation book, what else is recommended to keep on hand for meetings? Thanks in advance for any help? We've found several of the CAL books at amazon pretty cheap used.
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"If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience." - Woodrow Wilson
The books we pass around the most at my Al Anon meetings are Paths to Recovery, the daily readers (ODAT, CTC, Hope for Today), and From Survival to Recovery (that's a pretty deep one, though, it's an ACA book).
I would also recommend How Al-Anon Works. I've heard it described as Al-Anon's version of the AA Big Book, but I've yet to attend a meeting where that book has been read from and passed around and discussed. I'm only reading it on my own at home.
Can you get a bunch of Forum literature, too? One of my groups occasionally hands out a few of those and has us read/share on something in those, too.
We like to have a good sampling of the many pamphlets on hand. We also have a 12 Steps and 12 Traditions. And the Forum is really good to have. We have a bunch of really old copies that we pass around and people take them home and read and bring back for someone else to read. I like the many pamphlets and booklets though cause we can give them away to newcomers and such. They're cheap for a small meeting to afford.
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~Jen~
"When you come to the edge of all you know you must believe in one of two things... there will be earth on which to stand or you will be given wings." ~Unknown
How Alanon Works, and 12 steps and 12 Traditions, along with all of the daily readers. Also, Three Views Of Al-Anon, the detachment bookmark, the slogans bookmark, and what is the brown booklet called? I am looking through the literature online, but nobody has a picture of the pamphlets and booklets - it's a brown one with much useful info.
We always start our meetings with two or three readings, picked by whoever chairs. They usually pick a topic that is meaningful to them this week, and then everyone can share on that topic, or offtopic if they'd rather.
We have copies of all the literature, though, even though not all of it is on the table during the meeting. We've mostly got a beat up old copy, for people to borrow, or to read from during the meeting, and a couple nice new copies, for people to buy. If you can possible afford it, I'd recommend doing the same - you soon make back most of what you've spent, because people buy the books. It's so nice for a new member to be able to buy or borrow some literature right there and then.
You'll also want to have on hand a good selection of the pamphlets, along with newcomer packages. We tuck our phone list into the newcomer packages as soon as we get them, so we know there is a phone list in there. We just give the pamphlets away, though we charge for books (what it cost us - we don't make a profit.)
