AUSTRA-LINK...any item can be accepted. Please indicate how you would like your article signed: first name only, first name and Area, initials only, or “Anon”. Mail your article

ISSN 0726-0726-4607 ISSN 2207-7642 (Online) Price $2.00

AUSTRA-LINKThe monthly journal of Al-Anon Family Groups in Australia

July 2020

RecoveryThrough The Steps

UnityThrough The Traditions

ServiceThrough The Concepts

The threefold guides of Al-Anon point the way to a normal, useful life for the individual.They are also a framework within which the groups can carry on their affairs in harmony.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSEThe purpose of Al-Anon is to help families and friends of alcoholics by offering hope and friendship, better understanding of the effects on themselves of someone else’s drinking, and an opportunity for spiritual awakening through the shared experience described in the Twelve Steps.

Austra-Link is the monthly publication of Australian Al-Anon Family Groups. In the pages of this magazine, Al-Anon and Alateen members share their experience, strength and hope as they do in their meetings. Through this “voice of the fellowship” individual members and Groups can be heard by many. Such sharing is vital in helping readers find growth and serenity through the Al-Anon program.

Al-Anon and Alateen members are invited to contribute articles, sharing their recovery. Articles present members’ personal views and experiences, and opinions expressed are not to be attributed to Al-Anon as a whole. Austra-Link does not print prayers or poetry. Full name and address (home or group) is required before any item can be accepted. Please indicate how you would like your article signed: first name only, first name and Area, initials only, or “Anon”.

Mail your article to Austra-Link Editor - Al-Anon Family Group, GPO Box 1002, Melbourne Vic. 3001 or email to [email protected] notices of forthcoming events must reach The Editor two months prior to publication.

God grant me the SerenityGod grant me the Serenityto accept the things I cannot change,to accept the things I cannot change,Courage to change the things I can,Courage to change the things I can,and Wisdom to know the differenceand Wisdom to know the difference

July 2020 • Issue No. 471 AUSTRA-LINK 1

Technology has given me regular ‘FaceTime’ chats with my ailing and ancient father who lives interstate and whose time is running out. It’s actually a nine-hour trip each way to visit briefly—a regular thing before lockdown.

I would like to believe that all this ‘well-rounded-personness, managing-everything-really-nicelyness’ is a ‘new me’. But the niggling discomfort that comes with news of each easing of restrictions suggests this is not entirely the case.

I am a new me in lots of ways, thanks to my program. For example, I now know the value of living in the moment. I often use an ‘Easy Does It’ approach to things and I avoid complications by reminding myself to ‘Keep it Simple’. I am able to apologise for being grumpy and respect another’s point of view when I ‘Let it Begin With Me’.

I’m doing OK, but I also a c k n ow l e d g e that I’m going to need my Higher Power more than ever to help me re-enter the world of people, places and things.

Wendy E.

The National Journal of Al-Anon Family Groups Australia

Issue No. 471, July 2020

Alfred The Great leading me out of the bubble

Just when I thought it was safe to stay in!Oooh goodness me! The world’s opening up again! Change! I hate it. I once even wrote a really long song about that and someone did mention that ‘hate’ was a very strong word in that context. True. It is. The perfect word for an overreaction to a situation that ignites fear.

I’ve been tucked up here at home during the COVID-19 lockdown with my trusty off-sider Alfred the Great, in a relatively lovely bubble. I’ve been lucky enough to have gainful employment, although that is disappearing bit by bit, and I’m safe and warm thanks to my hotwater bottle and my warm blooded pets who share their body heat from time to time—heating went on the blink pre-lockdown...there’s a story of communication failings of industrial scale for another time perhaps.

I’ve had time to be in the moment enough to tidy up as I go (I am a declutterer’s dream project), pace myself to complete gardening jobs in stages rather than working till I hurt, immerse myself in refining bits of music I’m working on and really enjoy the minutiae of my life.

I’ve even kept up a regime of back strengthening exercises and am attending to my CAL readings in a more contemplative way. From time to time I’ve tried a ‘Random Read’ of CAL and loved what I have stumbled upon.

2 AUSTRA-LINK Issue No. 471 • July 2020

Excerpts from P-78 When I Got Busy, I Got BetterReplacing Isolation with Community

Recently I attended a neighborhood hearing to show support for a local service. To my surprise, I found myself taking part as an active and committed member of my community. My pre-Al-Anon feelings of isolation and frustration had abated as I established a connection with my neighbors.

In tracing the development of my new experience of com mon ground, I realized that my years in Al-Anon had been instrumental in dispelling my isolation. More specifically, I noticed that Al-Anon service had given me an experience of connection and commitment.

A member of our fellowship once explained how reaching out in simple ways had helped her break through her loneli ness, desperation, and isolation. Straightening up after a meet ing gave her the incentive she needed to overcome her fears and talk to other members. She let go of feeling invisible, fearful, and unworthy by focusing on the jobs that almost anyone can do, regardless of inner turmoil and even physical limitation.

I, too, have found that lending a hand can hold at bay that overwhelming urge to bolt from a meeting feeling unloved, unlovable, and forever being on the outside looking in. I, too, have found encouragement to let go of my isolation

by replacing it with the conviction that I can make a contribution.

Practicing the Twelfth Step has given me a golden opport unity to look beyond my isolation and to begin following the guidance of a Higher Power in my daily life. When I look for what’s wanted and needed at a meeting, I open the door to a deeper experience of using my will to do the will of a Higher Power. More time spent in the solution, no matter how brief a spell, inevitably allows for less time spent in the problem. Rather than reproducing the failure, resentment, and paraly sis of dealing with the disease of alcoholism, Al-Anon service gives me a chance to step lightly into the fresh air of recovery. I ask myself: Today, what time can I spend reaching out to others in recovery?

Tribute to LAC1: “When I served, I felt better”Holding hands with other people who, like me, were suffering and without hope, I break the circle of denial and insanity in which I found myself and I offer to be part of a new circle. A circle of love, which is constantly renewed because I believe that through example many will want to be a part, thus maintaining the vitality of a community that seeks serenity, one day at a time, in this wonderful spiritual journey that is life.

Mário (Group “Life and Hope”)

I was intrigued by this brief response to Portugal’s version of When I Got Busy, I Got Better translated from the January to June 2019 issue of Só por Hoje (Hope for Today).

Ed.1. LAC is the Portugese acronym for Conference Approved Literature - ‘literatura aprovada pela conferência’


Winter Sharing Topic: On my own, but not alones How do I behave when I start to

isolate myself?s When do I turn to my Higher Power?s What is my favourite reading when I

am feeling low?

Well what an interesting time we have and are going through. When I was first stood down from work, eight weeks ago, I thought “This is good, some time to myself and time to do the things I want at home.” I have felt grateful that I live in a comfortable home and have the space to move around, but as time wore on I became anxious and extremely ‘annoyed’ with my partner for no reason at all.

I really had to dig deep and go into my Al-Anon readings and meditate on what was worrying me and why I was behaving so badly towards my partner. The answer was fear! When I am on my own too much, even though I do like to keep busy and have many interesting things to keep me occupied, I begin to think too much, and not in a good way!

I turned to our Slogans, Let go and Let God, Easy does it, One day at a Time, Live and Let Live.

I used the Serenity Prayer to meditate on when I found sleep evasive and I tried to put into practice the slogans, of course Progress not Perfection!

Recently I focused on Live and Let Live and thought the reading on August 2 in One Day at a Time in Al Anon really

explained this so well, helping me to break down the slogan so helping me to further put this into practice. The reminder on this day tells me “The more I think about living and letting others live, the more I will learn from it. I will try to make it my yardstick in everything I do and especially in relating to the people in my life.”

Being of service to the group and others in the community, even remotely, has also helped me to focus on others and not spend so much time “thinking” and “worrying” about my own situation. I make a list of all that I am grateful for and then turn to my Higher Power and ask him to guide me through this difficult time in whatever way works best for me.

Fran S., Southern New South Wales Area

A tremendous thank you to members who have responded to the Winter Sharing Topic. Some wonderful shares. Keep ‘em coming! Ed.

A Life in Isolation Isolation in a beautiful country town is not too hard, but certainly different from what daily life was prior to COVID-19. Being semi-retired the change has probably not been as difficult as it might be for families with young children.

Each morning before breakfast, my partner and I go for a 2km walk with Bessie, our delightful Cavoodle; that is unless it has been or is about to start raining. Bessie does not like getting wet!

We have lovely neighbours and a couple over the back fence share rhubarb, kale and tomatoes in exchange for our lemons, which are abundant this year. Sharing of what we have in excess to our own needs seems to be one of the benefits of this pandemic as well as people enquiring how the other is coping, while keeping the regulation distance of 1.5 metres apart.


We are both losing weight on my cooking. No, don’t laugh, we needed to. I am cooking delicious healthy food and of course not eating out. In fact my partner said he couldn’t recall having eaten better and I don’t think that was a Senior Moment!

Zoom meetings have become the new normal. We attend our regular weekly Al-Anon meetings on Zoom, plus various Advisory Committees and organisations to which I belong hold monthly and bimonthly meetings on Zoom. There are also 30-minute exercise programs on YouTube so that is something else I do three times a week.

As we are both very involved with music I have been videoing D playing his magic keyboard and we made a special Anzac commemoration video which we distributed.

In isolation, I am busier than ever, enjoying what I do, with assistance from my Higher Power, with whom I have regular chats, and my Al-Anon family with whom I connect, either by phone or on Zoom.

I am very grateful that I have my Al-Anon program and daily readings to keep me on track, especially Courage to Change which I have on my iPad.

Stay safe, stay healthy. Jo-ann S., Victorian Southern Area

I have regular discussions with my Higher Power as to what might be the best thing to do each day to assist myself and others to be in a well-balanced state of mind. Then, just before I go to sleep, I have another chat with my HP and review the events of the day asking for guidance regarding any uncomfortable encounters. We are so fortunate to have a loving HP with whom we can freely communicate.

I have started a vegetable garden along the back fence. The first lot were consumed by snails and slugs, however, the current seedlings appear to be going OK. Plus I have given myself the task of phoning one person per day, whom I haven’t heard from for a while. I am now up to 29 contacts. I posted what I am doing on FaceBook. The responses have been amazing with many others taking up the challenge of phoning or writing to friends far and wide.

Two or three days each week I go cycling around the township—down dale then coming back it’s all uphill. I am renewing my sewing skills and have made masks to wear when we do our weekly shopping.

It feels strange not being able to visit family and friends and to keep 1.5 metres apart as we pass people on our walks. Plus I am a hugger and miss the many hugs I usually receive, but thankfully I can still have hugs from my partner.

Some of our neighbours live alone and are feeling the isolation depressing. I used to invite them over for afternoon tea once a week, but as that is no longer permissible, I have reverted to phoning them every few days and deliver patty cakes at arm’s length, straight from the oven so I don’t transfer any germs.


On my own but not aloneWho would want to be in a pandemic without Al-Anon? The strong bonds I have formed with members in my regular groups are sustaining me during the period of lockdown. We may miss the relative ease of meeting in a room together but we don’t miss each other. We can meet in the virtual world and maintain the program. Members with the required skills have set up the platforms for us and encouraged those to whom this is all too new. We are welcoming and supporting members old and new.

Surrender was the topic of one meeting I attended, and current events indeed require us to surrender or suffer. A world-wide pandemic is indeed something I cannot control. So I let my Higher Power handle it and I just look after each moment in my own day. I replace the self-care things I did before with the self-care things I am doing now. Staying in touch with the love and support of the program through virtual meetings, phone calls and occasionally going for a walk with a fellow member, keeps me connected and nurtured.

My participation has increased as the pandemic opens up new possibilities that weren’t there before. I have been able to attend meetings on other continents! This has increased my experience of Al-Anon as an international organisation. I don’t call lockdown isolation because I am not experiencing it as isolation. In the Al-Anon family we are supporting each other more than ever.

Chris, Victorian Southern Area

I replaced fear with faith in my Higher PowerWhen I first came to Al-Anon, fear ruled my life. Although I did not want to, I held on to my fears. The slogan “Let Go and Let God” caught my eye and I decided to give it a try. I did what was necessary to keep my fear in check, and then turned the results over to God.

But, the fear fought back. It did not want me to let it go. Slowly, I learned to let it go for a few seconds at a time and then for much longer.

Many of my fears had no base in reality. I came to accept which ones were real and which ones were not by going to meetings, reading Al-Anon literature, and getting a Sponsor. Through this, I gained a deeper trust in my Higher Power’s will for me.

Now, I’m able to catch most of my fears while they’re just forming, and I use the tools of the program to stop them from becoming bigger and stronger than I am. I am a much stronger person today because my Higher Power has helped me to replace fear with faith.

Cathy C., NewfoundlandTheForum, July 2015, P 7.

Reprinted with permission of The Forum, Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters., Inc.,

Virginia Beach, VA

What is the Al-Anon Australia website members’ page username?

What is ODAT an abbreviation of?Last month’s answers see page 11.


Sponsorship is a special and multi-faceted thingAs a newcomer to the fellowship there are many terms and notions which take on new meaning in the Al-Anon context.

We may have understood the word ‘sponsorship’ to mean support for a sports team or third world child or glibly mentioned in reference to Alcoholics Anonymous in films or TV.

In Al-Anon it has its own significance. Indeed there are different types of Sponsors in Al-Anon: Personal, Service, Lone member and Alateen. This month we look at the Personal Sponsor relationship.

Sponsorship in Al-Anon is a wonderful element of recovery.

Sponsorship is a mutual and confidential sharing between two Al-Anon or Alateen members……The need for sponsorship is like being lost in the woods: If we find someone else who is lost, it is comforting when that person says, “I”m lost, too. Let’s see if we can find our way out together.” It is also comforting to find someone who says, “I was lost, but I was helped to find my way. Come, take my hand and I’ll show you the path.”1

In our group meetings the focus is on sharing, with our fellow members, how we use the Al-Anon program to help us reclaim our lives and heal ourselves. We generally don’t use the meeting space to dwell on the nitty gritty of our own personal circumstances or ‘he saids, she

1. P-31 Sponsorship, What It’s All About …Continued on page 8

saids’. We also speak through the chair when invited to, rather than engaging in the usual ‘to and fro’ of conversation. This helps us learn to listen.

A sponsor is a trusted Al-Anon friend with whom you can have a more personal interaction and who, as a member of the fellowship, will have some identification with your situation. “… Whatever your problems, there are those among us who have had them, too.”2

Sponsorship is:s A relationship built on equality,

anonymity, and trusts An opportunity for growth—for

both the Sponsee and the Sponsors A benefit at any stage of recoverys A commitment to practice healthy

communication—not based on intimidation or demands

s An agreement to recover and grow together; not to struggle in isolation

s An opportunity for self-discovery; not a teacher-pupil relationship

s An experience based on unconditional love, not shame or judgement

s A spiritual relationship with no strings attached

s A one-to-one relationship; not an exclusive club3

Personal sponsors bring their experience, strength and hope to this relationship. There is more time to examine the Steps and Traditions at a deeper level. It can be enormously helpful to look at a situation through the Al-Anon lens and definitely constructive in a way that resorting to a character assassination of another or seeking to lay blame can never be.

With our Sponsor we may gently work our way through the Steps at a pace 2. Suggested Al-Anon/Alateen Closing3. M-78, Sponsorship–Working Together to Recover, P. 2


NEWS and VIEWS from AGSO

10% of groups had between 16 and 20 members20% less than 5 members45% between 6 and 10 members25% between 11 and 15 members

Breakdown of numbers at respondents’ most recently attended Al-Anon meeting

2019 Membership Survey Snippets

2020 Australian 2020 Australian Service ConferenceService Conference

AGSO Staff members all participated, receiving reports from Areas and AGSO prior to the event. Each presenting participant responded to questions arising from the previously circulated information.

So from the comfort of our respective home offices, spare rooms, kitchens etc, the meetings proceeded and all the items on the agenda were attended to. The tea breaks were very quiet though... Whilst all participants missed the face-to-face contact and the hugs that are such a nourishing part of interactions within the fellowship, it was a successful and innovative way to work around the restrictions we are all experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congratulations to everyone for their adaptability and willingness to make it a successful Conference. A huge ‘well done!’ to the Conference Planning Committee who did such an amazing job pulling it all together!

The 2020 Australian Service Conference was a history making event conducted entirely in the virtual environment.

The theme for the conference ‘Harmony’, drew on Concept 4, “Participation is the key to harmony”. The week prior to Conference there was an Al-Anon meeting (via Zoom) for Conference members with the topic being Harmony.

The Conference proper is always an intense and uplifting event. Usually three 12 hour days of talking things through and reasoning them out, often culminating in a motion being put and a vote to follow. There are also breaks for tea, biscuits and fellowship...

This year it was just one very focused day—Saturday May 30. General Service Board, Executive Committee, and


…Continued from page 6

The definition of Harmony in the dictionary is:

An orderly or pleasing combination of elements in a whole; A relationship in which various components exist together without destroying one another; A relationship characterized by a lack of conflict or agreement.There was nothing harmonious about

my life when I arrived in Al-Anon. My family was fractured by alcoholism and my self-esteem splintered. I wandered around from day to day, week to week, year to year without a healthy focus.

My plan was to remove myself as far away emotionally and physically, from my family as possible. Then I would have harmony or serenity, so I thought. In those days I called it peace!

Al-Anon taught me some new skills and gave me a better understanding of alcoholism and the effects on family members. I learned to let go of the alcoholic and focus on myself. “Put your head where your hands are,” I heard at my first few meetings. You only have to cope one day at a time.

2020 Australian 2020 Australian Service ConferenceService Conference

Theme Talk: Harmony

that suits us. There is no compulsion to do the Steps with a sponsor. We can also trust that with the help of our Higher Power and Sponsor we will be learning to be honest with ourselves and take responsibility for our part in our relationships with others.

The love experienced in the very special connection with a Sponsor is unconditional and as we progress in our recovery it helps us to achieve healthy notions of dependence while encouraging independence. Choosing to have a sponsor is one of the most loving things we can do for ourselves in recovery.

How do I get a Sponsor?“Most Sponsors do not volunteer for the job; they wait to be asked, recognizing that part of another member’s personal recovery depends upon a willingness to reach out for help...”4

When you are ready, you approach a member who you may identify with. It is not automatic that they will feel ready or available to sponsor you, but with the help of your Higher Power, you will find just the right person at just the right time.

Is it compulsory? I went to an Al-Anon meeting and a member said I had to get a sponsor straight away to stay in the Group. Having a sponsor is not compulsory in Al-Anon. A sponsor can assist in helping you develop a deeper understanding of the program, but it is a personal decision. Some members never find a person they wish to approach to be their sponsor. This doesn’t mean that recovery in the program is not possible. Having a sponsor is a choice which brings many rewards, but 4. P-31 Sponsorship, What It’s All About, P. 7

not something that can be forced on, or demanded of us.

As with so much of our program, it is about personal choices. As we embrace our recovery those choices lead us to greater Serenity rather than confusion and despair. After all, we are invited to “Take what you like, and leave the rest.”5 5. Suggested Al-Anon/Alateen Closing


We suggested members open any of their Al-Anon books at a random p a g e … a n d read…

More responses from members who give it a go...

Grateful reflectionEvery single time I hear the words: ‘Our thinking becomes distorted by trying to force solutions, and we become irritable and unreasonable,’ from the Suggested Al-Anon Opening (p.11 of the Al-Anon/Alateen Groups at Work, (P-24), World Service Manual)… I am transported to a place of grateful reflection. Now I know the exact cause of my former, long-term ailment. Instead of forcing anything, I have complete clarity that, in order to have the peace-filled, love- and joy-filled life journey that I know is mine to lead, all I have to do is to shrug my cares off and turn my will (thoughts) and my life (behaviour) over to my loving Higher Power. Thank you, Al-Anon

Claire J. Victorian Southern Area

We’d love you to share the treasures of insight that you may have experienced through letting the pages of a favourite CAL publication spontaneously fall open. Tell us the passage that jumped out at you and what that may have done to help you in your recovery.

Ed.

Today’s reminderA good chuckle or an engrossing activity can lift my spirits and cleanse my mind. I will refresh myself by adding some lightness to this day. “Now I look for humor in every situation, and my Higher Power is a laughing God who reminds me not to take myself too seriously.”

B-11 As We Understood...B-16 Courage to Change. p. 323

What the alcoholic does is not a reflection on you. You are not responsible. Nothing you do or have done makes a person an alcoholic.

What revelations! I won’t say that it was easy to develop harmony in my family; it varied from time to time. Stepping out of the drama did help me to gain some measure of serenity. Not reacting to situations and discussing at length the faults of others helped me to be more comfortable with myself and my role in the family. Attending Al-Anon and practising the principles of the program in my life have indirectly made a huge difference to my family.

We were, in the end, able to maintain a relationship, existing together without destroying one another, even enjoying one another’s company at times— Harmony.

Jenny A., Victorian Southern Area


Survey SnippetsMore of the ‘other’ comments from the Members Surveys Al-Anon is a wonderful fellowship and it has

saved my life in many ways. I know I need to practise and be an active member all of my life. It is sad to see people leave but I am just grateful that I found something I need and that helps.

s Al-Anon has helped me participate more freely in my community. I have become involved in many other groups and activities as well as working, and do not want to put any more time into Service.

s Al-Anon works because of the members. Alone, the disease would run rampant.

s Wouldn’t be alive if I didn’t have Al-Anon meetings.

s I am eternally grateful; Al-Anon saved my mum’s life and in turn mine. My children have benefited hugely from having a mother and grandmother in the program. So lucky.

Sadly, as I got better my alcoholic husband got worse. He became angry and very resentful of me. As a result, after I had tried every way I could to improve my marriage, I was forced to give up and leave as he became very abusive. I left eleven months ago.

Back in the thick of all the drama, I had written a gratitude journal to eventually get published. I’ve finally had the chance to put it in digital form to get self-published. I wrote it in 2014. Going through it I can’t believe some of the topics—I have one for each day of the year. Some are just not gratitude topics at all. And at the end of each week I had, ‘this week’s negative thoughts’. I think “Wow! A gratitude journal. It should have a roundup of positive thoughts and actions.”

It was as if a stranger wrote it, and the entries I wrote are so sad. And that year we got married! I can see my co-dependence so much back then.

So, as I go through, I’m changing some of the days’ topics to positive ones about being grateful. I’m also adding notes as I go through. Today’s thoughts are different. I am a changed person nowadays. Yes, it’s taken a lot of work and working the program. But I am so much better for it. I feel mature and more confident.

I have better relationships with people and if someone seems toxic, I keep away from them. I’m calmer and happier. My journaling has also helped. By seeing my thoughts and words back then, it makes me realise my growth even more.

Thank you Al-Anon. Marie, Western New South Wales Area

My JourneyWhen I first found Al-Anon I was a scared, stressed and sad soul. I had never even heard of Al-Anon before, but luckily, I found this wonderful fellowship.

From that very first meeting I felt like I’d found home and felt so welcomed. I went to two meetings a week and slowly improved in myself. I grew so much, got stronger and finally was able to stand up for myself more and create better boundaries for me.


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To know that you are human and so am I, to love others enough to give them the rights I would like to have for myself, to hold the hand of one in pain, to have someone say, “I understand”—these are things spiritual.

Arizona, United StatesAs We understood… B-11, p. 26

June Issue Answers What year did Lois W. visit Australia? Answer: 1972 Who was the first Austra-Link editor? Answer: Mary R


Next Issue: August, 2020 - Alateen Special IssueCAL: When I Got Busy, I Got Better (P-78)Articles and Member sharings from around AustraliaWinter Sharing Topic - On my own, but not alone The National Phone Number for Al-Anon information is:1300 Al-Anon (1300 252 666)www.al-anon.org.auTo access Members’ page:your username is: memberyour password is: afg

Forthcoming Events2020 AA Convention in toowoombA - with Al-Anon And AlAteen pArtiCipAtion

This is now a virtual convention!!!! More details as soon as they come to hand.

Date: Friday, 2nd October 2020 to Monday, 5th October 2020 Website: aanatcon2020.com.au Theme: A Vision for You

Winter Sharing Topic - On my own, but not aloneHow do I behave when I start to isolate myself ?When do I turn to my Higher Power?What is my favourite reading when I am feeling low?These are a few thoughts to help you get started. Your share may be just the thing a fellow member needs to read. Please consider sharing your experience, strength and hope to help us all stay connected with each other and our wonderful program.

Spread the Word…July = Crisis Supports On-line services: Counsellingonline— - https://www.counsellingonline.org.au/ Mensline— https://mensline.org.au Kidshelpline— https://kidshelpline.com.au/s Police Domestic Violence Unitss Salvation Army, Anglicare, area crisis centress Child Protection Services

Suggested CAL:R-64 Domestic ViolenceS-37 Fact Sheet for ProfessionalsP-7 Guide for the FamilyP-21 Youth and the Alcoholic ParentP-9 How Can I Help my Children?M-76 BookmarkS-17 20 QuestionsS-20 20 QuestionsS-25 20 Questions

THE TWELVE STEPS1. We admitted we were powerless over

alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

THE TWELVE TRADITIONS1. Our common welfare should come first;

personal progress for the greatest number depends upon unity.

2. For our group purpose there is but one authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants—they do not govern.

3. The relatives of alcoholics, when gathered together for mutual aid, may call themselves an Al-Anon Family Group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation. The only requirement for membership is that there be a problem of alcoholism in a relative or friend.

4. Each group should be autonomous, except in matters affecting another group or Al-Anon or AA as a whole.

5. Each Al-Anon Family Group has but one purpose: to help families of alcoholics. We do this by practicing the Twelve Steps of A.A. ourselves, by encouraging and understanding our alcoholic relatives, and by welcoming and giving comfort to families of alcoholics.

6. Our Family Groups ought never endorse, finance or lend our name to any outside enterprise, lest problems of money property and prestige divert us from our primary spiritual aim. Although a separate entity, we should always co-operate with Alcoholics Anonymous.

7. Every group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

8. Al-Anon Twelfth Step work should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centres may employ special workers.

9. Our groups, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

10. The Al-Anon Family Groups have no opinion on outside issues; hence our name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, films, and TV. We need guard with special care the anonymity of all AA members.

12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles above personalities.

Remember the 1300 252 666 number is a national number which connects you to the nearest Area Office. For example, if you are in South Australia and call the number, Adelaide members will respond to you.

Area Offices in AustraliaNORTHERN NEW SOUTH WALES: Al-Anon Family Groups Northern NSW Area Room 9, 49 Annie St Wickham St., WICKHAM NSW 2293 PO Box 217, HAMILTON NSW 2303 Phone: (02) 4961 6662 Helpline: 1300 252 666 Email: [email protected]

SOUTHERN NEW SOUTH WALES: (includes Australian Capital Territory) Al-Anon Family Groups Southern NSW Area Suite 4, 2 Ormonde Parade HURSTVILLE NSW 2220 Phone: (02) 9570 3400 Email: [email protected]

WESTERN NEW SOUTH WALES: Al-Anon Family Groups Western NSW Area Suite 108, First Floor 114-116 Henry Street, PENRITH NSW 2750 Phone: (02) 4731 1442 E-mail: [email protected]

NORTH QUEENSLAND: Al-Anon Family Groups North Queensland Area P.O. Box 827, AITKENVALE QLD 4814 Phone: 1300 252 666 Email: [email protected]

SOUTH QUEENSLAND: Al-Anon Family Groups South Queensland Area Unit 3, 1050 Manly Road. TINGALPA PO Box 2169, TINGALPA QLD 4173 10:00am – 2:00pm, Monday to Friday Phone: (07) 3890 1244 Helpline: 1300 252 666 Email: [email protected]

NORTHERN VICTORIA: Al-Anon Family Groups Northern Victoria Area O’Brien Hall, McLennan Street, MOOROOPNA P.O. Box 81, MOOROOPNA VIC 3629 Phone: (03) 5825 1160 Email: [email protected]

SOUTHERN VICTORIA: (includes Tasmania) Al-Anon Family Groups Victorian Southern Area Level 7, 51 Queen St., MELBOURNE. GPO Box 5458, MELBOURNE VIC 3001 10:30am – 2:30pm, Monday to Thursday Phone: (03) 9629 8900 Helpline: 1300 252 666 Email: [email protected]

SOUTH AUSTRALIA: Al-Anon Family Groups South Aust. Area 1st Floor, Harmer House 5 Leigh Street, ADELAIDE Mailing address: 1st Floor, 5 Leigh Street ADELAIDE SA 5000 10:00am – 2:30pm, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday Phone: (08) 8231 2959 Email: office@saAl-Anon .org

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: (includes Northern Territory) Al-Anon Family Groups Western Aust. Area Room 9, Claisebrook Lotteries House 33 Moore Street, EAST PERTH WA 6004 10:30am – 2:30pm, Monday to Friday Phone (08) 9325 7528 E-mail: [email protected]

Al-Anon Family Groups (Australia) Pty. Ltd. 7th Floor, 51 Queen Street, MELBOURNE GPO Box 1002, MELBOURNE, Vic., 3001 Phone (03) 9620 2166 Fax (03) 9620 2199 10:00am – 5:00pm, Monday to Thursday E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.al-anon.org.au

To contact Al-Anon anywhere in

Australia for the cost of a local call:

1300 Al-Anon (1300 252 666)

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