Open Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting Analysis

Each and every single day, we walk past many different types of people that come from all walks of life and some who are the typical definition of “normal” that are battling addictions to alcohol. My eyes were opened up a great deal when I attended an open Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that had a guest speaker named James and if I would have walked past him on the street, I would have never known the internal battles that he has faced and does face everyday he gets up out of bed. I went to an early morning meeting and was welcomed with open arms by every person there. Several people came up and introduced themselves and offered me coffee and doughnuts. As the meeting started, a few of the members came up to the podium to read the introduction, and preamble before the guest speaker came up to speak. As each person came up to the podium, they stated not only their name, but also that they were an alcoholic. After the
He admitted to only going to AA meetings here and there, but it was not until he realized that he was not happy living his life that he got serious about changing. James had seen the light, found God and a sponsor to assist him in his journey. He started attending church and meetings regularly, he noticed how his life changed for the better. During this time, he met his current wife and was able to make amens with his previous wife. Looking back, he stated that he did not realize how much trouble and problems his drinking had caused not only him, but everyone around him. The hardest thing for him to face was that someone had lost their life because he decided to get behind the wheel drunk. James said that the AA meetings are what has helped the most because he can be around other recovering alcoholics. According to the AA “big book”, an alcoholic is never fully healed as they face struggles everyday and they learn to just take one day at a