Frequently Asked Questions
Am I an alcoholic?
If you repeatedly drink more than you intend or want to, if you get into trouble, or if you have memory lapses when you drink, you may be an alcoholic. Only you can decide. No one in A.A. will tell you whether you are or are not.
What is A.A.?
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who come together to solve their drinking problem. It doesn’t cost anything to attend A.A. meetings. There are no age or education requirements to participate. Membership is open to anyone who wants to do something about their drinking problem.
A.A.’s primary purpose is to help alcoholics to achieve sobriety.
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.
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 voluntary collection during the meeting to cover expenses, such as rent, online account, 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.
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.
How does A.A. work?
Members use the Twelve Steps to maintain sobriety. Groups use the Twelve Traditions to stay unified.
A.A.’s Twelve Steps are a set of spiritual principles. When practiced as a way of life, they can expel the obsession to drink and enable the sufferer to recover from alcoholism.
The Twelve Traditions apply to A.A. as a whole. They outline how A.A. maintains its unity and relates itself to the world around it.
The book Alcoholics Anonymous describes the A.A. program of recovery. It also contains stories written by the co-founders and stories from a wide range of members who have found recovery in A.A.
Who Are A.A. members?
We are people who have discovered and admitted that we cannot control alcohol. We have learned that we must live without it to live normal, happy lives.
We are not anti-alcohol and we have no wish to reform the world. We are not allied with any group, cause or religious denomination. We welcome new members, but we do not recruit them.
We do not impose our experience with problem drinking on others, but we do share it when we are asked to do so. We know our own sobriety depends on connecting with other alcoholics.
What does it mean if a meeting is Open or Closed?
Meetings are typically listed as "open" or "closed" meetings.
- Open meetings are available to anyone interested in Alcoholics Anonymous’s program of recovery from alcoholism. Nonalcoholics may attend open meetings as observers.
- Closed meetings are for A.A. members only or for those who have a drinking problem and “have a desire to stop drinking.”
At both types of meetings, it may be requested that participants confine their discussion to matters pertaining to recovery from alcoholism.
Whether open or closed, A.A. group meetings are conducted by A.A. members who determine the format of their meetings.