CAL – Alateen Tells It Like It Is / Walk This Path of Hope (Item # AV-16 / AV-19)

1. “Alateen Tells It Like It Is” (item # AV-16) came out in 1987 & according to past Conference Summaries, it’s a 16-minute video illustrated by a teenager that provides a glimpse into the lives of Alateen members. It deals with denial, anonymity, detachment, acceptance, & love. “Walk This Path of Hope” (item # AV-19) was produced in 1989 featuring Al-Anon & Alateen members sharing their experiences of meetings in institutions such as hospitals & prisons. It was considered an “audiovisual tool to help increase Institutions service work.”

2. Both outreach videos were discontinued in 1999 & I have not been able to find them online. I’m still on the hunt but am looking for help! 🕵️‍♀️ If you have any info, please feel free to leave me a reply or comment below this post!

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**UPDATE (4/24/17): Good things come to those who wait! My Higher Power must have known I was searching for these VHS tapes. Stay tuned for my updated review after I watch them. In the meantime, you can click on the thumbnail images to see the video jacket covers!

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***UPDATE (6/30/17): 1. Here is my review for “Walk This Path of Hope” (item # AV-19). Since this video was geared to help Al-Anon members do service work in institutions, it covers how they overcame their fears to bring Al-Anon & Alateen “Meetings on Wheels” into places such as prisons & detention high schools. They explain how this 12th Step work provides a different type of growth than a regular meeting & that hope can be brought anywhere — regardless of the place because alcoholism is still alcoholism. Some of the scenes looked familiar because they were also used in “Al-Anon Speaks For Itself” (item # AV-10), but whereas there were no smoking scenes in that video, “Walk This Path of Hope” had lots of people smoking during the meetings in it! It made me grateful that the majority of Al-Anon meetings nowadays are non-smoking. 🚭

2. My favorite line from this video is: “My Higher Power has never given me the authority to judge others.”

3. Since this blog is about literature, below are 7 screenshots from the video about the CAL shown. It’s a little step back in time to see how literature tables would have looked in the mid-80’s

Which guideline is shown prominently in this video? (Hint: see item # G-9!)

4. I haven’t found this “Walk This Path of Hope” video online yet, but you can click this link to hear the audio at least.

5. Here is my review for “Alateen Tells It Like It Is” (item # AV-16). This video sticks to strict anonymity since no real people actually appear in the video – it is mostly artist drawings that tell the stories of 3 teens: Samantha, George, & Patty. They describe how things were prior to Alateen – the anger, the isolation, the increased responsibilities & the normalizing of it all thinking it was just another phase to grow out of! They talk about what they’ve learned from the Alateen program & how their lives are now – full of friends, choices, & hope.

6. My 2 favorite lines from this video are: “I felt as if I was my mother’s sister & my father’s mother” & the other one is: “Alateen helps me to keep a cool temper while my parents are on their own personal mind trip.” 🥴

7. Since this blog is about literature, below are 3 screenshots from the video about the CAL shown.