WHAT I LEARNED: 1. This audiobook version of “Opening Our Hearts” (item # eA-29) has been a long time coming! I first read about it being worked on from pages 107-108 of the “2015 World Service Conference Summary” (item # P-46) & on Sept 12th, 2022 it officially came out & man was it worth the…
Tag: Book
CAL – One Day At A Time (Item # B-6) – NEW INTRO!
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. I was just poking around the al-anon.org website today & found the brand new introduction created for the daily reader: “One Day At A Time In Al-Anon” (also known as: “ODAT”). For a little background on why this new intro came about, check out pages 38-39 of the “2021 World Service…
CAL – Al-Anon’s Best Sellers of 2021
WHAT I LEARNED: A few weeks ago I recently received my hardcopy of the new “2022 World Service Conference Summary” (item # P-46). Pasted below are images from pages 80-81 that show some stats for 2021’s best selling Al-Anon books, booklets, and the “Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism 2021” (item # N/A) outreach magazine. It’s surprising that…
CAL – Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism 2008 (Item # N/A)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. In keeping with the same printing schedule as the first “Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism 2007” that came out in September 2006, the subsequent annual edition, “Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism 2008,” debuted in the fall of 2007. (From 2007 to 2019, the outreach magazine had only 2 print runs each year, so Al-Anon members could…
CAL – Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism 2007 (Item # N/A)
Usually around February, my order of the new annual public outreach magazine, “Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism” arrives. However, it is now the middle of 2022, & I haven’t received an answer yet on whether there will even be a new issue for this year. I’m guessing that since the 2021 issue was the first time a…
PODCAST – How Al-Anon Works / Newcomer Packet (Item #’s B-32, B-22, eA-22, & eB-22 / K-10)
Way back on July 1st, 2016, I posted the very first episode of my “CAL Chat” podcast, but I never did an official blog post about it…. until now! EPISODE 1: How many different types of Newcomer Packets are available? Which one pamphlet does Michael find helpful to read before his second Al-Anon meeting? How…
PODCAST – From Survival To Recovery / How Al-Anon Works (Item #’s B-21 / B-32, B-22, & eA-22)
EPISODE 13 of my “CAL Chat” podcast is now available to listen to! How is a pandemic similar to recovery? What Al-Anon audiobooks are available? Can a book also be a picture frame? (To hear this episode, please visit the show’s website at: calchatpodcast.com – or you can subscribe to it for free wherever you…
CAL – How Al-Anon Works – Audiobook (Item # eA-22)
My next “CAL Chat” podcast guest mentioned that “How Al-Anon Works” (item # B-32) was her favorite piece to use for outreach purposes that she wanted to discuss on the new upcoming Episode #13. To prepare, I was going to re-read it but then I thought, “How could I do it differently this time?” So…
CAL – The Forum Writing Guideline (Item # F-1)
Next week I’ll be posting an update on several Al‑Anon guidelines that have been revised this year. However while I was researching those, it led me to this guideline for The Forum that was very recently updated – just last month, in October 2021, in fact! It got me wondering, 🤔 “What changed exactly?” See…
CAL – Al-Anon’s Best Sellers of 2019
WHAT I LEARNED: This week I recently received my hardcopy of the new “2021 World Service Conference Summary” (item # P-46). I was looking over the graphs of the bestselling CAL books and booklets for 2020 (see link at the end of this post) and it got me wondering about how that compared to sales…
CAL – Al-Anon’s Best Sellers of 2020
This week I recently received my hardcopy of the new “2021 World Service Conference Summary” (item # P-46). Pasted below are images from pages 85-87 that show some stats for 2020’s best selling Al-Anon books, booklets, and the “Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism 2020” (item # N/A) outreach magazine. I find it interesting to see how the…
MTG – Orlando – “Today’s Hope AFG”
WHAT I LEARNED: “It is in trying to understand less that I experience more.”– quote from “Hope For Today” (item # B-28), page 206 (July 24th). Since I personally feel there is no way I could possibly fully understand my Higher Power, does this mean that Step 11 could read as: “…to improve our conscious…
MTG – Orlando – “You’re Not Alone AFG”
WHAT I LEARNED: “Later… [Bill W.] expanded the number to Twelve Steps so as to be sure there were no loopholes through which a drunk could escape.” – quote from softcover version of “How Al-Anon Works” (item # B-32), page 153.
MTG – Orlando – “Today’s Hope AFG”
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. Make humility a habit! 2. “If you think you have humility, you don’t really have it.” – quote from “Paths To Recovery” (item # B-24), page 77. — To see the full-size pic of this quote (and others), visit: http://www.instagram.com/calchatfan1.
MTG – Orlando – “Just For Today AFG”
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. “Al-Anon has shown me that my view of a situation is only the ‘truth’ as seen from my tiny corner of the universe.”– quote from “Courage to Change” (item # B-16), page 54 (Sept. 10th). 2. “Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens…
PODCAST – Intimacy In Alcoholic Relationships / Just For Today Bookmark (Item #’s B-33 / M-12)
EPISODE 12 of my “CAL Chat” podcast is now available to listen to! How can it be easier to share about sex? How can spiritual solutions be brought into intimate situations? What new upcoming Al-Anon literature is on the horizon? (To hear this episode, please visit the show’s website at: calchatpodcast.com – or you can…