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: Conference
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…
📣 Podcast Announcement: DEEP DIVE SHOW 🤿
I AM HAPPY to announce a brand new spin-off podcast show called “CAL Chat–DEEP DIVE” which will focus on a single piece of Al-Anon/Alateen literature over a series of episodes. The first episode features the inaugural “1961 World Service Conference Summary” (item # P-46) with a special guest, Evelyn, a current Area Delegate. Stay tuned…
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 – My Journey in Service (Item # M-57)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. While perusing through some Al-Anon service tools in the Area Archives, I came across “My Journey in Service” (item # M-57). At roughly 60 pages, the booklet is designed as a journal so it has lots of lined paper & blank spaces for writing, plus it includes a CAL service-oriented quote…
CAL – Al-Anon/Alateen Service Manual 2014-2017 (Item # P-24/27)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. Originally, I only read the “Al-Anon/Alateen Service Manual” on an as-needed basis, but when my next podcast guest said that this was her favorite book that she wanted to talk about on my “CAL Chat” show, I had to dust off my manual & put on my scuba reading mask to…
CAL – How Al-Anon Works (Item # B-22, B-32, eB-22, eA-22)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. Originally, I was going to read this book as the very last one of this blog since I was making my way up to the top seller & according to the World Service Office, this one is it. …It would be like starting a climb by already being at the top…
CAL – Forum Favorites, Vol. 1 (Item # B-9A)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. As an Area Archivist once said, “I love my position because I get to time travel.” I too feel I get to step into the ‘Wayback Machine’ whenever I read discontinued Al-Anon literature. When this “Forum Favorites” book was first published in 1970 it was a hefty hard cover book &…
CAL – A Guide to Alateen Sponsorship – An Unforgettable Adventure (Item # P-86)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. Here’s another instance of me sitting down to read a piece of literature & thinking “I won’t relate to anything in it” & then finding it so interesting! Topics are covered that I never even considered, such as: how to handle members with Attention Deficit Disorder, intrusive parents, reporting abuse, kids…
CAL – Alateen Tells It Like It Is / Walk This Path of Hope (Item # AV-16 / AV-19)
WHAT I LEARNED: 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”…
CAL – Al-Anon Speaks For Itself (Item # AV-10)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. In 1986, Al-Anon’s first outreach film “Al-Anon Speaks For Itself” (item # AV-10) helped carry the message to teachers, the clergy, the media, social workers, counselors, & other professionals. The 15-minute program featured stories from members from all walks of life & was broken into 5 sections: 1) The Way It…
N. FL Spring Assembly 2014 – Day 2 of 3
WHAT I LEARNED: Breaking news! There is a brand new booklet coming out very soon: “Talk to Each Other – Resolving Conflicts Within Al-Anon” (item # S-73). This is a service tool that will also be sold as a combo set as item # K-70 that will include 2012’s “Conflict Resolution – Wallet Card” (item…
CAL – The Dilemma of the Alcoholic Marriage (Item # B-4)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. In 1965, this book originally had the proposed title “Alcoholism & Sex.” Two years later it came out with the current title to appeal to a wider audience. It hasn’t been revised for 42 years & it shows. With terms like: temptress, fellows, bulwark (I had to look this word up!),…
CAL – Alateen Program Wallet Card (Item # M-18)
WHAT I LEARNED: Somehow, when I was reviewing the Alateen Newcomer Packet (item # K-18), I must not have seen this small wallet card. But since I’m now going through the literature chronologically, I saw this item mentioned as an “Alateen 12 x 12 Wallet Card with Preamble” on page 13 in the “1978 World…
CAL – In All Our Affairs: Making Crises Work For You (Item # B-15)
WHAT I LEARNED: 1. Right away I liked that this book is broken up into 4 parts: Awareness, Acceptance, Action, & Moving On. And for me, reading this couldn’t have come at a better time, because I was going through what I considered a crisis this past month. But after so many stories about violence,…
"CAL Chat" Blog ~My journey in Al-Anon~ 