What does it truly mean when we say, “I am a grateful member of the worldwide fellowship of Al‑Anon and Alateen”? Do we pause to consider that the family disease of alcoholism affects families worldwide, and do we recognize that this is what unifies us?

Alcoholism was very active in my home. I had not found any recovery when a decision was made to move countries because I truly believed that moving would not only bring opportunities for my career, but help my partner find sobriety. Surely his drinking was linked to the habits he had formed in the environment in which we had been living. Moving to a different part of the world with new opportunities and a lifetime of dreams was also going to be the solution to the drinking.

My partner did not find sobriety because we moved, but I did find Al‑Anon. This brought up a question: was there Al‑Anon where I had lived before? I knew there was Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), but I had not heard of nor found Al‑Anon in my home country.

While I was attending Al‑Anon meetings regularly in the US, it came time to visit my family back in the UK. I had heard in my meetings that Al‑Anon was a worldwide fellowship, and now was my chance to find out if this was true. I began looking for information about meetings in my town. I was extremely grateful when I found a meeting near my family and other meetings in the surrounding towns. I started to really be able to appreciate what it means to be part of the worldwide fellowship.

Turning up at the meeting, I had some concerns that it would be different from what I had become familiar with, so it was comforting to hear almost the same opening and closing and see the ever-reassuring Conference Approved Literature (CAL) on the tables. These meetings had chosen a slightly different closing than what is found in the 2022-2025 Al‑Anon/Alateen Service Manual (P-24/27). The UK & Eire had elected to use the word “warmth” instead of “love” in the following statement: “We aren’t perfect. The welcome we give you may not show the warmth we have in our hearts for you, but the warmth is there, and you will soon start to feel it.”

I found myself contemplating this difference, and I recalled Tradition Four: “Each group should be autonomous, except in matters affecting another group or Al‑Anon or AA as a whole.” The international structures have the autonomy to come to a group conscience, provided they abide by the Traditions and principles of Al‑Anon. Putting the principles into action around the globe brings the worldwide fellowship together.

Since those early days in Al‑Anon, I have had the privilege of attending the Global Gatherings, which the International Team at the World Service Office (WSO) holds for the many structures around the globe. These online meetings bring together over 130 different countries all looking for recovery from the family disease of alcoholism, supporting our primary purpose of welcoming anyone affected. Over 40 of these countries have translated CAL into their language, bringing the same comfort to members in those countries that members in the World Service Conference structure receive from our literature.

As International Services Manager, I, along with the International Team, have recently met with countries with which we had previously had no or minimal contact or struggled to maintain contact with due to those countries’ restrictions. It is during these discussions that we come to understand how much they are achieving as they carry the message and provide support with so little available to them. The personal sharings of these members are humbling and full of unity. Even though there may be an enormous number of miles that separate us, as well as differences between cultures, what brings us all together is the desire to recover from the family disease of alcoholism.

Service has given me an abundance of joy and recovery that I could not have begun to envision. Despite those days of despair and my unrealistic expectations to force sobriety on my partner by moving countries, I have come to understand that no matter where we may be in this global world, the family disease of alcoholism is the same, and our recovery in Al‑Anon is unified.

As we say in the Al‑Anon/Alateen Declaration, which we consistently use as part of the closing of our Global Gatherings: “‘Let It Begin with Me.’ When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, let the hand of Al‑Anon and Alateen always be there, and—‘Let It Begin with Me.’” We know this has meaning in our meetings and in all corners of the worldwide fellowship!

If you find yourself traveling or have friends and family in other parts of the world, you can go to al‑anon.org/world-contacts to search which countries have an Al‑Anon General Service Office (GSO) or Al‑Anon Information Service (AIS) that lists registered meetings. Additionally, many countries which have yet to form structures have meetings registered with the WSO; visit al-anon.org/meetings to search by location.

By Tracey S., International Services Manager

The Forum, November 2024

“Inside Al-Anon Family Groups” presents news, policy, and commentary from volunteers, staff, and readers sharing experience through service. Please feel free to reprint these articles on your service structure website or newsletter, along with this credit line: Reprinted with permission of Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA.