What Role Has CAL Played in Your Recovery?
October’s blog topic: “How has Conference Approved Literature (CAL) supported your growth? Which book, pamphlet, or daily reader do you always have on hand? Do different books support different aspects of your personal recovery, service work, and sponsoring journey?”
As always, you are also welcome to share on one or more of our Legacies. This month features Step Ten, Tradition Ten, and Concept Ten.
Sharings on the Member Blog may be used in future Al‑Anon publications.
New topics are being added each month!
Conference Approved Literature (CAL) is where my growth truly began. When I got my first sponsor, she asked me to read the daily readers every morning, write down something that stood out to me from each one, and carry it with me throughout my day. I found that when I started my day with CAL, I was more in touch with my Higher Power, the Al-Anon program, and its principles. I was starting to show up as my Higher Power would have me be, all because of these special readings. All of my daily readers are next to my desk,… Read more »
Al-Anon’s Conference Approved Literature (CAL) has been a key tool in helping me recover from the effects of living with the disease of alcoholism. Knowing our literature comes from the sharing of our worldwide fellowship gives me tremendous hope. Through reading and meditating on CAL, I have identified with others’ experience and progress. Especially near to my heart is As We Understood. The passages reflect a deep trust in a power greater than ourselves and reinforce how the Twelve Steps and Traditions work if I apply them to life’s circumstances as best as I can. I am so grateful to be… Read more »
Courage to Change, One Day at a Time My favorite Conference Approved Literature is Courage to Change: One Day at a Time in Al-Anon II. It’s a small book, but somehow the reading I need always seems to find me. Living with alcoholism, I became very reactive. Someone else’s drinking, moods, or behavior could easily determine how my day went. I spent so much energy reacting to things I couldn’t control. Coming into Al-Anon changed that. Not overnight, of course! But through our literature, meetings, and listening to others, I began to understand that I don’t have to participate in… Read more »
There are so many sources of wisdom in the CAL repertoire! I reach for mine every morning soon after I awaken, and I have been a member of Al-Anon for over 20 years. When I need materials to lead a meeting, all I have to do is look in the index for that topic, and a wealth of helpful information is available. Recently, I took on a leadership position on the board of my church. It has been very challenging to understand how to lead, but one morning, I happened to come across the Twelve Concepts of Service and found… Read more »
As an adult child of alcoholics with much past memory loss, the Al-Anon CAL is/has become a guide to manageable living… The Twelve Steps continue to be a daily introduction to myself. The Twelve Traditions offer guidelines for living spiritually within myself first, then with others (Live & Let Live). The Twelve Concepts have taught me to respect others as equal to myself and that we all have responsibilities to ourselves and others in the roles we play, whether in our personal or professional lives, in or out of Al-Anon. Al-Anon’s tools of recovery filled the void created by past… Read more »
Al-Anon’s Conference Approved Literature has played such a big role in my recovery over the years. When I first came to a meeting, everyone carried copies of the ODAT book like they were gold. I soon discovered the depth of understanding I could gain from this little daily reader. At meetings, if a member shared about an issue they were having, the chairperson would often say something along the lines of, “Let’s see what our literature says about that…,” prompting a fruitful discussion of the topic. Also, my sponsor showed me how I could help myself by making daily reading… Read more »
I used to carry One Day at A Time with me everywhere I went. I was able to find answers when difficult situations arose. It was so comforting to me when I’d find the exact thing I needed for that day. It reminded me that others before me had experienced the same things I was going through and that I’d be ok. I remember pulling it out at work, tucking it into my bag when going on vacation, and reading it when I couldn’t sleep. Years later, it still has a place on my nightstand and the bookmark that saves… Read more »