Welcoming Student Observers
Extending a Warm Welcome to Student Observers
Welcoming students (professionals in training) helps extend Al‑Anon’s message of hope beyond our rooms. Observers come to learn without judgment, while respecting anonymity and confidentiality. A warm welcome, a brief explanation of our Traditions, and clear boundaries help keep meetings safe while putting Al‑Anon principles into action. By opening our meetings with care, we invite others to understand how Al‑Anon and Alateen support the families and friends of alcoholics and the shared path of recovery.
Inside Al-Anon Family Groups
How to Host a Writing Workshop
Hosting or attending a writing workshop can feel intimidating. Many members may think, I’m not a writer, or My words aren’t as meaningful as someone else’s. Yet recovery has taught me that willingness matters more than perfection. A writing workshop can become a place where I meet myself honestly and invite my Higher Power into the process.
When I put pen to paper, writing can become a form of prayer and meditation. It gives me a way to practice Step Ten by taking an honest look at myself, Step Eleven by seeking conscious contact with my Higher Power, and Step Twelve by sharing my experience, strength, and hope with others. Just as Al-Anon meets me exactly where I am, writing does too.
Where and When
A writing workshop can happen anywhere Al-Anon recovery is taking place: at a convention, at a fellowship event for your home group, at the Al-Anon Information Service (AIS) office or Literature Distribution Center (LDC), as a part of an Alateen gathering, with a Sponsor or sponsees, or as part of a book study. You can also ask your Area Forum Coordinator or representative to help you host one. I try to remind myself that there is no wrong way to begin, so writing becomes another way for me to contribute to my recovery—one honest word, one sentence, one moment at a time.
How
When facilitating a writing workshop, I try to create an atmosphere of grace and acceptance. Members may write with pen and paper or use laptops, tablets, or phones when participating online. I try to make clear that the writing space is not a grammar class, critique circle, or where we air out our grievances. Instead, it’s an opportunity to focus on ourselves and our recovery.
I “Let It Begin with Me” by reading a few unedited sentences of my own writing. This reminds me that connections are available when I am vulnerable. Just as in my meetings, no one expects perfection from me, only honest sharing.
I share a simple prompt and allow members time to write if they connect with it; I can offer others if they don’t. If Alateens attend, I find that shorter expressions, such as quick thoughts or reflections, work well. I like to think of the writing time as similar to the moment in a meeting before someone speaks, waiting for sharing to surface naturally with patience and care.
When members are ready, they may read exactly what they wrote. We listen without criticism, advice, or correction. We share what touches us and what we identify with, and I often discover that the experiences I thought were uniquely mine are often shared by others.
More Than Writing
What happens on the page can support my work in Steps Ten and Eleven. Writing can help me notice where I have grown, where I may need to clean things up, what fears need to be surrendered, or where gratitude is quietly waiting to be acknowledged. Sometimes I discover answers I wasn’t looking for; other times, I simply become more aware of my need to trust my Higher Power.
Carrying the Message
Step Twelve reminds me that I keep recovery when I share it with others. After writing, I may share my reflections with my Sponsor, discuss an insight with my home group, or submit my sharing to The Forum. Each choice is recovery, and each choice carries the message and may help reach someone else who needs to know they are not alone.
Finding Inspiration
Conference Approved Literature (CAL) offers many opportunities for reflection. The questions in Paths to Recovery (B-24) and A Little Time for Myself (B-34), among others, are helpful. Prompts can also come from Al-Anon slogans, a topic from a recent meeting, a Legacy that resonates with you, or the warm words from your Sponsor. You can also browse previous issues of The Forum or posts from the Member Blog for inspiration. Use CAL and Al-Anon posts as examples of how to apply the program tools and principles and for connection and reassurance that there are many ways to experience recovery. With an open mind, I often find that the next thing I need to write about is the next thing I need to learn.
Sharing Your Writing
If you choose to submit your writing to The Forum, follow The Forum Writing Guidelines (F-1) and consider asking your Forum Coordinator or local representative for support. When your words are ready, visit al-anon.org/sharing to submit to The Forum.
The World Service Office edits for grammar, punctuation, and clarity. Your recovery experience remains your own. Our honest, personal, recovery-shaped voices can become exactly the message someone else needs to hear. In sharing, I keep recovery alive for myself and offer hope to someone who may need it today.
By Elizabeth M-R., Magazine Editor
The Forum, October 2026
Reprinted with permission of Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA.
Inside Al-Anon Family Groups
Inside Al-Anon Family Groups
Share the Message, Protect the Source
As we gratefully practice Step Twelve and “carry this message to others” through our Conference Approved Literature (CAL), we are encouraged to remember that CAL is protected by copyright. Buying CAL supports Al-Anon world services (Tradition Seven). Throughout our efforts to share the Al-Anon message, it is important to keep these legal and traditional guideposts in mind.
In general, because copyright protection extends to excerpts of CAL as well as entire books, submission of a “Request Permission to Reprint” form is needed to ensure that the text is reprinted accurately. You can visit al-anon.org/reprint-permission to submit online.
Please note that sharing or posting CAL online, including on any social media or public-facing websites, violates Al-Anon's copyright.
However, a narrow exception exists in the context of a group meeting. A registered group—which includes a hybrid group or a registered electronic group meeting—has permission to share or display an excerpt of CAL during a meeting under the following conditions:
· The excerpt should be limited to the content to be discussed in the meeting (typically no more than one page from a daily reader, for example).
· The excerpt must be accompanied by the following acknowledgment: “From [name of publication], copyright 19/20__, by Al‑Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. Reprinted for one-time use on [date] by permission of Al‑Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc.”
· The excerpt must be removed at the end of the meeting by deleting digital images, ending screen sharing, and/or collecting and destroying all copied materials.
Additionally, articles from the “Inside Al‑Anon Family Groups” section of The Forum and those marked “Feel Free” may be reprinted in their entirety in service arm newsletters and on service arm websites with the proper credit line.
We each play a part in sharing CAL responsibly. Please reach out to the World Service Office with any questions.
The Forum, October 2026
Reprinted with permission of Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., Virginia Beach, VA.
The Forum Magazine
Michigan Al-Anon Group Records Change:
If you have any information about permanent or temporary changes to a group, including
- name
- location (including instructions)
- day or time
- type ("Families and Friends only" (closed) or "Families, Friends and Observers welcome" (open)
- services (beginners, child care, etc.)
- Group Representative (GR)
- Current Mailing Address (CMA)
- phone contacts,
Please email the details of those changes to miafgrecords@gmail.com and your local district. The Area Records Coordinator will update WSO records where appropriate.
To update or change information related to a group, go to this link:
https://al-anon.org/for-members/group-resources/group-records/changes-existing-al-anon-group/
