I have gone to like 60 meetings in the last 36 days. Depending on my mood ,I either like it or not. some meetings have more disruptive behavoir than sobriety. And defects of character, HS. I want to stay sober , not hear a person going for the best sobriety blue ribbon. and The Higher power thing is my gig , not anyone elses. I do take issue with The''conception of'' thing especially when someone else has their own. I try to remember to listen and not judge, and I am not very good at that yet. I am just trying different meetings, talking with the sponsor and Working out of the book as much as possinle. It tough , though for me sober is better than Drunk, so i just keep coming back, wheter I like it or no.

When I was new, the best meetings I went to were the First Step meetings ~ there, the "old timers" or folks who had been in for awhile, told their stories ~ what happened, what they were like, and how it is for them now! Gosh, that gave me HOPE, and many of the stories were very similar to mine. Maybe not in events, but in feelings.

Whenever our group has a newcomer, we ALWAYS have a First Step meeting.

Hello! Thank you all for the suggestions and I am definitely going to try a few more meetings. I did want to say in re-reading my first post it probably came off as kind of snotty and crass, and I didn't mean it that way.... I know I have a lot to learn from ANYONE who has been successful at being sober, regardless of our differences. I guess I was just expecting something different - I know alcoholics come from all walks of life, but when I walked in the room and was the only person who wasn't a white male over 50 it reminded me of the insecurity I feel at business meetings! Again, nothing wrong with it, just hard to feel different when you are already scared as hell. Again, many of them were very wise, inspiring, touching. But after being told repeatedly that I would "hear myself in someone's story," I was disappointed not to have that experience. Not yet, anyway...

Oh and by "obnoxious" I mean people yelling at the secretary that the process was stupid and interrupting others as they shared. I'm sure by bearing witness to that it helps me realize how angry and desperate we can become. But it did make me not want to be there!

Sorry to hear that you wondered into a "Grumpy Old Men" club. AA has more than its share of these.

Try searching the internet for "AA MEETINGS yourlocalcity". I would suggest that you look for Big Book or women only meetings to ensure that you get a different experience.

yes....... you made the first step.......good for you. I love AA.... and at first it was hard....... i didn't want to share.....or be a part of......then i wanted to be sober and have a better life... try some other ones..... and some different types...i would not give up on the beginner's meeting tho..... i still go when i find one........... one day at a time.....

I smiled when I read that you made it through the doors. Congratulations, that's a big step.
Finding the right meeting is important and you may need to go to the same place at different times or to several places. The point is that this is about your sobriety. I liked what you said about the old timers being 'wise souls' If you go just to listen to one of them and pray for the obnoxious people to get out of their fear and into recovery you will have been outside of your own head. What I mean is that you won't be thinking about yourself and how much you might want a drink.
Good luck. Please continue to post so we know you're doing okay.

KEEP COMING BACK ! WE ALL NEED HELP . KNOW MATTER HOW LONG WE HAVE BEEN IN A.A !

congrats for a big dicision.i do know how u feel.my group is all older people too but, remember, alcoholism dont pick on age. im 33 years old and i found out i drank just like a certain member that is 50!!! in the big book it says we are people who wouldnt normally mix but we share this disease.find a sponsor listen to her do as she and they do and u can have what they have