101 Meeting Starters: A Guide to Better Twelve Step Discussions

A friendly, first-ever guide to making the most of Twelve Step meetings.

For millions of people around the world, attending Twelve Step meetings is essential to their recovery from addiction. Twelve Step meetings are confidential forums for people to share the experience, strength, and hope that sustain sobriety. Sometimes, however, meetings get sidetracked by irrelevant topics, dominant speakers, or other distractions, leaving attendees feeling frustrated and unfulfilled. Here, for the first time, is a collection of dynamic Twelve Step "meeting starters" designed to generate spirited, meaningful, and gratifying group discussions. Each meeting starter includes a brief script for the moderator to use in introducing the selected topic. Mel B., who has been in recovery for more than fifty years, drew from his participation in more than 10,000 Twelve Step meetings to develop 101 thought-provoking topics, including: "Dealing with Rejection," "Attracting Trouble," "Happy Coincidences," and "Live and Let Live."

Mel B., a resident of Toledo, Ohio, since 1972, is a writer specializing in recovery, timely business topics, speeches, publicity and military history. Retired since 1986, he served in public relations for a major corporation headquartered in Toledo. Mel B. is a recovering alcoholic and a longtime member of Alcoholics Anonymous. He writes anonymously on subjects related to alcoholism and was a contributing writer for Pass It On, AA's authorized biography of co-founder Bill Wilson. In addition to Ebby: The Man Who Sponsored Bill W., he has authored two other Hazelden books, New Wine and Walk In Dry Places, as well as several Hazelden pamphlets. He has also contributed about fifty articles to The Grapevine, the international journal of AA.