PO Box 1980

The article "Can We Talk? (January 2001), which discusses talking about one's own needs in front of newcomers, was a big help to me. I live in rural Japan, where I have a home group of seven or eight people. I am one of the few members with more than a year of continuous sobriety, so this is an exciting new venture in Twelfth Step work for me. I am the only person in my home group under the age of thirty and also the only non-Japanese member of the group. Cultural barriers and the generation gap have often intimidated me into trying to show that I am the best AA member you ever laid eyes on. Brad's article was a real reminder about staying right sized. I learned a lot about humility from it. I do need newcomers--a lot, not only to remind me of the hell from which I have been rescued, but to help me carry the message. When we look at the Japanese version of the Big Book together, I become the one who needs help reading it and discussing its content so the newcomer can work the Steps.