Running The Circus
April 2026
| Getting into General Service
By:
Briana O.
| Indianapolis, Indiana
Concept Seven tells her that AA is a living, breathing Fellowship kept alive by us—the people who once couldn’t keep a cactus alive
Little by Little
March 2026
| AA & the Family
By:
Anonymous
| Tucson, Arizona
Step Three was challenging, but she started small, looked around, saw the change and knew there was something more
It’s About Time
Web Exclusives
| Grapevine Online Exclusives
By:
Dana G.
| Longmont, Colo.
At last even the clocks agreed—it as time to get sober.
It’s Just What We Do
Web Exclusives
| Grapevine Online Exclusives
By:
C.M.
| Cascade Locks, Ore.
Her home group gave this faltering newcomer a “precious gift” that set her on the path to sobriety
Who Would Ever Have Imagined?
Web Exclusives
| Grapevine Online Exclusives
By:
Lori L.
| Indianapolis, Ind.
She thought she had it all, but without sobriety it meant nothing
One Beautiful Sunny Day
Web Exclusives
| Grapevine Online Exclusives
By:
Patricia K.
| Tujunga, Calif.
After a traumatic accident, the spirit of the Fellowship keeps her going
Here & Now
June 2022
| Stories by Longtimers!
By:
Maryellen O.
| San Rafael, Calif.
Through cancer and COVID, this longtimer finds joy in service and accepting life exactly where it is
How To Belong To A Home Group
Web Exclusives
| Grapevine Online Exclusives
By:
Julie J.
| West Hartford, Conn.
To belong to a home group is to discover that we are each imperfect—and each deserving of love
Talking to students
October 2021
| Cooperation With Professionals (CPC)
By:
Ann O.
| Needham, Mass.
A member in Boston shares what it’s like to serve on a CPC committee that reaches out to future professionals in college
A Smooth Finish
April 2021
| Fun in Sobriety
By:
Brian S.
| Alexandria, Va.
With a saw, a sander, some two-byfours and a gallon of finish, a newly sober man builds a busy life
My Story
Web Exclusives
| Grapevine Online Exclusives
By:
Jessica P.
| Sacramento, Calif.
Even while drinking, a spiritual life carried her forward. AA did the rest
Chain Reaction
December 2020
| Remote Communities + Sober Holidays
By:
Butch M.
| Santee, Calif.
In Twelfth Step work, sometimes we throw a stone, making ripples that keep on going in ways we can’t imagine
Coffee Queen
May 2020
| Getting Into General Service
By:
Carol K.
| Sarasota, Fla.
Every Sunday, she takes in the love and tries not to spill, doing the best ever service job in all of AA
My old drinking buddies
April 2019
| Relapse
By:
Tom S.
| Arlington Heights, Illinois
Learning to navigate longtime friends without much of a struggle
Home again
March 2018
By:
Ames S.
| New York, New York
Each year he takes flight, sometimes gracefully, and returns to the room where it all began
Strapping Myself In
April 2015
By:
Michael J.
| Albany, Oregon
The ups and downs of a super young AA
Don't Rush Love
February 2012
By:
Carla S.
| East Providence, Rhode Island
After a first sober relationship turned into disaster, she learned to listen to others
Buy the Band a Drink
June 1960
The hard-drinking music maker has no excuse for riding the alcoholic bandwagon, this working composer and musician believes
Twelve Steps and the Older Member
February 1955
By:
J. E.
| Bronxville, New York
Step Four: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
My Home Group Brothers
Web Exclusives
| Grapevine Online Exclusives
By:
Alex E.
| Spring Valley, Calif.
His life “a perfect storm of grief and failure,” he turned to the men in his home group
A Full Mason Jar
Web Exclusives
| Grapevine Online Exclusives
By:
Steve R.
He went from a rich existence to scrounging for loose change to buy his morning alcohol. But miracles sometimes do happen….
Came to Believe
June 2019
| Letting Go of Resentments
By:
Tommy T.
| Indiana
A former inmate’s eloquent plea for help and service to America’s prisons
Pennies From Heaven For Kevin
April 2017
Years of alcoholic despair followed the wrenching death of his young son, but AA, and the mysterious appearance of a penny, save his life