Meeting advice, please

Okay I'm going.  I have been putting this off for a while (AA).  Never been to a meeting ever and I've found two in my area that meet tonight.  One is "open men and women discussion" and one is "open men and women big book"......which do you think would be the better for my very first time ever????  What can I expect????? THANK YOU!!!!

Hey there, Either meeting will benifit you.  Honestly it is what you want or are seeking.  An open meeting means that it may have a topic or not but it is just people sharing, the big book meeting means tey will be reading either a step or tradition out of the book or some other chapter and a lot of the discussion after that will be about that.   Honesty if you have never gone, getting a dose of the Big Book would be good for you.  The one thing you need to remember is the program is the steps which is in the big book worked with a sponsor.  Meetings are for support and fellowship.  If you work a program honestly as you can and stay focused on that you will do well. Good luck Trish

Hi.. yeaaa.. yeaaa.. so glad you are going to an AA meeting  they really are not as scary as what TV makes them seem.. or what I in my own head thought they would be. they are bright..  warm and mostly friendly.. and if the one you go to tonight isn't... go to another one and find one that is.  And what Trish said is correct.. the open is just that open for a discussion.. someone may pick a topic and everyone is free to discuss that topic.  And the book is the Big AA Book .. someone will pick a chapter.. and everyone will read from it.  Usually one person starts and reads outloud paragraphs until they say pass.. and then the next person reads.. so on until the chapter is read.  If you don't want to read.. or discuss... just pass.  Sometimes it's good to listen.. openly to what others say.. to see if you have anything in common with what they say.. take what you want.. and leave the rest.  If you want to talk.. you can.   At the beginning of every meeting they will open with the serenity prayer.. followed by AA material.. at the end of every AA they will circle around and usually hold hands.. and close with the Lord's Prayer followed with the saying.. "keep coming back it works if you work it.." Can't wait to read your post tomorrow to see which one you chose and if you liked it..  I'm going tonite to one that is has a Lead Speaker.. a person gets up and tells their Story.. if you get the chance go to those also.. it's wonderful to hear and compare your story to theirs..  hugsss with LOVE, Rhonda

Good for you for getting to an AA meeting.  I prefer Big Book to Speaker meetings.  Open meetings are open to anyone, regardless of if they are alcoholic.  Closed means that only people wanting to stop drinking are allowed to attend. You should go and listen to people share their feelings about alcohol and how they stopped.  Good luck.  Come back and tell us what it was like. Hugs, Trish