EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 2026, Northern Kentucky AA Central Office hours changed to 11 am—6 pm Monday—Thursday. Please pass it on!
The space is still being evaluated for mold, and we are awaiting a report from the Covington Code Enforcement agency.
The office has been cleaned and most of the moldy items in the basement have been removed by the landlord. If you have any concerns as to how this mold exposure may affect you, please consult your physician. Masks will be available should you desire one.
— The Northern KY Intergroup Board
A Way Out
Earlier in my drinking, I was able to “go cold turkey for a few days.” The last 5 or more years, I barely could make it through a few hours. I’d get disgusted with myself, go through the house and pour out every bottle I could find – only to head back to the liquor store a few hours later, shaking and coming apart at the seams.
I slept only fitfully and would wake up at 3 A.M., ashamed and disgusted by all the secrets I was keeping, my double life, the loved ones I had hurt.
“What the hell’s the matter with you?” I’d ask myself in the mirror. I had no answer.
But, when I finally made it AA, you told me: “The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we have discovered a common solution. We have a way out…” Would it work for me?
Only if… “A price had to be paid. It meant the destruction of self-centeredness… Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the process requires.”
I fought every “suggestion.” I still believed I could do it my way. Getting a sponsor nearly killed me, because I knew it meant letting someone else it, no longer directing the show by myself. But --“If you are as seriously alcoholic as we were, we believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution.”
When I came to the rooms, I had destroyed a marriage, was estranged from my kids, and had made a lot of enemies at work because of my arrogance and need to control. Gradually, though, by working the Steps and listening to how others just like me got their self-respect back and cleared up all the wreckage in their lives, I started to find hope.
I have a Higher Power now and “a way of living that works in tough going.”
-Kevin P.
Northside Tuesday Night Group
There is a Solution.
The first time I walked into an AA meeting and sat down, I wasn’t thinking about the solution yet. First, I wanted an explanation. How did someone like me who had tried so hard to have a successful life end up in such a miserable situation? Me — who had consistently made plans, not only for myself but everyone around me, so that life would be better. I had such high hopes and good intentions. How did I end up failing so horribly? It was like a very sad ending to a bad movie.
I noticed no one appeared to be sitting around feeling sorry for themselves because he or she couldn’t drink anymore. How could this be? Drinking had been a constant part of my life. It provided the tool that I needed to cope with the stress of life.
But thankfully, I was desperate, so I listened. I heard life tales that began to provide me with a feeling that I had forgotten how to feel — hope. Out of the carnage of my life, I began to emerge enough to hear truths and discussions about a solution.
And in listening I learned that the solution was simple, but no one said it was easy, except for one part that I was able to grasp. For the rest of the solution, I needed help. I worked through the 12 steps with the help of those who had worked them before I showed up.
The part I was able to grasp quickly, thank goodness, through listening to all those life stories, sometimes told nervously but always sincerely, is in this quote from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous in the chapter There is a Solution, on page 29. It says, “Each individual, in the personal stories, describes in his own point of view the way he established his relationship with God.
Thank you for my sobriety.
- Mary Ellen H., 3L Group
There Is a Solution.
I came into Alcoholics Anonymous 25 years ago as a chronic alcoholic/drug addict who even failed a suicide attempt. Even though the first few meetings did not seem to make a difference or improvement in my life, something made me want to keep coming back. I know now it was a flicker of hope beginning in my life.
I clearly remember the first time I heard the statement “there is a solution” and the boost it gave my confidence in the program. It stated directly that there was help and it could be mine. After reading the same chapter, I was even more convinced and hopeful. The chapter gave me directions, guidance and a course of action to obtain lasting sobriety—Basic straight talk that I could understand and accept as something I could do, something that I wanted.
After all these years of the AA way of life, I still get the same comfort and hope when I read them when working with sponcees and newcomers. I really promote the chapter and assure them from experience that…THERE IS A SOLUTION!
-Mark Doyle
Asbury Tuesday Night
AA Hotline Volunteers Needed
Be a Voice of Hope
The AA Hotline is often the first place someone turns when they’re ready for help. We’re looking for AA members willing to volunteer their time to answer calls, share experience, and help connect callers to meetings and resources.
What’s involved:
· Answering hotline calls
· Offering support and meeting information
· Carrying the AA message with compassion and anonymity
Training and support are provided. If you’re interested in giving back and helping another alcoholic, please contact Donna G at 859-630- 3189 or AA Central office, 859-491-7181.
Your voice could change a life.
Group History:
Name: After the Shipwreck
Founded: 2008
Early Members: 11
Founder(s): Ed C., Jim R.
After the Shipwreck was formed in 2008 when several members of Oaklawn Big Book Group Too decided to leave Oaklawn and start a new meeting. Originally these several members decided to try to find a new Monday night meeting. That idea blossomed into the idea of starting After the Shipwreck. The original meeting took place at the home of Ed C. and was attended by approximately 11 members. The first meeting was chaired by Jim R., and he became the first chairperson for the month.
The group decided on a rotating format which it has followed ever since. The group decided that the meeting time would be 7:30 in deference to one member who had just started a new job. That member no longer attends the meetings After the Shipwreck’s name was proposed by Jim R. and Ed C. an comes from a reading out of the Big Book, the first page of There is a Solution.
The group decided to have an eat and meet for its official meeting. This has become an anniversary tradition at After the Shipwreck with pork tenderloin being served each year at the anniversary dinner. The group met at Ed C.’s house for approximately six weeks. Thereafter, it moved to it’s current location at St. Paul’s Church in Fort Thomas. The group prides itself on its friendly informality but tries to rigorously adhere to the Big Book. Current Shipwreck ha approximately 25 home group members (pirates) and many more who attend the meeting on a regular basis. It has two events each year, an anniversary eat and meet in May, and a Big Book donation dinner meeting in the Fall.
How to join the Grapevine Committee
The Area 26 GV/LV Committee welcomes anyone interested in Grapevine to join the monthly meeting online on the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Eastern time (see flyer). The Meeting ID 213-070-4560 -or- area26. Password: service. There are no requirements for membership on this committee but if you love to dance, that is an asset. We are not a glum lot. Our monthly online meeting is designed to build awareness and enthusiasm for AA Grapevine publications, podcasts, weekly AA meeting, and more!
Respectfully submitted,
Sara H
Chair, GV/LV Committee
Area 26/Panel 76
(859) 803-4046
AA History Tidbits
1967
Bill's writings printed and bound
The A.A. Way of Life, a collection of Bill’s writings, is published in 1967 as a daily source of comfort and inspiration. The title of the book will be changed in 1971 to As Bill Sees It.
1968
First triennial survey in U.S. and Canada
At the 28th International Congress on Alcohol and Alcoholism, held in late summer 1968 in Washington, D.C., A.A. chairman Dr. John L. Norris reports on the findings of the first survey of members from all states and provinces. Sixty percent of the 11,355 men and women who responded at 466 meetings in 1968 reported that they had gone without a drink for a year or more. The survey, which will be taken every three years, also finds that 41 percent of members said they had not drunk alcohol since their first A.A. meeting.
1969
The First World Service Meeting
For the first time, representatives from countries where A.A.s have established a G.S.O or a literature distribution center convene to share information on service structures, group services, publishing, and finance. The date is October 8-11, 1969, and the place is New York City. Attendees include Bill W., Chairman Dr. John L. Norris, G.S.O. New York manager Bob H., and delegates from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Holland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the U.S.
1969
Hungary’s first open meeting
Midge M., a staff member of G.S.O. New York, travels to Budapest in June 1969 to attend a conference held by the International Institute on Prevention and Treatment of Alcoholism. While there, she arranges Hungary’s first known open A.A. meeting. Members Peter B. of the Netherlands, Inge L. (West Germany), Richard P. (Ireland), and Cecily C. (U.S.) address a group of Hungarian alcoholics as Archer Tongue, director of the Institute, translates. While a small group will be formed in Budapest in 1972, A.A. won’t become firmly established in Hungary until the late 1980s.
Growth of Spanish-speaking groups
As of 1969, 1,500 Spanish-speaking groups are listed at the G.S.O. in New York.
1970
Hospital and prison groups worldwide
A G.S.O. New York report of the 1970 World Service Meeting notes that 54,031 “institution members” belong to the Fellowship worldwide: 20,160 members in 742 hospital groups and 33,871 members in 895 prison groups.