Like Ann and Jody and Serenity Bound and others have said, all I did was cry for my first 4 or 5 weeks worth of meetings. I walked in the door, sat down, cried for an hour... I somehow managed to squeak out my name when we went around the table. And it was just fine with everyone. And ~ oddly enough ~ I always felt better when I left.
What I remember is that I felt safe there. I was finally with people who understood what my life was like. They lived in MY world, not that other parallel universe where most of my friends and family apparently lived - that one NOT affected by alcoholism/addiction.
They understood me in Al anon, even when I didn't say anything. They said Keep coming back. It works.
I looked around for the literature on How to Get Him Sober, or How to Get Him to STOP Doing What He's Doing So We Will Be OKAY. LOL. I guess they were out of those. Instead, they gave me some literature on The MerrygoRound Called Denial, How Al Anon works, etc.
There is hope and love and support and recovery in those rooms. There is a promise of a better and happier life... like Jody (and our literature) says - we learn that we can find contentment and even happiness whether the alcoholic/addict continues to drink/use or not.
Hugs
Cats