i like what you had to say
the way i live my program in aa is very much along the same lines,
i have also found a lot of people who have tried aa only went to the one kind of meeting, and they will make there mind up about aa based on that first meeting
in my area most of the meetings are run with the same format
someone does the main share lasting for 20 mins or so and then the meeting is thrown open for all to share
if there is a new comer in the meeting we share our experience of what the drinking did for us in the hope that the new comer will get identification
as for the new comer it will be the first time they will have heard all this stuff and the honesty in the rooms hits them hard if there living the same life that we once did
we offer out our hand of friendship to the new comer and try to make them feel as comfortable and at ease as they can be
at the end of the meeting we will give out our phone numbers or offer them a lift or if there really down some of us help them out with a place to sleep or feed them
i hope you went to a meeting that practises in this way and not one of the meetings that focus on other things in sober living as there is a huge difference in meetings
hence we say if you dont like whats on offer here at this meeting please try another one as there meeting might be just what your looking for
you post seems to me to be along the same lines as i what i was looking for and i found it in aa but there are meetings that if i went to them i would never of come back and like you had to look for other ways as i would of written off aa