Angie P. - "Strength in Sobriety for Women"

The Best Women AA Speakers - April 29 2026

Twenty-Four Hours A Day - April 23 2026

A.A. Thought For The Day

Men and women keep coming into A.A., licked by alcohol, often given
up by doctors as hopeless cases, they themselves admitting they’re
helpless to stop drinking. When I see these men and women get sober
and stay sober over a period of months and years, I know that A.A.
works. The change I see in people who come into A.A. not only
convinces me that A.A. works, but it also convinces me that there
must be a Power greater than ourselves which helps us to make that
change. Am I convinced that a Higher Power can help me to change?

Meditation For The Day

Cooperation with God is the great necessity for our lives. All else
follows naturally. Cooperation with God is the result of our
consciousness of His presence. Guidance is bound to come to us as we
live more and more with God, as our consciousness becomes more and
more attuned to the great Consciousness of the universe. We must
have many quiet times when we not so much ask to be shown and led
by God, as to feel and realize His presence. New spiritual growth
comes naturally from cooperation with God.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that God may supply me with strength and show me the
direction in which He wants me to grow. I pray that these things may
come naturally from my cooperation with Him.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

ELDER'S - April 17 2026

“Women know more about love than men do … Love is taking. Love is sharing. Love is learning things about each other.”

~ Mary Leitka, HOH ~

The Elders say Mother Earth shares Her special gifts of love with the Women. The Women know about bringing forth life and nurturing their offspring. Through this gift of love the Earth really makes the Woman special. Men should look upon the Woman with a Sacred Eye. She should be respected. The Woman is a role model for love. When the Woman talks, we should listen; when she shares, we should be grateful. We should all learn about each other.

Grandmother, teach me to love with the power of the Woman.

A WOMAN’S SPIRIT - 2nd April 2026

The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.
~ Muriel Rukeyser ~
Our stories give the universe depth, vibrancy, color, meaning. Yet we often forget our value to this planet, and we ignore the stirrings around and within us.

Most of us didn’t grow up feeling appreciated. Our value to our family or to the universe was seldom celebrated. We just existed, and we did what we had to do with little understanding of how we fit into the big picture of the universe.

We’re learning now that our stories, our presence, have always been necessary to the life of the universe. This gives us reason to pause and feel special. We may have been unaware of the life force around us, but we’ve always participated in the unfolding universe.

I am special, and my life, my story, is a necessary part of the universe. That I am here by design means I am watched over.

© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

A WOMAN’S SPIRIT #essentialsofrec #Maturity #Growth

To gain maturity I need to become acquainted with all aspects of myself.

~ Maureen Brady 

Learning about ourselves is often likened to peeling an onion. We’ve grown layer on top of layer, sometimes for the purpose of protecting ourselves. None of us came from the perfect home. We’ve learned there is no such thing. We’ve all experienced injuries, some physical, some emotional, and we’ve figured out how to handle these hurts and go on with our lives. To be really healthy, however, we have to unlearn many of the cures that seemed effective in the past.

Delving into our psyches to discover who we really are can be intimidating. Fortunately we have the Fourth Step to guide our efforts. Let’s not lament who we became in our struggle to grow up. Instead, let’s accept that we did the best we could. And with the help of this program, we can become who we want to be.

I write my script today. Who I choose to be is in my power. My past performance doesn’t determine my present personality.

© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

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A Letter TO A Woman Alcoholic - Pamphlet

Ella J. - AA speaker - "I am Sober, hear me roar!" #essentialsofrec

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Elder’s Meditation of the Day #ESSENTIALSOFREC #MOHAWK #NATIVE

“Women. They have the power of generations. Women have the power to have children and not to have children.”

–Cecilia Mitchell, MOHAWK

The Woman is not only the key to life; she is also the key to future generations. An Elder once joked that the Woman only needs the man for one night. We need to look at and respect the power of the Woman. She is special and we need to treat her that way.

Great Spirit, today, let me show the greatest respect to our Women.

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Elder’s Meditation of the Day #essentialsosrec #Native #Women

“As we plunge ahead to build empires and race for supremacy we should stop and listen to “the female” song of life. For without the female there is no life.”

–Oren R. Lyons, Spokesman, Traditional Circle of Elders
Women are created with the ability to produce life. Women have a special tie to the Earth Mother. They have something in common. They are the source of life. The Earth Mother gives songs to the Woman to sing. These songs are about life, about beauty, about children, about love, about family, about strength, about caring, about nurturing, about forgiveness, about God. The World needs to pay attention and listen to Her. She knows.

Great Spirit, let me listen to Her songs.

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A WOMAN’S SPIRIT #essentialsofrec #Truth #Struggle

There are many realities. We should remember this when we get too caught up in being concerned about the way the rest of the world lives or how we think they live.

~ Natalie Goldberg ~

One of the most elusive truths we’ll ever struggle to grasp is that everyone has a unique perspective about every circumstance, a perspective that reflects a personal understanding of the universe. We never doubt that truth for ourselves, of course. We simply fail to acknowledge that it’s true for everyone else too.

There are times we can’t shake the need to be right; our egos seem to depend on it. Unfortunately, we can’t maintain any real peacefulness if we are always in conflict with others who have their own viewpoints. Winning the “battle” then becomes a painful victory. Believing in valid, separate realities is only difficult at first. But like any other opinion or attitude, it can become habit with enough practice. We have nothing to lose by giving it a try.

I don’t need everyone to agree with me today. I only think I do.
© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

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A WOMAN’S SPIRIT #essentialsofrec #Women #Failure

To each particular person the world speaks a different, particular word and calls for a different, particular response.

~ Mary McDermott Shideler ~

It’s reassuring to hear that we are special. Most of us felt like failures for much of our lives. We lacked both confidence and enthusiasm. Occasionally we still tremble, fearing that we can’t handle what’s happening to us. However, we have been told that our experiences are unique and that no other woman could handle them in our specific way. We are coming to believe that this is true.

So many miracles are happening in our midst. The fact that we survived numerous dangerous moments should indicate that our work isn’t yet complete. But what will we be called upon to do today? Can we fulfill this request adequately? Never fear. That we are here means we can. It also means that whatever is about to happen needs each of us, specifically. This is wonderfully reassuring.

I am invited to experience particular situations today. My presence is needed if I am called.

© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

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A WOMAN’S SPIRIT #essentialsofrec #Progress #Fear

I don’t train for a marathon when I simply want to run five-mile races.

~ Patricia Roth Wuertzer 

Our insecurity, our fear that we’re inadequate, pushes us to overextend ourselves. We spent many years using alcohol and other drugs rather than fulfilling our dreams and aspirations. We may try to make up for lost time by demanding too much of ourselves now.

Making some progress every day is the best way to succeed at our goals. We’ll discover almost immediately how good it feels to say we’ll do some-thing and then do it. But we must be wary of the compulsion to do too much. We’re still addicts, after all.

Life is a process. Recovery is a process. Every day we get chances to learn whatever we didn’t master yesterday. No one is keeping score. Let’s ease up, make some progress, and leave time to smell the roses.

Today I’ll remind myself that I don’t have to complete a big project every day. Making some progress is enough.

© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

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A WOMAN’S SPIRIT #essentialsofrec #Progress #Change

We are who we are, shaped and molded by the times, by the events, and by the persons we encounter on our way, and no one ever changes very much or escapes entirely from that mold.

~ Ruth Casey ~

Everything we experience today is woven with all that has gone before. We are a tapestry in progress. We grow and change, heightening some of our patterns, successfully diminishing others, and maintaining still others. We need feel no shame for this person we’ve become; we’ve done our best. From this point forward, with the help of the program, our Higher Power, and the wonderful friendships that sustain us, we will add many new colors and stronger threads to the tapestry that continues to be us.

Even though there is often much we want to change in ourselves, there is much that will and should stay the same. Let’s trust that God will guide our efforts in changing those traits that deserve our attention now, leaving the rest for another time. We have been loved, guided, and protected even though we are not perfect. That will be true always.

All that has gone before will help me handle whatever today offers. I am in God’s keeping now and forever.

© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

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A WOMAN’S SPIRIT #essentialsofrec #Recovery #intuition #Women

My intuition can lead me in the right direction when my will and God’s will are one.

~ Kathy McGraw 

Sometimes we mistake ego for intuition. Then we wonder why doors don’t open. We may try to force circumstances to meet our expectations. Our chemical dependency led us to behave this way in the past, and this behavior helped to get us here to this program. Today we are striving for times when things do flow smoothly, when doors open at just the right moment, when we experience effortless living—in short, times when our will and God’s are one. But how do we do it?

The key is to slow down and ask ourselves if what we are about to do feels right. Doing God’s will always feel right. By contrast, being driven by our own ego often feels wrong, very wrong. In our using days we were adept at ignoring the feeling that something was wrong. However, our growth through the Steps makes ignoring what is wrong impossible now. That’s good for us. And it’s even better for the people in our lives. Wanting to follow God’s will is the first step to actually following it.

My ego is always ready to jump in where God’s will is needed. Today I’ll slow down each time I'm ready to Jump, and I’ll listen instead to my feelings.

© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

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A WOMAN’S SPIRIT #essentialsofrec #Pain #Experience #Recovery

There’s a lesson to be learned in every painful experience.

~ Mary Timberlake ~

We can learn from every experience, but we may not perceive the full impact of the lesson until months of other experiences have passed. In the interim, however, our reliance on God to help us through will count as a valuable lesson, one that we may need repeatedly.

It might be helpful to believe that every moment of our lives is giving us “something to grow on.” Many hours in a week go by almost unnoticed; thus it’s difficult to realize that they, too, were contributing something to our divine plan.

Getting comfortable with the knowledge that we’re alive to experience God’s lessons and fulfill our destiny makes the problems we face more acceptable and less painful. God intends us not to suffer pain but to experience the world’s joys. Remembering that will lessen the sting.

I will remember that God is with me throughout today’s experiences.

© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

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A WOMAN’S SPIRIT #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Women #Hope

All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them.

~ Isak Dinesen 

Sharing our experience, strength, and hope with others in this program helps to clarify for all of us the miracle of recovery. Telling another woman how we survived the most awful of experiences lets her know that her life is survivable too. It’s not by accident that the founders of AA stressed the value of telling our stories.

Each time we share an aspect of our own traumatic past, its sting is diminished. The more we repeat these awful truths, the less their hold on us. Our storytelling lets our listeners know that their own experiences are not so different after all.

What lucky women we are. No longer do we hide ourselves from others. Each conversation with a sponsor, sponsee, or friend is an opportunity to lighten our load.

I will tell a part of my story to someone today. She may be helped by it, and I will be freed from it!

© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

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A WOMAN’S SPIRIT #essentialsofrec #Self-Discovery

Time and again I have searched for you, not knowing that it was me I needed to find.

~ Betty MacDonald ~

We may have spent many years looking for the partner who would complete our lives. We were certain that happiness was guaranteed when the search culminated in the perfect selection. How tragic it seems when we discover that happiness still eludes us. The search, coupled with the belief that someone else is our ticket to happiness, has lead us down many dark alleys.

We are learning now that finding our true self oilers us the wholeness we thought would come from our attachment to another person. The Steps will guide our self-discovery. Through the Steps, the meetings we attend, and the friends we make, we’ll find our real self. Knowing her fully, accepting her completely, will fill the void we thought only another person could fill.

I will pay attention to who I am today. I will honor the whole of me. I know genuine happiness can be found only in this way.

© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

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A WOMAN’S SPIRIT #essentialsoffrec #Recovery #Dignity

As I recover, I am learning to detach with love and mind my own business with dignity.

~ Kathy Kendall ~

Very few situations actually need our input. On most occasions we can contribute most by observing or listening. Although controlling how others live and think may still appeal to us, we are learning from our friends and sponsors the wisdom of detachment and the necessity for boundaries between ourselves and others.

Our desire to “help” friends make decisions may be rooted in love: we don’t want to see our friends get hurt by making wrong choices. But the wisdom of the program tells us that we hurt our friends more by doing for them what they need to do for themselves. While this may be hard to believe at first, we can learn to trust that it is true.

It is enough to live our own lives thoughtfully. We have been given a second chance through getting clean and sober. Now it’s time to give our lives all of our attention. Let’s free other people to do the same.

I have enough to do just to live my life today. I can show my love for others best if I let them live their lives too.

© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

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A WOMAN’S SPIRIT #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Thoughts

We will never hear anyone else’s thoughts if we are only listening to our own.

~ Cathy Stone 

It’s not a defect to think. On the contrary, we need to examine all the issues in our lives, evaluating very carefully what action to take in each instance. Many of us are still clearing up the mayhem that occurred because we didn't give enough thought to situations in the past. But there is nothing gained by constant self-analysis, particularly during those moments when God has sent a friend to share with us her story or perspective.

It’s never an accident when another person discusses with us an experience she has had. God intends for us to learn from one another. We are students and teachers, interchangeably. When a teacher comes our way, let’s put our minds to rest. Her words may supply the answer we seek.

I will be drawn to the people who have something to teach me today. I will listen first and think later.

© 1994 by Hazelden Foundation

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