Sober After Sixty-Something
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We're excited to introduce our newest LifeRing online meeting: Sober After Sixty-Something (SASS). This HWYW focus meeting is for LifeRing Community SASS-y members. The first meeting will be held Sunday, October 23rd at 7:00am Pacific.
Sober After Sixty-Something is the brilliant idea from LifeRing Community member Brett. In this informal interview, Brett shares his sober history, his goals for this new LifeRing focus meeting, and a little bit about himself.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Please include something out of the box. Nothing much "Out of the box" with me. Happily married. Turned 64 this past Saturday. And...I race Electric Two-Wheel Scooters. I have one that will hit nearly 70mph (totally INSANE!). How's that for Out of the Box?
How did you find out about LifeRing? I found out about LifeRing from a friend in AA. I mentioned to him that AA no longer resonated with me, and he suggested I try LifeRing. Oddly, this friend was something of a Big Book "Thumper" but was open-minded enough to understand that AA isn't right for everyone at all stages of recovery.
How long have you been an active LifeRing member? Over 3 years.
How long have you been clean/sober? At present, 1 year 8 months, however my longest stretch of continuous sobriety was 16 years. When my wife and I met (at an in-person AA meeting actually) we were both in long-term sobriety / recovery. We "went back out" briefly as an experiment, but then mutually decided that Alcohol and Other Drugs were not something we wanted in our life together. So...we "came back in"! Wise choice
What inspired you to create this meeting? After attending numerous LR meetings with a variety of Convenors, I began to notice that there seemed to be distinct differences in the issues experienced by younger people in recovery, versus older people such as myself. I thought that a meeting for the 60 years young + age group might be a good and helpful focus
What are the goals you've set for making this meeting successful? My primary goal would be to help older adults get excited about this phase of their lives in sobriety and recovery. My plan is to suggest discussion topics (I have dozens of them relevant to this age group) but a simple HWYW check-in will be perfectly fine. I have found that in the many LR meetings I have attended, suggested topics almost invariably generate some great discussions
I understand that this meeting will likely start out quite small, and possibly remain that way because it is a subset of the general Recovery population. But as they say, good things come in small packages!
Sober After Sixty-Something (SASS) is a LifeRing focus meeting for people over 60 who want to share the challenges and victories unique to their age group.
Sundays at 7:00am Pacific Time
Meeting ID: 892 6638 0178 • Passcode: lifering
LifeRing is currently recruiting new convenors and co-convenors to support our growing recovery community. You can learn more about the requirements and the rewards of being a LifeRing convenor on our Be A LifeRing Convenor webpage. Other ways you can support LifeRing are listed on our Engagement Opportunities page.
Brett,
Congratulations on your sobriety and making this new meeting possible. I’ll be 61 in a couple of weeks and I would love to attend, though, alas, 9:00 is too late for me on the East Coast. I’m a full-time caregiver for my 88-yr old aunt who has many health issues. I’ve been around Lifering almost since the beginning, but I relapsed for years. I currently have 19 months of sobriety. I wish you a lot of luck with your meeting!
Angela
There has been a lot of positive responses to this meeting and I’m happy to say their were 12 participants last Sunday. Congratulations, Brett!
For all of you SASSy sleepyheads:
Your comments show interest, but also concern about the time. Have you considered starting your own SASS meeting during the afternoon or during the evening? Clearly, virtual seats will be filled!
Here’s an in-depth look and Q&A for those interested in joining the LifeRing Convenors Community and here’s the fun-size version
There are many ways to support LifeRing. Convening is one of the most satisfying and supportive — not just for meeting members, but also to support your own recovery. Convening a big win-win!
I am brand new to life ring and this meeting sounds perfect except for the time.
Sue R.
I’m 61 and would love to attend, but for the 6 am meeting time. If there’s a later meeting sometime, I’m all in! Thank you. Christine
I am SOSS. I love the acronym and I’d love to attend, but I can’t find 6am on my watch. 9? 6pm?
When I grow up, I want to be a 60-something!
Meeting sounds interesting, but even at 8 am Central on a Sunday, for this lifelong night owl?
I am also 67 and live in Oregon (Pacific time). 6am is my best sleeping time.
Sounds super interesting.
I am 67 and would love to attend this meeting, but for me, waking up at 6 am for a meeting just isn’t feasible. Please consider an alternate time in the future. I am very, very interested!
Thank you,
Kathy