THE
BRONX
MAMARONECK
ACA
INTERGROUP
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
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Reclaiming Our Authentic or Real Self
Recap​​
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1200 Waters Place, The Bronx, NY​​​
October 21, 2024
Bronx Mamaroneck ACA Intergroup (BMAI)
Share-A-Day RECAP
The annals of ACA history will not soon forget that over 100 brave souls gathered on a glorious Summer-like day in The Bronx on the 19th day of October 2024 to Reclaim their Authentic or Real Selves.
It will be remembered that the day began at 8 am when a team of highly dedicated ACA members from as far away as Brooklyn and upper Westchester started brewing coffee and heating water for tea while laying out a sumptuous Continental breakfast including muffins, bagels, croissants, fruit and juices of various kinds.
The recovery program started at 10 am logically enough with a Newcomers Meeting with speakers and sharers from the floor sharing their first steps on their journey to recover from the effects and affects of being raised in an alcoholic, addicted or dysfunctional family.
Those gathered were then treated to a speaker who hailed from Northern Connecticut at 11 whose lifelong adventures share was cherished, praised and inspiring.
Lunch featured a delectable serving of an eggplant or a chicken based hero sandwich coupled with side salads of potato, macaroni and the like.
This was followed by a meeting at 1 pm exploring workplace dysfunctional dynamics that was captivating and showcased that childhood dysfunction effects and affects all areas of our lives.
The next treat was a speaker at 2 who came all the way from Massachusetts who spellbound the audience with tales from the Los Angeles crib she was raised in.
The final meeting at 3 focused fittingly on the Solution spotlighting the program’s promise of emotional sobriety and spiritual awakening with speakers and members sharing experiences, strengths and hopes.
The last, but not the least, speaker at 4 journeyed to the extraordinary gathering from Harlem. His eloquent talk featured the exceptional capacity of the program’s healing and growth potential.
Throughout the day literature sales and free giveaways were brisk and handled by a team of stalwarts who gladly “gave it away” so that the literature too could carry the recovery message.
The event host, the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, warmly welcomed and treated the attendees with the use of their splendid facility. The Legal Studies Program Director, without whose support the event would not have been possible, was there in support of the event’s overall mission.
During the share-a-day, the venue, Mercy University, afforded the attendees with a beautiful, comfortable and safe environment. The Office of the Provost, The Assistant Director of Operations, the Director of Community Programs and Events, the Dean of SSBS, the SSBS Assistant to the Dean, the IT/AV team, the Facilities Crew, and the Executive Director for Campus Safety & Emergency Management assured and facilitated the smooth operation of the event. Mercy Strong!
All told, the event was an unqualified success thanks in large part to the Bronx Mamaroneck ACA Intergroup comprised of the Speaking Our Truth Group, the Original 4 x 4 Group, both of The Bronx, and the True Self ACA Group of Mamaroneck, NY, and all who attended, participated and contributed their time and efforts including the spotless clean-up crew that assured we left “no trace”. It takes a village.
Most importantly, it was the outpouring of support, goodwill and fellowship of those 100 or so gentle spirits that made this the most special of events.
On behalf of BMAI, a special thank you filled with humble gratitude for making the share-a-day a part of your recovery process.
If your ACA group would like to join BMAI, please reach out to us.
Until next we meet, we’ll save a seat for you at our meetings and next special event.
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In service,
K e y n o t e
S p e a k e r s
11 am
Lawrence C., Connecticut
in his own words ...
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Lawrence came into the doors of 12 Step recovery through an absolute bottom from alcoholism/addiction in 1988 at the age of thirty-one. He was introduced to ACoA in 1989. He clearly identified core thoughts & behaviors with the Laundry List.
Lawrence started Innermost Group (CT095) of ACA in East Lyme, CT in 2007.
He became involved with CT Intergroup of ACA in 2008.
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Lawrence has continued to be active with the intergroup in various positions presently.
In 2017, along with seven other fellow travelers, he created The Gathering, an annual ACA weekend event that continues to this day.
Lawrence has served as parliamentarian for WSO at quarterly meetings as well as the 2022 ABC.
Lawrence hasn't looked back since.
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Please join us early to hear more about Lawrence's experience, strength and hope.
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2 pm
T.J., Massachusetts
in her own words ....
TJ learned about the existence of ACA in late 2020 in all recovery fellowship meetings that were organized by Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color during the global pandemic lockdown. She related immediately. She couldn’t believe that she was hearing so much of her own story from people with a Solution.
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From Jan 2021-2022, TJ worked with others to start and organize an online weekly two hour all recovery fellowship meeting that focuses on the 12 Steps exploring one step a month through the lens of a specific fellowship. In February 2021, she experienced her ACA bottom in her mother’s death in another state, and the breaking of her ties to other untreated ACAs in her family.
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Dissociation and intense service allowed relief and functionality during that time for TJ. In January 2022, she stepped away from service and into an online ACA room that saved her life, taught her acceptance, and provided hope when she felt like she could not go on.
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TJ learned that the 14 ACA Traits articulate with clarity parts of herself that she assumed were shameful and permanently broken. TJ learned how to be of service by watching Fellow Travelers. She learned about the courageous service work of ACAs that created the documents that are life affirming for her today. The miracle of it all.
Today, TJ works with a committed study group that reads and responds to ACA literature weekly. They have completed the Yellow ACA 12 Step Workbook together, and are working through the ACA Traits Workbook now. TJ is currently working on Step 5 with a Fellow Traveler/ACA Sponsor. She belongs to two ACA home groups, and feels comfortable in any compassionate ACA Solution centered room she visits.
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Today TJ experiences self acceptance and closeness with others that she thought was not possible for her. The ACA Promises are real. Our ACA Program is the lantern she’d been crying for since childhood. Please join TJ as she shares how ACA allows her to spend more time walking without shame in the light.
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4 pm
Anthony M, New York
in his own words ...
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After 10 years living in a dysfunctional family, Anthony M. spent the next 20 years re-creating trauma through the use of a variety of substances, codependent behavior, and dissociative dynamics.
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Since 1988 Anthony has attended 12 Step meetings and began utilizing bibliotherapy to work on his physical, emotional and spiritual sobriety.
In approximately 1998, while in a graduate program for clinical training, it was recommended that he indulge in psychotherapy since this was his educational focus.
Initially he had reservations, resentments, and resistance. Anthony felt after 10 years of doing 12 step work and a variety of other self-help modalities that he did not need counseling.
When he eventually entered therapy, he was told that he had stored trauma, frozen feelings, and unexpressed grief. He was counseled that he had lots of tears, and, whenever he was ready, they could be expressed.
Twenty-two years after he first went to a 12 Step meeting while speaking at a self-help meeting somebody hugged him and he cried for 22 minutes. Soon thereafter Anthony started attending a 12 step meeting geared to those raised in a dysfunctional family, ACA, in The Bronx called “Speaking Our Truth.“ Anthony began to share, care and grieve his trauma by going through the ACA 12 Steps with Fellow Travelers.
Subsequently, he starting a meeting in Soho, “True Selves Talk”, and the first two ACA meetings ever in Harlem called “Safe Zone” and “Clean Scene.“
Anthony will share more about his transformative journey.
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M e e t i n g s
L i n e Up
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10 am
Newcomers Meeting
Hosted by
the ACA True Self Group
Mamaroneck, NY
1 pm
ACA in the Workplace
Hosted by
the Speaking Our Truth Group
The Bronx, NY
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3 pm
The Solution - Becoming Your Own Loving Parent
Hosted by
the Original 4x4 Group
The Bronx, NY​