I got active in Public Information to give myself something to do other than be self-absorbed. I was welcomed at the District, PI hadn’t been active there for a while. I read the workbook and chose the tasks that didn’t seem too complicated or inconvenient. I began taking literature to hospital emergency rooms, asking the charge nurse where I could leave AA literature. I was always welcomed and felt AA was well received. I began to have a sense of usefulness.

I started talking about my experiences to people, home group members, sponsees, anyone I thought might find it interesting, and hopefully, inspiring. I’m still puzzled that this arm of our service is so unpopular.

A new sponsee was listening to me go on about how useful I felt when I delivered literature, how it’s impossible to guess how many lives could be changed by this work. She rolled her eyes and said, “How hard can this be? Give me a packet and I’ll drop it off at the hospital.” I gave her some pamphlets and explained how to approach the desk, what I said and where I left the literature. I asked her to call me after she delivered it.

Later that evening, I got a call. She said, “Oh my God. I can’t believe what happened. I went in like you said, went to the charge nurse, asked her where to leave the literature, she told me, I put it down and walked out the door. Once outside, I burst into tears. I realized I might have just saved someone’s life.”

It’s impossible to guess how many lives are affected by the simple act of leaving an AA pamphlet in a public place. It’s not so impossible to guess what happens for those who do the work. If only one person gets to experience the freedom from the bondage of self as I have as the result of carrying our message through Public Information, I would consider that a great success. If no one else but me has that experience, I would consider that a great blessing.

~ Wendy W.