Why Shop With Us?
The Latest Thing and its sister websites 12 Step Gold and Gift of Recovery offer retail and wholesale gifts for the 12-steppers, the spiritual seekers and the just plain curious, growth-minded shopper. Although its primary focus has always been to provide a tangible reminder of the new life being lived by those in 12-Step recovery programs, the unique gifts of our 12 step shop also appeal to anyone at all who’s seeking to find a meaningful path in life. And to the just plain curious, those who are looking for something unusual.
The brick-and-mortar store has been selling gifts of recovery and special mementos of spiritual growth for over three decades. Famous for its wide selection and its extraordinarily service-minded staff (yes, it’s full of 12 steppers in recovery), The Latest Thing offers a unique shopping experience. Its affiliated websites offer some items carried in the store, but they have broadened their offerings to include a surprising variety of gifts and tokens that are available only online. The Latest Thing is the creator of the popular Patented Genuine Crystal Recovery Medallions, and carries the largest selection of recovery jewelry in the world.
Shop In-Person
There’s a very special magic in the air at The Latest Thing and there is nothing quite like the experience of shopping at our brick-and-mortar store. It’s softly lit and beautifully appointed, more like a wonderland than a gift shop.
On one side, you’ll find awesome stones, ancient-looking chimes and gongs, and a variety of unique and beautiful statues for your garden, deck or altar. In the store’s center is a stunning array of jewelry on display, encased in glass and gleaming in the soft light. You’ll view a selection of our special Bling Medallions there. On the other side, you’ll find awesome 12-Step cards, posters, mugs, and a large variety of 12-Step gifts, books and workbooks. Plus, The Latest Thing houses an extraordinary collection of spiritual books hand-selected by those who know what it takes to walk the walk as they ‘trudge the road of happy destiny.’ There’s a special surprise around every turn.
Yes, this store is owned and operated by 12-steppers. It’s definitely not your ordinary gift shop!
Safety is important to us. We make sure you feel safe when you shop at our brick-and-mortar location. See our Covid Safety page for a detailed description of the safety precautions we have put into place.
Online Shopping
The Latest Thing, a long-established 12 Step Bookstore and Gift Shop, now has an online presence that will greatly enhance your buying experience.
The Latest Thing is your go-to for all conference-approved literature in mainstream 12-Step Programs. Thanks to the fact that TLT staff are all well-informed members of 12-step programs themselves, you’ll find a wide variety of 12-Step books containing the tools to inform and guide you in understanding and taking the twelve steps in many 12 Step Programs, including (but not limited to) Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous and Families in Recovery.
Our 12 step shop also offers a wide variety of metaphysical and self-help books that help to expand your awareness and inspire your growth on your spiritual path. You will also find a wide and encouraging collection of workbooks, journals, and diaries for people in many different 12-step recovery programs, and for anyone generally interested in spiritual growth and personal development.
Finally, our 12 step shop offers many delightful 12-step-themed gift items, their famous Crystalized Bling Medallions and other tokens of progress to celebrate each and every day, week, month, and year of recovery. Well known for its medallions and its creatively designed, numbered by-the-year greeting cards, a gift like from TLT is bound to reaffirm many milestones and celebrations of recovery.
About Us
A Place to Nourish Your Mind, Body, & Soul
Many people say they discovered this place by coincidence. However, since so many people say that, one begins to wonder if they are coincidences or kismet! According to Kimberly Funk, co-owner with her mother, Mary Lou Williams, it’s destiny that led them here to The Latest Thing!
In 1989 Kimberly and her mother started this store with the intention of making recovery gifts available to the many who walk the recovery path, with hope for reclaiming their lives and the need to celebrate each baby step in that direction. “Having something tangible to hold onto helps make it real! says, Kimberly. “I love celebrating recovery. I love even more the fact that God has led me to make recovery gifts available to my fellows, nationwide. I love looking into the eyes of my patrons and seeing pride, hope, and gratitude on their faces. I love watching a parent’s heart swell with pride when he or she comes to purchase a chip to acknowledge a recovery anniversary for a child. I like to see the way a husband’s face beams with hope when he buys a recovery card for his wife’s first thirty days, or the gratitude a wife feels when her family is reunited in recovery by sharing a morning mediation book together. This is my 12-step work: assisting and helping to celebrate a new way of life by selling recovery gifts and tokens. These serve to remind us where we have come from, how far we’ve come, and who our primary partner is now (the God of our own understanding).”