AA Recovery Interviews

By: Howard L.
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  • Summary

  • Alcoholics Anonymous members from around the world share their awesome stories of experience, strength, and hope with interview host Howard L.
    Copyright © 2020-2024 AA Recovery Interviews
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Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Success Psychology
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Episodes
  • Dale C. – Sober Since December 2008 (Encore of Episode 73)

    Dale C. – Sober Since December 2008 (Encore of Episode 73)
    Oct 16 2024
    When he started making the coffee, his life got better.... Thirteen years ago, Dale started attending one of my home groups, a men’s meeting that I’ve been going to for over 33 years. Since he first stepped into that meeting, his service to the group and individual men has solidified his spot in the middle of our herd. In fact, he says it was when he started making and serving coffee in the meeting that his life began getting better. Strong testimony from a man whose drinking was fueled by the adolescent trauma he suffered when he found his father’s body immediately after he’d committed suicide. Though he knew what he’d seen, an iron-clad family secret grew out of that tragic event and he spent many years drinking to dull the pain. Like many of us, Dale managed to function with his escalating disease, finishing college and law school, before launching a successful law practice. And though he might have noticed his own heavy drinking over the years, it was his wife’s alcoholism that created the most strife in their family. But things got bad enough that she stopped drinking via AA 22 years before he did. Ironically, Dale accompanied his sober wife to many AA related functions over the years and even got to know her AA friends and sponsor quite well. But despite his own worsening alcoholism, the attraction to AA didn’t occur until late in his 50’s when the alcohol damage to his heart resulted in triple by-pass surgery. While he didn’t stop drinking after the surgery, his looming bottom was clearly in sight. So with his wife’s help, Dale finally found AA at 59 and has been sober since then. Dale’s story is remarkable in many ways, not the least of which is the impact that service work can have on the continued durability of one’s sobriety. His solid practice of sponsoring other men while cultivating close personal relationships in AA, has served Dale well. His daily prayer, readings, and meetings have both strengthened and enriched his Program, while providing a fine example of what it takes to stay in the protective middle of AA. I think you’ll enjoy my interview with Dale, and find it both informative and touching. So lend us your ears for the next hour and 5 minutes while you enjoy this episode of AA Recovery Interviews with my fine friend and AA brother, Dale C. [This is an encore of Episode 73, originally released April 13, 2022]. If you’ve enjoyed my AA Recovery Interviews series, have a listen to Lost Stories of the Big Book, 30 Original Stories Missing from the 3rd and 4th Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s an engaging audiobook I narrated to bring these stories to life for AA members who’ve never seen them. These timeless testimonials were originally cut to make room for newer stories in the 3rd and 4th Editions. But their vitally important messages of hope are as meaningful today as when they were first published. Many listeners will hear these stories for the first time. Lost Stories of the Big Book is available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. It’s also available as a Kindle book and in Paperback from Amazon if you’d like to read along with the audio. I also invite you to check out my latest audio book, “Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered From Alcoholism”. This is the word-for-word, cover-to-cover reading of the First Edition of the Big Book, published in 1939. It’s a comfortable, meaningful, and engaging way to listen to the Big Book anytime, anyplace. Have a free listen at Audible, i-Tunes, or Amazon.
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Aileen C. – Sober Since April 2009 (Encore of Episode 30)

    Aileen C. – Sober Since April 2009 (Encore of Episode 30)
    Oct 9 2024
    A tough upbringing punctuated by violence and abuse led to Aileen's early use of drugs and alcohol just to survive home life. Her difficult and dangerous relationships in adulthood were mired by alcoholism of one or both parties. Self-loathing and despair, with ideations of suicide, haunted her at every turn. Indeed, Aileen’s story looked hopeless. In the end, it took in-patient mental health treatment, private therapy, and the guidance of good mentor to guide Aileen into a variety of 12-step programs, including AA. Even then, she slipped after being sober 15 months, but came back in just a couple of weeks. Thoroughly beaten by the disease, she came back to AA in early 2009 and finally got down to seriously working the Program with a good sponsor. Like my other guests, Aileen’s story is cautionary, but quite hopeful for anyone facing the kind of challenges she faced and overcame. Today, she demonstrates her commitment to staying sober by virtue of the service she does with the women that she sponsors. Her dedication to AA can also be seen in role as secretary of the meeting in which we first met. What’s more, Aileen practices the principles of the Program in her own community by staying actively involved with organizations that address the myriad of mental health issues facing women in need. The importance of Aileen’s story cannot be understated. In this 30th interview of my podcast series, I invite you open your mind and heart for the next hour of AA Recovery Interviews with my new friend and AA sister, Aileen C. [This is an encore of Episode 30, originally released June 9, 2021]. If you’ve enjoyed my AA Recovery Interviews series, have a listen to Lost Stories of the Big Book, 30 Original Stories Missing from the 3rd and 4th Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s an engaging audiobook I narrated to bring these stories to life for AA members who’ve never seen them. These timeless testimonials were originally cut to make room for newer stories in the 3rd and 4th Editions. But their vitally important messages of hope are as meaningful today as when they were first published. Many listeners will hear these stories for the first time. Lost Stories of the Big Book is available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. It’s also available as a Kindle book and in Paperback from Amazon if you’d like to read along with the audio. I also invite you to check out my latest audio book, “Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered From Alcoholism”. This is the word-for-word, cover-to-cover reading of the First Edition of the Big Book, published in 1939. It’s a comfortable, meaningful, and engaging way to listen to the Big Book anytime, anyplace. Have a free listen at Audible, i-Tunes, or Amazon.
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Boots G. – Sober 22 Years

    Boots G. – Sober 22 Years
    Oct 2 2024
    At age 82, Boots had lived most of his life as a moderate or normal drinker, only to find out in his late 50s that his drinking was getting out of control. By the time his family staged an intervention when he was 60, Boots had become a full-blown alcoholic with all of the collateral damage that drinking inflicts upon the unsuspecting. Boots spent four months at an inpatient treatment center face-to-face with his disease and quickly developed an earnest desire to get sober. Fortunately, the precepts of AA were woven into the treatment protocol of the recovery center, so Boots did not have to rely solely upon intellectual constructs to stay sober. AA meetings inside plus rapid exposure to the Program after he got out of treatment allowed for a seamless transition into the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous. Boots came all the way in and sat all the way down, found a good sponsor, and worked the 12 Steps. Over the 22 years Boots has stayed sober, he has faced and surmounted many serious challenges, including cancer. But he has maintained a staunch belief that God’s will is at work in his life. During that same period of time, he has experienced many of the joys of sobriety, including his own son’s nine years in AA. Boots has staked his ground in the middle of the AA herd and delights in going to regular meetings and sponsoring men in the Program. Boots’ story is a fascinating perspective into what it’s like to live most of one’s life without the scourge of alcoholism. But it’s also cautionary tale of just how patient the disease can be and how it can be the wrecker of lives regardless of age. So please enjoy the next hour of AA Recovery Interviews with my close friend and AA brother, Boots G. If you’ve enjoyed my AA Recovery Interviews series and my Big Book Podcast, have a listen to Lost Stories of the Big Book, 30 Original Stories Missing from the 3rd and 4th Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s an engaging audiobook I narrated to bring these stories to life for AA members who’ve never seen them. These timeless testimonials were originally cut to make room for newer stories in the 3rd and 4th Editions. But their vitally important messages of hope are as meaningful today as when they were first published. Many listeners will hear these stories for the first time. Lost Stories of the Big Book is available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. It’s also available as a Kindle book and in Paperback from Amazon if you’d like to read along with the audio. I also invite you to check out my latest audio book, “Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered From Alcoholism”. This is the word-for-word, cover-to-cover reading of the First Edition of the Big Book, published in 1939. It’s a comfortable, meaningful, and engaging way to listen to the Big Book anytime, anyplace. Have a free listen at Audible, i-Tunes, or Amazon. [Disclaimer: AA Recovery Interviews podcast strictly adheres to AA’s 12 Traditions and all General Service Office guidelines for safe-guarding anonymity on-line. I pay all podcast production costs. AA Recovery Interviews and my guests do not speak for or represent AA at-large. This podcast is simply my way of giving back to AA that which has been so freely given to me. – Howard L.]
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    1 hr and 2 mins

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Great!

Just finished my first interview and love it!! I can listen at work and in the car now. Thank you❤️

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