AA Recovery Interviews Howard L.

As a toddler, Jim was taken to parties where he got his first taste of marijuana and alcohol. For his 10th birthday, his adult brother got him a joint and shots of peppermint schnapps. By 13, he was a daily pot smoker and drinking whenever he could. His race to the bottom ended when he got sober at age 21.







On this episode of AA Recovery Interviews, meet Jim W., an active member of AA for the past 32 years. His journey through alcoholism and drug addiction started early in life. After Jim’s parents divorced when he was six months old, he was essentially raised by his two sisters and brother who were 14, 16, and 18 years older, while his mother worked to support the family. As a child, he engaged in all of the drug and alcohol-riddled behavior practiced by his older siblings. By high school he was crashing cars and frequently getting into trouble. In addition to regular drinking, Jim became a drug dealer to support his own habit of mainlining cocaine. He went to a party college, where his first DWI landed him in jail replete with DTs and drug withdrawal. As he spiraled downward, a desperate visit to a psychiatrist, and coincidental death of two childhood friends who were on his path, provided Jim’s wakeup call at the age of 21. After two weeks in a treatment center, and another slip, Jim thankfully ran into a friend who had been sober in AA for five years. He offered Jim help. Completely defeated, Jim came into AA in Cleveland, Ohio and found a sponsor the first day. His immersive experience in the Program throughout his first 18 months, formed a solid foundation of sobriety and service for years to come.







Jim frequently quotes the Big Book from memory, not to show off, but in the earnest desire to help others. He stills goes to lots of meetings and sponsors new men all the time, with the same firm, no-nonsense approach to working the 12 Steps that was ingrained in Jim by the northeast Ohio brand of AA.







Jim’s story is a fine example of what grateful sobriety looks like after 32 years in AA. I’m glad I’ve known Jim W. for the majority of that time and hope you’ll enjoy what he has to say in this, the, the 31st interview of the AA Recovery Interviews podcast.







[This is an encore of Episode 31, originally released June 16, 2021].







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 a href="https://books.apple.

To mark the 150th interview in this podcast series, Dwight’s story is both riveting and ominous. It began with alcohol being added to his milk to keep him quiet as a toddler. Raised as an only child by a single mother in the ghettos of Harlem, he was a thief by age six and had witnessed the stabbing death of school mate at 11. A gang member by middle school, Dwight was drinking, smoking marijuana, and breaking the law daily. When he was 12, his mother moved him to Texas to escape the violent streets of New York only to land him in the notorious inner city gangs of Houston. He somehow survived that deadly environment and made it to college only to be drafted and sent to Viet Nam during the worst years of that war. Taught to kill and then dropped behind enemy lines for reconnaissance, Dwight suffered terrifying trauma that booze and drugs could hardly blunt. Returning to the tumultuous U.S. in 1969, and unable to find meaningful work, he returned to criminal behavior as a drug runner and dealer. As years passed and his and his alcoholism became more severe, Dwight somehow managed to extricate himself from his treacherous lifestyle and land a normal job. It was in that position that his alcoholism and PTSD snapped his psyche and he was hospitalized for 45 days. That forced period of sobriety created a sliver of clarity which culminated in a 12th step call by veterans of A.A. When he got out of the hospital, Dwight was mercifully enveloped by the fellowship never to drink again.







Dwight’s early years in AA were difficult at best as trust in the people and the Program came slowly. But with the help and love he experienced in daily meetings, working the Steps, and helping others, he dutifully built the arch through which he now accompanies others to redemption from the disease. To be sure, his decades in AA have not been without their difficulties and challenges, some of which rival those in his pre-sobriety life. However, by staying continuously steeped in the Program and spiritually connected, Dwight’s life has been richly adorned by the many gifts of sobriety, gifts that he shares most freely with others.







So fasten your seatbelts for this epic adventure through one alcoholic’s life and enjoy listening to the next 90 minutes of AA Recovery Interviews with one of my closest friends and AA brother, Dwight M.







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 a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lost-Stories-Big-Book-Alcoholics-ebook/dp/B09GL8NHLF/ref=sr_1_1?

Nicole's battle with alcoholism was set against the backdrop of repressed feelings from childhood and the deep closet in which hid her own homosexuality most of her life. Growing up in London, Nicole drank without consequence much of her life until she faced a seemingly insurmountable period of grief and isolation six years before she stopped drinking. Her escalating alcohol abuse, plus two suicide attempts, landed her in a psychiatric hospital. Amidst dwindling hope of ever recovering, Nicole was introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous in 2020. Her subsequent willingness to embrace the Program grew into vital trust and confidence in her AA meetings.  Feeling the acceptance and love from her fellow AAs, Nicole finally emerged from the closet and confided in her AA fellows that she was gay. That profound release from her life-long secret greatly aided her commitment to working the Program in earnest. Today, with 3½ years of AA recovery, Nicole shares her special brand of experience with others, allowing her to enjoy life in sobriety.







Nicole continues to work the 12-Steps with an extraordinary sponsor from whom she is learning how to be of greater service to the Program and her fellow alcoholics. It’s an approach that works well for her, and one that’s worthy of sharing with others who are facing the kind of challenges she has surmounted.







I believe you’ll gain much from listening to Nicole’s story, despite Zoom's audio quality the day we recorded the interview. So, I invite you to enjoy the next hour of AA Recovery Interviews with my new friend and AA sister, Nicole S.







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.

Like many alcoholics, Quinten S. started drinking in his mid-adolescence amidst a chaotic home life. Alcoholism was not prevalent in his immediate family, but the vestiges from earlier generations were there nonetheless. Quinten’s alcohol use escalated quickly during his late teens, along with regular use of marijuana. In high school and later college, his use quickly turned into serious abuse of both substances. And though he stopped smoking weed to abide by the rules in his living arrangement, his drinking picked up to take its place. Finding himself a daily drinker, Quinten hid his growing functional alcoholism by drinking in isolation. By his early 20’s, he'd become a full-fledged blackout alcoholic with mounting consequences spilling over into his work life. Quinten had attended a single AA meeting a few years before his sobriety date, but refused a desire chip because he frankly wasn’t done drinking. So, things got worse until a week before his 25th birthday when Quinten dragged himself back into AA while still detoxing from his final spree. This time he took the desire chip and has now been sober nearly three years. That desire to stay sober has been fulfilled as Quinten got to work in the Program. Along the way, he has fulfilled service and sponsorship commitments and has remained close to his sober fellowship. If you’re in early AA recovery, I believe you’ll find Quinten’s story to be quite encouraging. That he escaped the throes of the disease in his late 20’s is strong evidence that sobriety is possible by following AA’s simple suggestions. For listeners with longer-term sobriety, Quinten’s description of his Program of Action is a fine reminder of the persistence necessary to stay on top of the disease. No matter where you are on your journey of recovery, please enjoy the next hour of AA Recovery Interviews with my friend and AA brother Quinten S.







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 Ha...

With a family of origin riddled with alcoholism, abuse, and fractured relationships, Soleen was a disenfranchised child. She started drinking at 11 and progressed rapidly into alcoholic abuse. That latent disease deprived Soleen of adult supervision and good decision-making. She married at 14 and had a baby at 16 by a man nearly twice her age. Her budding alcoholism put Soleen in trouble with the law. As a way out of jail, she agreed to inpatient treatment at the first of many rehabs. By the time she was 19, she was still in lots of trouble, all of it fueled by drinking and drug abuse. Fortunately, the AA seed was planted while she was in the revolving door of four rehabs. Facing utter ruin, Soleen finally found AA at the end of a long, dark tunnel of despair. She surrendered to the Program for good and all when she was 26. That was nearly 22 years ago. Her involvement in AA has only grown over the years and she has helped countless women who could only be helped by her brand of experience and no-nonsense approach to the Program and continuous study of the Big Book.







That she was able to survive a liquor-soaked adolescence and early adulthood to later working a strong AA Program is yet another example of God’s grace in a recovering alcoholic’s life. Soleen’s brutal story is tough to hear, but will bolster every listener’s gratitude for their own journey of sobriety. So enjoy the next 65 minutes with my friend and AA sister, Soleen M.







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 Am...

In David's childhood home, there was one basic rule about alcohol: Don’t let it interfere with your household chores. Lacking any other parental edicts, David started drinking at age 8 and was a regular alcohol user by age 11. Alcohol’s “magical” effect of intoxication helped David cope with both the dysfunction in his family, as well as the intense feelings of loneliness that were fed by the insecurities of moving every three years. By the time he was in college, the Jekyll and Hyde effects of drinking were in plain view to everyone except himself. David wondered whether the label of “alcoholic” that had been pinned on him when he was just 12 might actually apply. But like most alcoholics, that brief introspection was brushed off as his alcohol abuse grew worse by the year. Career dissatisfaction, job losses, and a failed 12-month marriage did little to convince him of his escalating problem with booze. However, David’s breakthrough came five years into his second marriage when he insisted on couples therapy to fix his wife’s discontent with that marriage. The therapist faced him down with the cold hard realities of David’s disease and firmly recommended that David attend Alcoholics Anonymous. At first, he didn’t want to go to meetings. He fed his loneliness with the thoughts that no one in the rooms liked or cared about him. But the people in those early meetings, including your host, gathered him into the security of strong AA fellowship. It wasn’t long before he got a sponsor and worked the steps that David’s life began to improve. To that, he added daily prayer, study of AA literature, sponsorship of other men, and service commitments to his group. And while there were still some bumps and distractions along the way, David’s constant desire to live his Program from within out, guided him through thirty years contented sobriety, David continues to pay forward his debt of gratitude to the Program via on-going adherence to the basic tenets of AA.







Having the privilege to know David since his first days in AA has been a blessing to me. That he continues to live the program with commitment and dedication is an inspiring demonstration of the Program’s Promises materializing on a daily basis. I believe David’s story will enthrall and move you. It’s a marvelous validation of the gifts available to all who actively seek sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous.. So sit back and enjoy the next hour and ten minutes with my very good friend and AA brother, David B.







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 a href="https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/lost-stories-of-the-big-book-thirty-original/id162323711...