Sober Friends

Send us Fan Mail The 12 Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous are the framework for how the groups work.  According to the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, "The '12 Traditions' of Alcoholics Anonymous are, we A.A.'s believe, the best answers to that our experience has yet given to those ever-urgent questions, 'How can A.A. best function?' and, 'How can A.A. best st...

Send us Fan Mail 12 Step groups have a tradition around their public relations policy, which is attraction rather than promotion.  But what does that exactly mean? John I steps in to have a discussion of this topic.  Does it mean you never talk about AA or other 12 step programs, even in front of someone clearly sick and suffering?  Should you never post about the program on social media?  Does th...

Send us Fan Mail The 12 Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous are the framework for how the groups work.  According to the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, "The '12 Traditions' of Alcoholics Anonymous are, we A.A.'s believe, the best answers to that our experience has yet given to those ever-urgent questions, 'How can A.A. best function?' and, 'How can A.A. best st...

Send us Fan Mail Tyler thought is was normal to get drunk growing up.  It was what everyone in town did at his age.  Then his parents got divorced and the drinking escalated.  But he already had a strong, spiritual faith and it ended up being his lifeline. Tyler is a childhood friend of my wife.  He heard about this podcast from her on Facebook and wanted to talk about his life in sobriety.  In th...

Send us Fan Mail The 12 Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous are the framework for how the groups work.  According to the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, "The '12 Traditions' of Alcoholics Anonymous are, we A.A.'s believe, the best answers to that our experience has yet given to those ever-urgent questions, 'Ho can A.A. best function?' and, 'How can A.A. best sta...

Send us Fan Mail Nate Kelly is the host of the Sobriety Diaries Podcast on Instagram and wherever you get your podcasts.  He is also an alcoholic.  I was fascinated by his story in listening to his show and he was gracious enough to join us.  In this episode, Nate talks about his story, his experience with drinking, his alcoholic stroke in his 30's that was not enough to stop drinking, his re...

Send us Fan Mail When you are new to sobriety, you may think life is now just sitting in church basements.  Early on, you'll see a lot of church basements, but as you grow in your new sobriety, the opportunity to enjoy your life presents itself.  John I and Steve C join in to talk about the debt of gratitude they owe to their 12 step program and how life has become better. Support the show 📫...

Send us Fan Mail Many alcoholics have had to deal with the effects of isolation both in active addition and after.  Especially during COVID-19, when you have to social distance, it's easy to hide away and isolate from everyone in the name of good health.  It's easy to stay home and be comfortable isolating in general and make excuses to not go to meetings or call people in the program. ...

Send us Fan Mail It is easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of the moment.  Matt J had a storm come through his town of South Windsor, CT and it left him without power and without some siding.  It could have been worse as just feet from where he lives, trees were down damaging cars and homes.  Seeing his kids freaking out, Matt freaked out on the inside instead of calling people in the program o...

Send us Fan Mail Staying on the beam is about what we do everyday to ensure our sobriety.  It's about the little things to maintain our sanity and keep in touch with our higher power.  If left unchecked, little by little, cracks can show up until we get to the point of misery or a drink. Steve C and John I join the show to talk about how they stay on the beam. Join us on our website at https:...

Send us Fan Mail Matt J has been diving into the world of Sober Instagram and where some other social media sites are cesspools, <cough!> <cough!> <TWITTER!>, The sober society on Instagram seems to be something totally different.  It is a place where you can find positive and inspirational messages of sobriety.  Matt found Morgan at https://www.instagram.com/single.40.sober.surv...

Send us Fan Mail Mark Gantt is the husband of our previous guest, Brianne Davis.  Mark is best known for co-creating, writing, producing, and starring in Crackle’s groundbreaking, Streamy award-winning series, The Bannen Way.  He's also an alcoholic in recovery for the last 32 years.  In this episode, we discuss a short but storied drinking career that ended at the age of 19.  The help he rec...

Send us Fan Mail Part of working the steps in Alcoholics Anonymous is clearing away the wreckage of the past, clearing away the harms you've done to others and the mess you've made of your life because of your addiction.   Complacency can set in as life gets better with a recovery lifestyle and the threat of changes can cause anxiety.  Matt J is contemplating taking on new responsibiliti...

Send us Fan Mail Brianne Davis is an actress that you've seen in Lucifer, Dawson's Creek, True Blood, CSI Miami, The History Channel's Six and so much more.  But Brianne was harboring a secret;  she was a sex and love addict.  After 16 years of sobriety in Sex and Love Addiction Anonymous, she made the decision to break her anonymity and share her journey with a fictionalized accoun...

Send us Fan Mail The idea of Rock Bottom can be a misnomer and can be a hindrance to finding recovery.  It can be easy to compare someone else's bottom to your own and therefore decided I'm, "not that bad."  On this episode, Matt J, Steve C and John I talk about the concept of Rock Bottom and how everyone's bottom can be different. Support the show 📫 Get more honest conve...

Send us Fan Mail We conclude our pass through the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous with Step 12:  Step 12 - Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. Step 12 is is a very broad step and can be looked to as the "Sponsorship Step," but it's so much more than that.  J...

Send us Fan Mail John I and Steve C join the show to continue our discussion of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.  This week, it's Steps 10 and 11. Step 10 - Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. Step 11 - Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will f...

Send us Fan Mail Steve C and John I join the show for our continued work on the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.  We talk about why it's important to make good with those we've harmed and why it's critical to do this step with a sponsor. Step 8: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. Step 9: Made direct amends to such people whereve...

Send us Fan Mail Steps 6 and 7 have the shortest write up in the big book.  It does not make them any less important.  These are two steps Matt J says he puts into his daily life most frequently.  Steve C and John I join the program to wrap up Step 5 and talk about how to quickly get into being ready to let go of our defects of character and then asking our higher power to remove them. Step 6 - We...

Send us Fan Mail Steps 4 and 5 go together, much like Steps 8 and 9.  One step is the inventory of our wrongs and the other is when we actually speak them out loud.  They separate the men from boys and can derail someone in early sobriety.  Much like Steps 8 and 9, they cause anxiety in the new person in recovery but can be the path to moving past things that tripped us before.  They are the steps...

Send us Fan Mail John I and Steve C join the show to talk about what each step is and how it's implemented in the 12 steps of recovery. Step 1:  We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. Step 2: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God...

Send us Fan Mail Each week we've focused on the alcoholic but the family is affected by this disease too.  For this episode, I invited my old friend Gerri who has been surrounded by alcoholics in her life.  Alcoholism affects more than just the alcoholic, it affects family and friends too. Support the show 📫 Get more honest conversations about sobriety delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to T...

Send us Fan Mail The number one killer of alcoholics is a resentment.  Steve C and John I join the program to talk about what a resentment is and why it's so dangerous. Check out our website at https://notalonerecovery.com/ to listen to the show, find our social media links and find helpful recovery links. Support the show 📫 Get more honest conversations about sobriety delivered to your inbo...

Send us Fan Mail John I joins Matt J to talk about Living Sober.  This is not about the book "Living Sober," but what it means to put the plug in the jug and change yourself where being sober, happy and free is a reality.  First, Matt J talks about his latest sobriety anniversary and talks about how his life changed.  Then they give their definition of what living sober really means and...

Send us Fan Mail Matt J's father passed away at the end of January.  He had not seen him since December 25, 1982 at the age of 7.  Matt's father had untreated alcoholism and it led to his parent's divorce.  It also led to Matt's obsession with never becoming an alcoholic and yet failing.  Matt wanted to share this story to talk about two paths, the eventual end that alcoholism...