AA Recovery Interviews with Howard L.

Victoria started drinking early to deal with the strife of abuse she suffered as a child and the trauma she experienced at 15 witnessing the aftermath of a bloody massacre in the Philippines. Living with the shock and horror were more than enough propel her alcohol-dominated life for the next 20 years. Then she found AA. Victoria is the first guest on AA Recovery Interviews whose spouse, Wes H., s...

Jackie's story illustrates one of the most cunning aspects of alcoholism--the erroneous belief that going to AA meetings without necessarily doing the work is enough to stay sober. In Jackie’s case, she had survived her dysfunctional family and alcohol-infused failures at higher education, only to emerge as a full-blown binge drinker. As escalating alcoholism continued to addle her decisions, she...

William’s story speaks to the devastating effects of alcohol on a life already afflicted with mental health issues. Raised in a drug-infested part of London, William describes his childhood as horrible amidst family members who were sex workers. Rather than be shielded as a child from this dysfunctional environment, he was exposed to it to learn the harsh realities of life. Seeking relief from the...

A Viet Nam veteran from a family fraught with alcoholism, Bob’s post-war progression into the disease of alcoholism accompanied a long and hard-driven business career in the banking industry. But, by the time he had raised three children and accumulated a great deal of material success, Bob’s alcoholism and other addictive behaviors severely bit into his home life. His marriage unraveled and his r...

Incredibly, Tom hadn't had a drink in over nine years when he joined AA. He was "dry", but his behavior during those years was every bit as alcoholic as if he’d been drinking the whole time. Growing up in a very dysfunctional home, Tom’s early life was fraught with daily fear, shame, and lack of direction. His years in the army during the Viet Nam war and his early business career were soaked in a...

Rosemary started drinking at age 6 with a sip of beer. But unlike other children, whose experience with beer was an occasional sip, Rosemary's beer drinking became an everyday occurrence. Her parents, distracted by their own severe alcoholism, allowed her to continue drinking daily from age 6 until she got sober in her 20’s. As the oldest of five children in a very dysfunctional family, Rosemary a...

My guest on today’s episode of AA Recovery Interviews is David D., a man whose story of descent into alcoholism—and steady climb back through the Program of Alcoholics Anonymous—reminds us that no one is immune to the reach of this disease. Born into a relatively normal family and raised in a stable environment, David’s early life was free of the turmoil that marks so many stories of addiction. Hi...

Courtney’s backstory is not dissimilar to those who grew up in tumultuous families in which alcoholism was present. The seeming frivolity and celebratory aspects of drinking cloaked the actual dysfunction that was occurring in the family. By the time she was drinking on a regular basis in her teenage years, Courtney’s budding alcoholism had become yet another family secret to bear. Though she was...

A "Man of the Cloth", Jimmy G.'s earliest aspirations were to be in service to the Episcopal Church. Though strict in many ways, when it came to drinking, Jimmy and his friends found plenty of opportunities to raid liquor cabinets across their neighborhood. By his teens, Jimmy was outdrinking his friends. His years in college and then seminary were rife with drinking as Jimmy wrestled with deep-se...

Matt J. describes his family tree as “littered with problem drinkers”, of which he became one all too quickly. As an only child, Matt grew up in a home where verbal and physical abuse reigned supreme. By the time his parents got divorced, his coping mechanisms included locking himself in his room with books and baseball cards upon which he could obsess. Such means of escape followed him into his t...

Today’s podcast is my interview is with Ron B., a man whom I’d just met  at a Friends of Bill W. meeting on an enormous cruise ship earlier this year. As we had both attended floating AA meetings before, neither of us was surprised when the two of us were the only attendees. After talking for a while, I asked Ron if he’d like to share his story of 43 years of sobriety. Seeing it as an opportunity...

Ray’s difficult road to sobriety was paved with many failed attempts to get sober over the years. Each attempt was thwarted by the belief that his situation was somehow different than the people he met in 6 different treatment centers and sporadic AA meetings. The similarities of his loneliness and wanting to fit in were eclipsed by the differences he saw in his social standing and material advant...

[This is an encore of Episode 84 originally released June 29, 2022] Alcoholism nearly ended Justin’s marriage and his career as an airline pilot. Then he found sobriety and recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous.  Raised in a family rife with alcoholics, Justin’s role model was a father who suffered with alcoholism and co-occurring mental health issues, and ultimately committed suicide. Though warned by...

Nadia's personal story was published in the 4th Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous in 2001. She’s the first AA member I’ve interviewed whose backstory can be read by anyone with a Big Book. Combined with today’s interview, Nadia’s story comes alive in many ways, beginning with her emigration from France after World War II with her mother who had suffered as a slave laborer under the Nazis. Landing in...

By age 15, Kristina had already been in treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, self-harm, and a suicide attempt. It took another 14 years for her to find lasting and contented sobriety in AA. Kristina’s struggles with addiction, alcoholism, and mental illness began with a difficult childhood. Though raised in affluence, her childhood was marred by a myriad of family chaos and conflict. By age five,...

Richard's life-long battle with alcoholism was abated for nearly two decades in AA. But he let up on his Program and ultimately relapsed on "thimbles" of moonshine in a Mississippi bar. His drinking resumed and he quickly found himself back in the same alcoholic quagmire that AA had extricated him from years earlier. Depleted physically, mentally, and emotionally, Richard found himself at the jump...

Welcome back my friends to AA Recovery Interviews. I’m your host, Howard L. and I’m an alcoholic, sober since January 1, 1988, one day at a time. I’m grateful you’ve joined us. AA Recovery Interviews is the podcast where Alcoholics Anonymous members from around the world share their timeless and extraordinary stories of experience, strength, and hope. There are over 180 interviews in this podcast...

Richard's life-long battle with alcoholism was abated for nearly two decades in AA. But he let up on his Program and ultimately relapsed on "thimbles" of moonshine in a Mississippi bar. His drinking resumed and he quickly found himself back in the same alcoholic quagmire that AA had extricated him from years earlier. Depleted physically, mentally, and emotionally, Richard found himself at the jump...

Nancy K. is an extraordinary woman whose 53 years of  continuous sobriety is a stunning achievement built upon the trials and tribulations of everyday life. Growing up in a home dominated by a violent alcoholic father, Nancy started drinking at age 12 to quell the constant fear and self-loathing she felt daily. Seemingly “rescued” at age 17 by her first failed marriage, Nancy continued to drink he...

Ever meet someone in an AA meeting for the first time whom you can just tell is working a good Program? My guest on today’s show, Susan D., is that kind of person. When she first attended a Tuesday meeting that I’ve been going to for the past 15 years, she showed up early with the countenance and confidence of someone who has attended many meetings. She comfortably introduced herself and was soon...

Marijuana was Vicki’s primary addiction along with alcoholism. Like a lot of us, she smoked pot much more frequently than she drank, but ended up in AA just the same. The hauntings of a painful childhood in a dysfunctional family, fractured by her parents’ divorce when she was young, created self-loathing, shame, and a sense of not belonging. Fortunately, she found marijuana at 13. That, plus what...

Jeff B. rose to very top of major league baseball, only to find alcoholism waiting to take him down. For years, his extraordinary achievements on the field thrilled millions of fans. Off the field, his growing consumption of alcohol set the stage for the disease to take over when a painful and career-ending injury forced him to retire years before he was ready. As Jeff experienced relentless daily...

Joining me from Copenhagen, Denmark, Sabine H. grew up in a culture in which alcohol is both ubiquitous and deeply ingrained in social life. She never considered drinking as the cause of her problems until well into her forties. By then, the ruinous effects of her drinking had supplanted Sabine’s diminishing ability to mask her growing alcohol abuse and other mental health issues. The fame, money,...

With his life in tatters, Sam's entrée into Alcoholics Anonymous literally came down to a coin flip. Heads, he’d go AA. Tails, he’d put a bullet through his head. Such an abject choice was the culmination of a life largely ruined by alcoholism. Sam was penniless, homeless, and suffering from untreated clinical depression. His options were running out quicker than the many quarts of booze he consum...

Jay’s foray into alcoholism stemmed from a difficult childhood in a home where his father drank, and fear and confusion reigned. By the time he started drinking in his early teens to quell the fear and ease his dissonance, he had set the pattern for a life of alcoholic behavior. Dishonesty and narcissism both isolated him and caused pain to those who cared about him. As his adult life was rapidly...