AA Recovery Interviews with Howard L.

Can someone be too smart or important to get sober in A.A.? My guest, Scott B. had his Ph. D. in neurobiology and an accelerating career in medical research to dispel any notions of being an alcoholic or drug addict. His superior intelligence, unflappable ego, and iron-will would shield him from the realities of a life rapidly falling apart around him. But his journey into the dark regions of subs...

[This is an encore of Episode 5, originally released January 6, 2021].  The original episode is available on this podcast by searching for or scrolling down to Episode 5 on your podcast app or by visiting aarecoveryinterviews.com. Tom’s incredible story is one of a man whose life was turned inside out and upside down by alcoholism, drug addiction, and crime. From a difficult childhood, he emerged...

Greg's envied life before sobriety was one of booze, drugs, sex, and rock & roll. Raised in California in a family rife with alcoholism, dysfunctional behavior infested his home during his childhood and adolescent years. Struggling to fit in among kids his age, Greg joined in their antics and began drinking and smoking marijuana by the time he was 14. That, plus his passion for rock music, helped...

[This is an encore of Episode 25, originally released May 5, 2021].  The original episode is available on this podcast by searching for or scrolling down to Episode 25 on your podcast app or by visiting aarecoveryinterviews.com. Gordon R. got sober AA four months before Neil Armstrong put his foot on the moon. By the age of 28, in the spring of 1969, Gordon’s rapid descent into full-blown alcoholi...

[This is an encore of Episode 21, originally released April 8, 2021]  The original episode is available on this podcast by searching for or scrolling down to Episode 21 on your podcast app or by visiting aarecoveryinterviews.com. After a difficult adolescence, prison sentence, and series of dead-end jobs, Jimmy finally hit the jackpot. He was hired by a California winery, where he worked for over...

[This is an encore of Episode 17, originally released August 18, 2021]  The original episode is available on this podcast by searching for or scrolling down to Episode 17 on your podcast app or by visiting aarecoveryinterviews.com. Diane G. first met her husband, John, in AA nearly 45 years ago. As uncommon as that is, what’s rarer still is that they stayed together utilizing the tools of AA to su...

Scott's adversities during his 20 years of sobriety seemingly outweigh many adversities he suffered while on his way to AA recovery. Scott emerged from an abusive and traumatic childhood into an adolescence where he found alcohol and music to soothe his anxieties and repressed feelings. By 17, his downhill slide into alcoholism was severe enough to convince his Scott’s newly sober father to join h...

Doug's story begins with a childhood during which he enjoyed all the opportunities to succeed in life. Unfortunately, a learning disability, combined with a short stature made for an academic struggle in school and a struggle with bullies after school. Feeling left out and disregarded by his peers, Doug found alcohol in his early teens and a new way to cope with life opened up. Hanging with like-m...

Dennis got sober in AA in May of 1962 and has enjoyed more than 61 years as a dedicated and enthusiastic member of the Fellowship. At 86, Dennis is actively engaged in all aspects of the program, sharing his depth of experience in the daily meetings he still attends in-person and online. Growing up in a family of coal miners in Manchester, England, Dennis first tried beer at 6 years old and loved...

Chris' life was ruled by alcoholism until he got sober in AA in 2011. Raised by loving parents, he had a spiritual realization of the universe at age 5 that was cut short at age 9 with the tragic death of his 12-year-old sister. As inconsolable grief upended his family, Chris’ spiritual and religious beliefs were mostly severed while drinking became his respite during his adolescent years. Finding...

[This is an encore of Episode 41, originally released August 25, 2021]  The original episode is available on this podcast by searching for or scrolling down to Episode 41 on your podcast app or by visiting aarecoveryinterviews.com. Dan D. showed up in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous at the tender age of 18. His undeniable qualification for the Program was gleaned from a difficult childhood that...

Felice W's journey in AA has greatly inspired other alcoholic women to try our way of life. Growing up as an adopted child whose older brothers made good at home and school life with seemingly little effort. Meanwhile, Felice struggled and was drawn to errant behavior and alcohol use at age 14, after her parents divorced. The escalation of family dysfunction that followed launched Felice into an a...

A standing ovation of nearly 100 men erupted when Myles recently picked up his 40 year chip. To many, this kind of AA milestone seems inconceivable, but the story of his journey is chock-full of similarities with which anyone with any length of sobriety will identify. Raised in a suburban family with a history of alcoholism, Myles’ mother suffered the disease, but never sought help. By the time hi...

With a little over two years sober, Ryan's story is especially compelling for those AA members who are newly or recently sober. It is a story with which many will identify. His father was an alcoholic and seldom home, and Ryan and his brother were raised mostly by his mother. The rageful behavior inflicted on Ryan by his dad during his formative years abruptly stopped upon his father’s suicide whe...

  [This is an encore of Episode 10, originally released February 23, 2021]  The original episode description is available on this podcast by searching for or scrolling down to Episode 10 on your podcast app or by visiting aarecoveryinterviews.com. 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 f...

[This is an encore of Episode 38, originally released August 4, 2021]  The original episode description is available on this podcast by searching for or scrolling down to Episode 38 on your podcast app or by visiting aarecoveryinterviews.com. 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 t...

Diego R. grew up in Venezuela in a fear-ridden household with an alcoholic father whose rage left an indelible mark on the only child. Though his father left when he was five, Diego had learned how to use rage and rebellion to compensate for his fear and lack of self-confidence. By the time he started drinking, the alcohol combusted with his attitude and egoism to stoke a fast and reckless lifesty...

[This is an encore of Episode 36, originally released July 21, 2021]  The original episode description is available on this podcast by searching for or scrolling down to Episode 36 on your podcast app or by visiting aarecoveryinterviews.com. Check out Howard’s Big Book Podcast, the complete unabridged audio version of the First and Second Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. The Big Book Podcast is a...

Joseph found recovery in AA entirely on Zoom during the Covid Pandemic. As of the date of this interview, that was over two years ago. Since then, he has enthusiastically embraced the Program in a way that will inspire those AA members in their early years to stay the course and recover from the disease of alcoholism. Joseph came from a strict upbringing during which he followed all the rules for...

Chris W. shares a story of alcoholism’s unimpeded march through a man’s life, sweeping aside all of the talents and abilities to dominate his daily living. While alcoholism showed up clearly in his family tree, it skipped his parents and landed squarely on Chris with his first drink at 17. Though he excelled at sports, especially golf, his family’s move to Texas in his senior year in high school c...

Joanie's story is full of similarities with which many alcoholics will readily identify. Her early drinking at age 14 escalated during her high school and college years. It rapidly became an indispensable part of her life during her first marriage. As a young mother of two, Joanie’s budding alcoholism became entwined with her home and social lives and caused mounting problems in both areas. Fortun...

[This is an encore of Episode 16, originally released March 14, 2021] The original program description is available on this podcast by searching for or scrolling down to Episode 16 on your podcast app or by visiting aarecoveryinterviews.com. Check out Howard’s Big Book Podcast, the complete unabridged audio version of the First and Second Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. The Big Book Podcast is a...

Growing up Cajun in South Louisiana, Jason's tough childhood was punctuated by drinking at age 8 and smoking crack by 14. His predilection for rageful and violent behavior was fueled by daily use of alcohol and drugs. His life spun rapidly out of control when he stole a car at gunpoint and led police on a high speed chase through the streets of New Orleans. Jason was sent to prison where he manage...

Kim's story begins with a dysfunctional family in which there was verbal and physical abuse. With a family history rife with alcoholism, Kim’s childhood solution to the domestic chaos was to run away from home multiple times, only to be found and returned to the maelstrom . When she finally found alcohol, the solutions to her problems were quickly expunged by a can of beer or bottle of hard liquor...

As one of our most senior members of the Fellowship, George is now 89 years old and approaching 40 years of sobriety in AA. Like many other guests who got sober later in life, George’s story is a dichotomy between a well-lived life before getting sober and a life in AA. As a heavy drinker, yet highly functional alcoholic, he was able to successfully juggle his career in the financial sector and a...