AA Recovery Interviews with Howard L.

Today’s show is an encore of Episode 9, my interview with Sally G. in 2021. I believe you’ll enjoy listening to it again, or for the first time, if you missed its original release in January 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 Anonymou...

Chris lived a relatively contented life until the disease of alcoholism took over and landed him in AA at age 48. Unlike many in the rooms of AA who grew up in dysfunctional families where alcoholism and abuse riddled their formative years, Chris describes his childhood and adolescence as idyllic. Despite drinking in college and later the Navy, Chris’ adulthood was largely unscathed by his drinkin...

After nearly 50 years in AA, Pat's sobriety correlates beautifully with his half-century of his active service and continuous participation in Alcoholics Anonymous. Raised in a dysfunctional family where alcoholism was rife, Pat found ease, comfort, and a sense of belonging by drinking and using drugs. Use, overuse, and abuse of these substances quickly progressed. Pat’s life devolved into the mor...

Every alcoholic raised in a dysfunctional family will readily identify with George's story. The unpredictable rage of his father and an emotionally deficient relationship with his mother set George on-track for alcoholism and drug use from the very start early in his teens. Lacking the basic direction and support from his parents, he migrated toward a life in which solace and comfort were provided...

Bill's turbulent life was ruled by alcoholism and nearly ended in suicide before he was saved by AA. Trouble started early for him when his father died of alcoholism when Bill was 18 months old. Any lessons to be learned were snuffed out by his step-father who spoke badly of Bill’s biological dad. The journey to ruination accelerated through Bill’s childhood and adolescence, as he found relief fro...

Radha's battle with the diseases of alcoholism and drug addiction was complicated by an eating disorder and clinical depression. Growing up in Great Britain, her East African/Asian roots uncomfortably stood out among the mostly white children with whom she grew up. Using food, and later alcohol, Radha blunted the ever-present feelings of fear, isolation, and self-loathing. Those feelings and her d...

With two years of AA recovery, Mark's story may strongly resonate with newer members of Alcoholics Anonymous. Longer-term sobriety enjoyed by many AA’s I’ve interviewed may seem unattainable or out-of-reach to people with less than a year or two. But the recency of Mark’s experience with alcohol has an immediate and compelling impact. Raised by divorced parents, Mark’s early life before alcohol re...

Shawn's story should be required listening for any recovering  alcoholic facing a devastating loss early in their sobriety. In Shawn’s case, he was three years into the Program when he got word in the middle of the night that his brother had been a passenger in a helicopter that crashed on the East Coast. In the frantic hours that followed, Shawn’s sponsor directed him to a 6:30 AM meeting at a lo...

Susan's story draws into sharp focus just how damaging family secrets can be and how they can pave the road to alcoholism and drug addiction. Like some of us recovering alcoholics, Susan experienced a traumatic event when she was a child. The natural need to tell someone and seek understanding and comfort, was quashed with a “not now” attitude by her parents. Having no one to turn to, she represse...

Aside from jumping into a crocodile-infested harbor in Darwin, Australia and swimming naked in the sea amongst deadly sharks off the coast of Sydney, Kristen’s story is not unlike many that you hear in AA. Though she grew up in a home where her father was a practicing alcoholic, she didn’t start drinking until she was 18. But from that time until she quit more than 20 years ago, her personal and w...

Faisal's remarkable success in business is closely aligned with the success he enjoys as a daily meeting-maker in Alcoholics Anonymous. For over 16 years, he has worked his Program from the middle of the herd with ongoing service commitments to his AA club and continuous sponsorship of other men. Though he functioned with the disease for years and built an outstanding business, alcohol and cocaine...

Kelvin's life was defined and dominated by booze and drugs. Though there are similarities to other sobriety tales, many parts of his story contain things that most alcoholics must be referring to when they say, “There but for the grace of God go I” or “That could have been me”. Drinking, smoking crack, gang membership, desperate crimes, jail, broken probation, prison, and parole violations all occ...

Janet’s family of origin was rife with alcoholism. but also some recovery. Her father remained sober in AA for nearly 50 years. When she was a little girl, Janet even attended some AA meetings early in her father’s sobriety. But like so many alcoholics, Janet’s own foray into drinking was undeterred by family history or her father’s experience, though, years before quitting herself, she did ask hi...

Though Don didn’t start drinking until his late teens, his first drunk was a harbinger of things to come. Drawn to the quixotic allure of the hard-drinking, tortured artist, Don's painting created a solitary lifestyle that nurtured his growing alcoholism. Ironically, painting houses became his chief means of funding his daily drinking in neighborhood bars. Though alcohol consumed more and more of...

** Please leave a rating on your podcast app. Thanks! ** Kyle's hard-fought battle with addiction and alcoholism was one he thought he could win on his own. He even managed to stay dry without AA for five years. But they were miserable years packed with trouble in every aspect of his life. So, back to drinking he went for ten more years, during which his disease rode him hard to the bottom. As his...

Lauren rose to the top of her profession as a prima ballerina and enjoyed international acclaim during her 23 years of thrilling audiences around the world. But the career she had built through years of intense training and dedication were absolutely no match for the alcoholism and drug addiction she encountered along the way. Her early forays with alcohol and marijuana were not unlike the experie...

[This is a replay of Episode 22, originally released April 15, 2021] Sue C. is one of those rare people whose presence in my early meetings was an important factor in my willingness and desire to keep attending AA. She was not only welcoming to me, but the way she shared about the steps and traditions; sponsorship and meetings; and service to others and to God, was one of my first realizations tha...

[This is a replay of Episode 19, originally released March 29, 2021] Would a court-mandated breathalyzer and the fear of going to prison be enough to keep Matt dry? Or should he embrace AA’s spiritually-anchored Program of sobriety based upon proven steps of action, fellowship, and service? My guest today, Matt M., faced that choice. His life today reflects the decision he made. As my first Millen...

[This is a replay of Episode 14, originally released Feb. 28, 2021] Ever heard anyone say, “Getting arrested was the best thing that ever happened to me”? As crazy as that sounds to normal people, if you’ve been around AA long enough, you’ve heard it, usually expressed along with gratitude. I’ve heard my guest, George J, say it many times over the years. His arrest on federal drug charges at age 1...

Alejandra's story is a heart-wrenching tale of alcoholism at its worst. Originally from Venezuela, Alejandra was raised from a baby by her grandparents while her mother’s alcoholism derailed her family. Later, after her mother got sober through AA, Alejandra accompanied her to meetings as a little girl. But that exposure to AA was not sufficient to keep her from becoming an alcoholic, and she ende...

This is the incredible story of Tom D., whose life was turned inside out and upside down by alcoholism, drug addiction, and crime. From a difficult childhood, he emerged into a troubled adolescence, drinking at 14, shoplifting, and getting kicked out of high school. Hanging with the older boys, his drinking increased beyond sociable and his drugs got harder, culminating in ruinous heroin addiction...

Paul's award-winning achievements in the music industry are beyond compare. His work has woven itself into the fabric of 20th and 21st century popular culture. His memorable songs have touched multiple generations around the world. But, as with many alcoholics, Paul’s genius grew out of a Dickensian childhood, full of family upheavals and physical challenges that left him with little solace, save...

Blayne's path to alcoholism began at age 10 with loneliness, isolation, and, ultimately, bitterness towards God after his beloved grandfather died. Living near his grandfather’s ranch in a small east Texas town, Blayne learned about hunting, fishing, and how to act like a man. When his grandfather, whom he idolized, passed away, Blayne was left with few coping skills beyond the kind a “real man”,...

April’s road trip of terror began during a drunken 4-hour drive on a major interstate. Halfway into the trip, while drinking vodka from a plastic bottle, she crossed the median at over ninety miles an hour. She crashed head-on into a car of three people, ejecting the driver. Injured and barely coherent, with a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit, April over-heard the EMT’s radio that th...

Dhom grew up in a poor village in the Philippines. Regularly drinking alcohol by age 14, he joined a gang and was involved in violent and illegal activities. The power of his growing alcoholism and disregard for his own life were acted out in various crimes and games of Russian roulette with a loaded .38 caliper revolver. Run-ins with the law became more frequent and he believed a geographic move...