Sober Friends

Send us Fan Mail Matt and Steve have done a lot of learning about the construction of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous from reaching "Writing the Big Book," by Bill Schaberg.  In today's language, the chapter, "To Wives," is troublesome.  In the context of 1938, it reflected the times. Men were alcoholics Alcoholics were white, Christian men Women supported the man in...

Send us Fan Mail At three months sober, Matt's wife asked, "So how long are you going to keep going to these meetings?" "Uh-Oh." There is no cure for alcoholism.  There is only a daily reprieve.  We need to find ways to continually treat our illness.  For people like Steve and Matt, that's 12 step meetings.  For you, it might be something else as no one has a monopoly...

Send us Fan Mail Bill Schaberg has arguably written the definitive history of how the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous was written.  Bill produced “Writing The Big Book,”  and his wife calls it, “the other big book,” because it’s 650 pages, before the appendixes. Bill completed the book after 7 years of research from the source material.  Bill is a rare book collector and seller and it all started...

Send us Fan Mail Bill Schaberg has arguably written the definitive history of how the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous was written.  Bill produced “Writing The Big Book,”  and his wife calls it, “the other big book,” because it’s 650 pages, before the appendixes. Bill completed the book after 7 years of research from the source material.  Bill is a rare book collector and seller and it all started...

Send us Fan Mail "WHY DOES THAT PERSON ALWAYS DO THAT TO ME?  DON'T THEY KNOW IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY?" I heard a wise old-timer at a meeting recently say, "I brought out the defects of character in others." I never thought of that!  Maybe my rotten behavior brought out the worst in the other person, whose bad behavior now gave me a resentment. Steve and Matt talk about other...

Send us Fan Mail Ugh!  You need to stop drinking!  How do you handle going to meetings or whatever your sobriety method is and handle the responsibilities of being a parent and partner? This week, we got you covered!  Matt and Steve both had to deal with this issue when they got sober.  We tell our experiences and how to balance family and recovery. Support the show 📫 Get more honest conversation...

Send us Fan Mail Joe Kelley had everything going for him.  He was a high school football star.  Joe’s family were all first responders - His father a firefighter an uncles in the police department.  Eventually, Joe followed in their footsteps to join law enforcement.  Joe described his job as a police officer as strenuous and as someone who had been physically fit all his life, loved it.   Joe Kel...

Send us Fan Mail Peter L is one of the many people in recovery to get sober during the pandemic and have is first experience with a 12 step group be over Zoom.  Podcasts like Sober Friends and Recovered Cast helped enhance his sobriety, during a time when getting together in person was not happening. Peter L’s sobriety date is December 3, 2020.  Peter was the kind of guy who thought he could drink...

Send us Fan Mail Joe and Charlie were actually three men who travelled the country providing Big Book Seminars. Joe McQ Charlie P Joe McC Joe and Charlie were big book enthusiasts who studied the book Alcoholics Anonymous.  They were fascinated with how the book was constructed and went on to give seminars on the meaning behind the book. Though Joe, Charlie and Joe have all passed, their work live...

Send us Fan Mail Jean McCarthy is the host of the podcasts, The Bubble Hour and Tiny Bubbles.  Jean is also the author of Take Good Care, The Ember Ever There and the Unpickled series of recovery books. Jean was terrified to walk into an AA meeting when she got sober.  It was an epiphany for Jean to quit drinking when she was ahead, instead of waiting until she lost it all.   She was active and vi...

Send us Fan Mail The podcast audience comes and goes over the course of a show.  As we move past 100 episodes, you may not have looked at the back catalogue we have put together.  This is a great opportunity to look back to the past at some of our favorite shows.   My wife brought Tyler to my attention.  She grew up with Tyler and knew his story.  This show had an incredibly positive reaction when...

Send us Fan Mail Andrea from the Adult Child Podcast joins the show this week.  Andrea is honest, vulnerable and in your face and this is a raw conversation about alcoholism and the trauma received of being an adult child of alcoholics. Matt and Andrea are both sober and both children of alcoholics.  In this show, Andrea discusses: Their path to getting sober at 18 Getting to 7 years of sobriety a...

Send us Fan Mail Our guest this week is Gregg Champion who just celebrated 28 years sober.  Gregg has a fascinating story you will easily find a way to relate.  Gregg believes he was an alcoholic at 4 years old, when his father died in a car accident.  Alcoholism was in his family and he coped with fantasy, girls, and giving in to his anger. When he was a teen, alcohol and drugs came into the pict...

Send us Fan Mail We are into our third year!  To kick it off, we invited Pete B back to talk about the history of Narcotics Anonymous.  If you know about 12 step groups, I bet you know a lot of Alcoholics Anonymous, but what do you know about NA?  Well, we knew next to nothing.  Pete B was involved with writing the original text of NA back in the early 1980s.  Who better to talk about how NA start...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for supporting the Sober Friends Podcast for 100 Episodes!  We started this in November 2020 as a way of spreading the message of hope that recovery is possible, when outside meetings were still very hard to find, in person.  We will continue to spread the message that sobriety is possible, no matter your path to get there. For our 100th episode, Matt J takes this one so...

Send us Fan Mail What does it mean when we hear people say, "Don't Stop Before The Miracle Happens?"  It means toughing it out during the hard times, now matter how long it takes.  Because if you do the work long enough, you will be able to handle life on life's terms, without taking a drink. On this episode, Matt, Steve and John talk about their own experiences with the impati...

Send us Fan Mail “I am responsible, when anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA always to be there, and for that I am responsible.” -AA Responsibility Statement Steve C says that his program of recovery is never better than when he’s working with another alcoholic and he has a much better sobriety.  It brings us to the question, “Why do we do this podcast?” We get together e...

Send us Fan Mail Pete B joins us again this week for more of his emotional journey from drug addiction.   Pete discusses how his friend George got him to come back again after some of the guys in the group said Pete would not last.  George became his sponsor and was able to guide him on a path of 40 years of sobriety.  In this episode, Pete discusses: Getting involved in NA service NA having to st...

Send us Fan Mail Pete B is a veteran of the Navy.  His mother was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous and father belonged to Al-Anon.  Pete's defense mechanism was to be the family joker.  Later on, he joined the military and got into a lot of jams due to his use of drugs and alcohol, including a black out in Israel.   This episode is incredibly emotional and Pete is very vulnerable with his exp...

Send us Fan Mail Kelly G shared her story in Episode 44.  She comes back a year later and now over 600 days sober and shares how she's continued to grow in recovery.  In our quest to know more about the different ways people get sober, Kelly is not a member of AA and tells us her method of recovery. Lots and lots of Sober Podcasts Connecting with folks on Instagram Cafe RE via Recovery Elevat...

Send us Fan Mail "God, grant us the serenity, to accept the things we can not change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference." "And thats the hard part." -Jim A.  A Wise Old Timer Change has come to Matt's place of employment and knowing it was coming was really scary.  Was he going to lose his job?  Turns out, no.  He survived a cha...

Send us Fan Mail Stress is difficult to handle before getting sober.  We used to drink to handle how we felt about stress.  When alcohol is removed, we have to find another way of dealing with stress so it does not overwhelm us and cause us to shut down. A friend reached out to Matt, venting and for advice on how to handle stress.  It helped Matt to hear his friend's issue and made him think...

Send us Fan Mail Chris from the UK sponsored this episode and bought us 3 coffees at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/soberfriendspod .  By purchasing 3 coffees, Chris is ensuring the show will be available for the new guy and anyone needing to hear the message the recovery is possible. Lisa Gray is the founder of A Promise to Jordan.   Lisa lost her son Jordan Arakelian on June 30, 2018, at the age o...

Send us Fan Mail The show is brought to you by Sally, who bought us 3 cups of coffee at Buymeacoffee.com/Soberfriendspod .  If you, like Sally think it's important to get the message that sobriety is possible for the new guy, consider a donation to Buymeacoffee.com/Soberfriendspod . When we first get sober, we are flying on a pink cloud.  Everything is new, your method of sobriety is exciting...

Send us Fan Mail Alcoholic behavior, obviously shows up when you are drinking.  Just because you get sober and don't drink, doesn't mean your alcoholic behavior goes away.  If you don't work on your recovery, this behavior can come back right, quick!   We can behave alcoholically when the following happens: Not going to meetings Calling other alcoholics Practicing the principals of...