The Boiled Owl

Thanks for letting us be part of your recovery and for being part of ours! Head over to aagrapevine.org/podcast for the brand new AA Grapevine Half-Hour Variety Hour podcast. Don and Sam will be hosting this weekly 30-minute podcast starting 04OCT2021. Originally aired Sep 15, 2021

Susan started drinking at 13. The last 8 years of her drinking were daily drinking. She started trying to get sober in 1986. She called all the alcohol help numbers in the phone book, spoke with a woman for a while, and felt hope. Keeping her drinking life hidden from her mother, she called and told her about her drinking problem. Susan's sobriety date is 07MAY1988 and her homegroup is Down &...

Kip was introduced to AA in prison in 1989. He was in and out five times. He had lost all power of choice to drink or not. "If God and church can't fix me, surely Alcoholics Anonymous can't do it." Kip got married and divorced in sobriety and is dating again in recovery. Kip's sobriety date is 08JUL2010 and his homegroup is the New South Group in High Point, NC. Originally aired Aug 15, 2021

First, a special announcement about the AA Grapevine Podcast! Also, we finally realized fans of the show are... OWLCOHOLICS! Welcome to the Boiled Tao! Buddy, a return guest, talks about some of the rough times at the end of his drinking. He had to change/lose his old beliefs in God. We chat about how the Tao Te Ching has added to his recovery, leading him to start his own podcast about it and eve...

Caroline stopped drinking for 18 months with a program. She went to AA meetings out of town and picked up a 1-year chip at her first meeting. Heads turned. She was miserable - getting divorced, she had thoughts of suicide and called someone in recovery. She went to a meeting and picked up a start chip. Caroline's sobriety date is 31AUG2008 and her homegroup is Keeping It Green in Greensboro, NC Or...

Perry didn't lose his wife, his home, or his job, but he was spiritually bankrupt - a shell of a person. All the things he'd accomplished seemed worthless now. "Drinking overshadowed everything good about me." His good career in the United States Marine Corps was getting in the way of his drinking. Perry's sobriety date is 25AUG2017 and his home group is Early Bird in Greensboro, NC. Originally ai...

Claudette moved to Tacoma, WA, 6 years ago, with 30 years of sobriety. She found it difficult connecting with AA there because it was different. Work with another alcoholic helped her remember what it was like. Claudette became afraid of her behavior when drinking in public. She came to AA by way of Al-Anon. As an Al-Anon, she went to an open AA speaker meeting. Claudette's sobriety date is 01JUN1...

Steven was introduced to AA at age 13. He was forced to go into an all-boys recovery facility. The "Living Sober" book was good for him - easy to digest and identify with. He experienced old-school AA in Carson, NV. He identified with an LGBT story in the back of the Big Book. The nearest LGBT meeting was 45 miles away. Steven's home group is the Wednesday Night Book Study in Alejo in Palm Springs...

Katherine called herself an alcoholic as a joke for years before coming to AA. She tried controlled drinking and also moved out of state away from family so she could drink how she wanted. Katherine has a fantastic first-meeting story! Principles of recovery helped her with going through getting a new job during the COVID pandemic. Katherine's sobriety date is 15SEP2010 and her homegroup is Keepin...

Sherman has a sereneness and calmness in his life. He grew up in an alcoholic home. The chaos was bad. He started drinking and liked the chaos. He got sober and saw the chaos as wreckage. When he was a kid, he went to AA with his dad. The speakers' stories brought him in. Sherman got COVID-19 and realized the value of life. Sherman's sobriety date is 01APR1994 and his home group is the Agnostics,...

OUR 100TH EPISODE! (Well... kinda... We messed up our episode numbering a long time ago!) Thanks for joining us! Two months after turning 21, Michael was told he was an alcoholic after starting a fire at university. He took alcoholism classes in his early 30s. Michael also used cocaine to drink more. He drank in isolation due to his guilt and shame about how he let his parents down. Michael's sobr...

Julie's cat told her she was alcoholic. As a child, she went to her father's sobriety anniversary celebration and there was CAKE! As an adult, she went to an AA meeting on the recommendation of a counselor. It was an anniversary celebration meeting and there was FOOD! (What's with all the food?!) At her second meeting, she felt the love and hope in the room. Julie's sobriety date is 08MAY2005 and...

Jen didn't like the taste of alcohol and drank it for the effect. She knew her father was an alcoholic, so was scared of it and wouldn't try it. Then she did and went downhill quickly. At 10 years sober, she was prescribed Xanax and took it fine... until she didn't. Jen's sobriety date is 08MAY2018 and her home group is Durham Central in Durham, NC. Originally aired Mar 15, 2021

Brian lost the desire to drink when he cried out for help. He still smoked marijuana but came to feel conflicted about smoking it - it felt dishonest. He got a case of beer for Christmas AND a Big Book. He drank and read. Brian recently launched his own recovery podcast, Addiction Warfare, and you can find it on your fav podcast platforms. Brian's sobriety date is 18MAR2009 and his home group is t...

Jerri was in denial about being an alcoholic. She'd gone through cancer and was trying to force things to be like they used to be. A nurse, she knew how to dose, but almost overdosed drinking and taking pills to cope. She went to a meeting where she heard exactly what she needed: shares about drinking and pills from five people. Jerri's sobriety date is 10MAR2015 and her home group is Open Door in...

Pat's life was chaos. He tried controlled drinking at a psychiatrist's recommendation. He binge-drank on weekends. Pat was in AA for 3 years before he worked the steps and didn't feel a part of AA until he did them. Pat's sobriety date is 28JUN2009. His home group is Southport Men's Meeting in Southport, NC. Originally aired Feb 1, 2021

Shana was Sam's "AA wife - assembly required" in NC. She has a few sobriety dates and once was on the "marijuana maintenance plan" for a couple of years. She fought being an alcoholic and was mad that drinking didn't work. Shana went to a roundup where she had fun and a spiritual awakening. Shana's home groups are Colors of Gratitude and Live and Let Live in Greensboro, NC (see nc23.org ). Her sob...

Josh was calling his boss from jail - again - can't come to work. The beginning of the end of a spiritual crisis. The seed of AA was planted by a therapist. Years later, he decided to go. Josh made his own poker chip system. Josh's sobriety date is 07JUL2006 and his home group is the Basics Group in Durham, NC. Originally aired Jan 1, 2021

Liz went to her first meeting (an open one) for someone else and heard her own stories. To Liz's thinking, binge-drinking was now the same as being alcoholic. She stopped 5 years once. Liz's home group didn't go online when COVID hit, so she started going to Shivering Denizens. Liz's sobriety date is 01FEB1979 and her home group is Shivering Denizens. (see nc23.org ) Originally aired Dec 15, 2020

It's 2020 and that alone is plenty of reason to publish another special. Here's an encore presentation of our 2019 production of "My Name is Ebenezer S." We wish you all a sober, safe and healthy holiday season! The owl just made some weird hooting sound - make it mean whatever you will. 🦉 "My Name is Ebenezer S." is a ghostly 12th-Step call play that's been presented by members of AA in Greensbo...

Andrew had multiple relapses before recovery. Crystal meth led him to Crystal Meth Anonymous and then Alcoholics Anonymous. A doctor told him, "you always have an excuse." Andrew thought the future seemed so bleak without substances. Andrew's sobriety date is 13OCT2009 and his home group is the Gay Men's Stag Meeting at 9:30AM on Sundays in San Francisco. Originally aired Dec 1, 2020

Here's our 2020 take on the "OMG It's Here Again Holiday Special" of old. We bring back Brad and Miranda for a festive chat on how to stay sober and sane during the holidays, particularly in the midst of a pandemic. All our best to you in this special extra episode! Originally aired Nov 23, 2020

"Night of the Living Dead" was me at the end of my drinking. Tried everything to stop - organs failing - bad DTs to blackouts. Decided to take her life, but didn't want to leave a mess for her children. Katy's sobriety date is 05DEC2005 and her home group is Morning Meditation in Durham, NC. Originally aired Nov 15, 2020

It took Katharine 20 years to get 4 years. For the first time, she seriously thought she'd die. She crawled into AA and asked for help for the first time. Before that, she'd gone to get her driver's license or thought she was hopeless. Kindness kept her coming back. Katharine's sobriety date is 14JUL2016 and her home group is Atheists, Agnostics, and Free Thinkers in Greensboro, NC. Originally air...

Program gave Doc a structure to live life: Steps on one side of his spine and Traditions on the other. When hospitalized, his doctor said, "I saved your life this time - don't know I can again." Doc knew he was an addict from age 19. He could not imagine a life without intoxicants. Doc's sobriety date is 20MAY1988 and his AA home group is the Living Sober group in Palm Springs, CA. Originally aire...