Boiled Owl Aa Recovery Podcast

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.

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 & Dirty in Greensboro, NC. Be sure to listen through the end of this episode. There's news!

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.

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 even to write a book. Buddy's sobriety date is 10NOV2008 and his homegroup is Centre Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous in Centre, Alabama.

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

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.

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 01JUN1985 and her home group is Women in Emotional Sobriety in Tacoma, WA.

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, CA. His sobriety date is 24APR2018.

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 Keeping It Green in Greensboro, NC.

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, Atheists, Freethinkers AA Group in Asheville, NC.

OUR 100TH EPISODE! 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 sobriety date is 29OCT2009 and his home group is Early Bird / AA Zoomaholics in Greensboro, NC.

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 her home group is Turning Point in Raleigh, NC.

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.

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 the Saturday Morning Men's Meeting in Greensboro, NC.

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 Greensboro, NC.

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.

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 sobriety date is 15FEB2009.

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.

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)

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.