[This is an encore of Episode 46, originally released September 29, 2021].  The original episode is available on this podcast by searching for or scrolling down to Episode 46 on your podcast app or by visiting aarecoveryinterviews.com.

At age 13, Amanda was challenged by her parents to drink half a bottle of Crown Royal. It left her sick and passed out on the bathroom floor in a pool of vomit. Yet she couldn’t wait to do it again, with any liquor but Crown Royal!

From there, Amanda rapidly progressed in her drinking and drug use. By 15, she had escaped her childhood home and went to live with drug-dealing boyfriend. When that didn’t work out, she moved in with her grandparents, but drugs and alcohol barged back into her life and she found herself on a downward trend into heavy drinking. She went to work in a bar, which allowed her to drink with little consequence, save the occasional firing. She somehow managed to live on her own in an apartment across the street from the bar, to cut the risk of DWI. But the darkness of the disease descended into her life and by her late 20’s, she had lost about everything and had to live with her sister, the first person to ever call her an alcoholic. A DWI lead her into the legal system, replete with court-ordered IOP treatment and twice-weekly AA meetings. It was in Alcoholics Anonymous that she finally faced her alcoholism and drug addiction, though she didn’t get sober immediately. But that belly full of booze and headful of AA was sufficient to trigger her moment of truth. She had a sudden spiritual experience of the kind Bill W. talks about in the Big Book.

That was 3½ years ago, when Amanda went “all in” the Program of AA. She got a sponsor, worked all 12 steps multiple times, attended regular meetings, engaged in service work, and sponsored other women. Today she lives a full and rich life from the center of the Program and can be seen after meetings arranging informal get-togethers at local restaurants and other fellowship. I’ve known her since the earliest days of her sobriety and am grateful to have had a front-row seat watching this fellow alcoholic really get what AA is all about.

Amanda’s story at three years sober will inspire those with less time to stay regularly engaged in AA. For those with more time, her story may trigger reminiscence of early years of sobriety. So for newcomers, old-timers, and everyone in between, settle back for a comfortable listen to the 46th interview in this podcast series with my good friend and AA sister, Amanda B.

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 Anonymous. It’s an engaging audiobook I narrated to bring these stories to life for AA members who’ve never seen them. These timeless testimonials were originally cut to make room for newer stories in the 3rd and 4th Editions. But their vitally important messages of hope are as meaningful today as when they were first published. Many listeners will hear these stories for the first time. Lost Stories of the Big Book is available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. It’s also available as a Kindle book and in Paperback from Amazon if you’d like to read along with the audio.

I also invite you to check out my latest audio book, “Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered From Alcoholism”. This is the word-for-word, cover-to-cover reading of the First Edition of the Big Book, published in 1939. It’s a comfortable, meaningful, and engaging way to listen to the Big Book anytime, anyplace. Have a free listen at Audible, i-Tunes, or Amazon.

[This is an encore of Episode 4, originally released January 6, 2021].  The original episode is available on this podcast by searching for or scrolling down to Episode 4 on your podcast app or by visiting aarecoveryinterviews.com.

[Disclaimer: AA Recovery Interviews podcast strictly adheres to AA’s 12 Traditions and all General Service Office guidelines for safe-guarding anonymity on-line. I pay all podcast production costs and no one receives financial gain from the show. AA Recovery Interviews and my guests do not speak for or represent AA at-large. This podcast is simply my way of giving back to AA that which has been so freely given to me. -Howard L.]