An All Night Place - Secular AA

What can we actually know, and what are we simply choosing to believe?

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Kael explores what happens when we stop accepting claims on faith and start asking the uncomfortable question: “What evidence do we have?”

Because without evidence, how do we distinguish truth from assumption, conviction from certainty, and reality from make-believe?

A thoughtful conversation about belief, evidence, doubt, and the responsibility to examine the things we trust before we build our lives around them.

Because believing something doesn't make it true.

And certainty isn't evidence.

Andrew has been part of AANP for more than a year, attending almost every day, often twice a day. In this deeply honest share, he talks about relapse, recovery, chronic pain and what happened when sheer determination was no longer enough.

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After putting together 394 days of sobriety, Andrew found himself overwhelmed by the pain of ankylosing spondylitis, a degenerative condition that became increasingly debilitating during a journey through Europe. Despite extraordinary physical pain, he remained sober throughout much of that experience, leaning on the recovery community that had become such an important part of his life.

Eventually, though, he reached a point where he couldn't keep going. A friend gave him some advice that changed his perspective: “You need a tactical retreat.” Andrew returned, reconnected with the rooms and began seeking better medical care and physiotherapy. But the pain, isolation and frustration ultimately led to an eight-day relapse.

After three trips to the emergency room and a frightening deterioration in his physical and mental health, Andrew finally found doctors who listened and began treating him properly. Slowly, little pieces of hope began to return.

His sobriety date is now July 4, 2026.

A powerful share about relapse, chronic pain, radical acceptance, community, and discovering that sometimes moving forward means knowing when to retreat.

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Andrew previously shared at AANP in November of 2025.

You can hear that share here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2EUMq4b5TGuBhuqU9EhFB7?si=yZ9MVzvsTFOn_j3CKcwXkw

Dan has four years of sobriety, but he is quick to point out that four years isn't necessarily a lot of time.

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What matters, he says, is what you do with that time. Sobriety only has value if he continues to do the work, follows the Steps as outlined in the Big Book with a sponsor, and allows a higher power to guide his life.

In this short, candid share, Dan talks about drinking, isolation, loss, a suicide attempt and eventually finding his way into AA.

He describes initially going through the motions without a sponsor or real commitment to the Steps, before reaching a point of surrender and becoming willing to do the work.

Dan talks honestly about learning to get honest with himself, confronting his character defects and discovering that AA is a program of action, not simply a program of thinking.

He also shares what he has learned about listening, humility, sponsorship and the importance of finding a home group where people won't let him get away with his bullshit.

His message to newcomers is refreshingly simple: find meetings you like, find a group where you feel comfortable, get a sponsor and listen.

And the word that perhaps best sums up Dan's recovery today is willingness.

“I went from a bubble. Into an ocean.”

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Lauren talks about growing up in a small, highly structured world before discovering alcohol and drugs at 17, and the freedom and fearlessness they seemed to give her. What followed was years of addiction, loss and grief, including the death of her husband.

Recovery brought Lauren face-to-face with powerlessness, control, faith, responsibility and the uncomfortable work of changing herself rather than trying to change everyone around her.

She talks about the Steps, living amends, service and the daily work of staying sober, and what she's learned about finally becoming comfortable with who she is.

A candid, funny and occasionally uncomfortable look at addiction, recovery, grief and learning to live differently.

Recovery isn't about getting it right the first time.

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Sam shares her journey through repeated relapses, learning to ask for help, and discovering that recovery meant caring for both her alcoholism and her mental health.

It's a powerful reminder that AA is a programme of progress, not perfection, and that no matter how many times you come back, there's always a seat waiting for you.

Sometimes, recovery isn't measured by the big milestones, but by the quiet gratitude of facing an ordinary day with a clear head.

The sequel nobody asked for, and everybody needed.

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Abby's story is one of resilience, perseverance, and hope. In this deeply honest share, she reflects on growing up with childhood trauma, epilepsy, and later serious physical and mental health challenges, while alcoholism slowly became woven into her life.

Despite academic success, a career in education, and years of trying to hold everything together, addiction continued to take its toll.

She speaks candidly about relapse, recovery, finding AA, and the people who helped her keep coming back. Through hurricanes, hospital stays, failed relationships, and countless setbacks, Abby discovered that sobriety isn't about perfection. It's about showing up, one day at a time.

At the heart of her message is a simple but powerful idea: we don't have to walk the road of recovery alone. Inspired by the Big Book's "road of happy destiny," Abby shares why she wants to be everyone's "trudge buddy," the person who'll answer the phone at 2 a.m., walk alongside another alcoholic, and remind them that hope is always within reach.

A moving story of courage, fellowship, and the healing power of service.

What happens when the people who were supposed to want you... don't?

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Sky's story begins with childhood trauma, rejection, and a desperate search for somewhere to belong. That search led to alcohol, drugs, abusive relationships, foster care, unimaginable loss, and years of believing she was invisible.

But recovery had other plans.

With honesty, humour, and remarkable courage, Sky shares how sobriety became more than simply putting down the drink. It became a journey of finding her voice, embracing her creativity, and learning that healing isn't about becoming someone new. It's about finally becoming who you were all along.

Whether you're new to recovery or have years of sobriety behind you, Sky's message is both powerful and deeply reassuring:

"You're not too much. You've never been too much."

Join us for another moving conversation from An All Night Place, where recovery has no curfew, and no one has to walk the journey alone.

"Old skaters never die..."

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Nate started drinking at thirteen, finding in alcohol an escape from anxiety, trauma, religious rigidity and questions about who he really was. What followed were years of escalating addiction, broken relationships, DUIs, hospitalisations, terrifying withdrawal and repeated attempts to get sober, while still searching for a way to belong in recovery without abandoning himself.

In this deeply candid share, Nate talks about coming to terms with his sexuality, the connection between hiding who he was and hiding his drinking, and his struggle with the spiritual language of traditional AA.

After trying to find every possible loophole out of the programme, Nate discovered that recovery didn’t have to demand conformity. Through AA, secular meetings, community and a more open understanding of what a higher power could mean, he began finding a recovery that worked for him.

371 days sober, Nate shares what changed when he stopped trying to do recovery “perfectly” and started learning how to make it his own.

An All Night Place is a meeting of secular AA. These are our stories.

"...peeling back the layers, confronting old wounds..."

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Amanda shares a powerful and deeply personal story of recovery, reflecting on a childhood shaped by a parent's gambling addiction, the loss of her mother, abusive relationships, and years spent searching for acceptance in all the wrong places.

She speaks candidly about how alcohol became a way to cope with unresolved trauma, why getting sober was only the beginning of her healing, and how writing and creativity have become essential parts of rebuilding her life.

Rather than a story about hitting one dramatic rock bottom, Amanda's journey is about peeling back the layers, confronting old wounds, and discovering what it means to finally show up for herself.

From Dead Tour to Day One: Angelique's Story

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Angelique spent years following the Grateful Dead across America, chasing music, freedom, and a life that felt limitless. But behind the adventure was an addiction that quietly evolved from party culture into isolation, grief, and survival.

In this episode, she shares a life shaped by childhood trauma, caring for two terminally ill parents, losing her home in a devastating fire, travelling the United States in search of meaning, and the heartbreaking loss of her brother. Through it all, alcohol remained a constant companion... until it couldn't anymore.

With honesty, warmth, and more than a little humour, Angelique tells the story of what finally brought her to AANP, why she chose sobriety, and what life looks like one day at a time.

Sometimes recovery doesn't begin with a dramatic moment. Sometimes it begins with a single decision to put the bottle down.