Mari Q. shares her story of addiction and the phases of her development over the many years she has been in recovery – a process she describes as a healthier practice. The Twelve Steps are only one piece of her recovery, there is a lot more that she learned outside of Twelve Step meetings that […]

Modern 12 Step Recovery: Alcoholics Anonymous for the 21st Century, published in January 2021, provides a contemporary introduction to Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Steps. In this episode, I had a conversation with the author, Glenn Rader who talked about why he thinks it’s important that AA and the Twelve Steps be framed within the […]

Randy Haveson is a person in long-term recovery, a life coach, an author, and a full-time keynote speaker with a passion for helping people build their self-esteem. In this episode, we learn about Randy’s life-journey and discuss his book The Ego Cleanse: Becoming Your Own Best Friend. In this book, Randy discusses the difference between […]

John Huey makes his eighth appearance on the podcast, and in this conversation, he is expressing his concern about agnostics and atheists who make themselves miserable by comporting to someone else’s ideas of recovery. What we talked about Sources of stress in AA. Why people are seeking a secular alternative to traditional AA meetings. The […]

Stephanie S. crossed a line when her drinking changed from a want to a need. In this episode, she describes the insidious nature of addiction and shares a song that she wrote about her struggle entitled “Until You Try.” The song, performed by her son David, does a magnificent job of capturing the emotional pain […]

Meet Seth Perry. Clean since April 12, 2010, Seth grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia, and today he is a clergy person living in Kingston, Ontario. Seth’s problem with addiction started in Vancouver, and for the last six years of his drinking, he worked as a stand-up comedian. After burning all his bridges in the […]

This episode features a conversation with Mickey Bakst from an organization called Ben’s Friends, which provides a forum for people in recovery who work in the food and beverage industry. Micky talks about the history behind the group’s founding and the special challenges facing food and beverage workers in recovery. You can learn more about […]

Meet AJ who helped start a secular AA meeting in New Jersey. In this episode, he talks about his early experiences with alcohol, his evolving thoughts on spirituality, the progressive nature of alcohol use disorder, and how he managed the AA program as an atheist. As we were talking, AJ related an anecdote about what […]

Meet Ibby A.  who has been sober since November 30, 1996, and shares her story of recovery from trauma and addiction, and how she views her recovery through a secular lens. Key points discussed Childhood trauma. Geographical cures. Impact of defective relationships on addiction. The benefit of a self-appraisal. Repairing relationships with family. Early experiences […]

Justin M. from Canberra provides an update on the progress of secular AA meetings in Australia and New Zealand and talks about his views on AA’s singleness of purpose. Key points discussed A brief history of secular AA meetings in Australia. How secular AA is closer to the founding principles of AA. A discussion about […]