Kelvin's life was defined and dominated by booze and drugs. Though there are similarities to other sobriety tales, many parts of his story contain things that most alcoholics must be referring to when they say, “There but for the grace of God go I” or “That could have been me”. Drinking, smoking crack, gang membership, desperate crimes, jail, broken probation, prison, and parole violations all occurred in within five years after his first drink. Raised in a home rife with family secrets, Kelvin’s mother did her best to help keep her kids out of trouble. But desegregation during his middle school years had Kelvin bussed across town to schools where he struggled to find a persona with which he could fit in. Back in his neighborhood he was bullied for that and had to adopt a different persona to fit that environment. Confusion, lack of direction, lost identity, and low self-esteem inevitably became the drivers to drinking and smoking marijuana at 17. He soon joined a gang and started smoking crack cocaine. Purse-snatching, shop-lifting and other crimes put him at odds with the legal system and put Kelvin in jail, and later prison. He mostly ignored or dismissed alternatives to incarceration, such as rehab, though he did attend some AA meetings in his early twenties.

The next 20 years until Kelvin got sober in AA are an odyssey of drug and alcohol addled behavior. He floundered in a sea lost jobs, multiple treatment centers, bitter divorce, crime, jail, and many failed attempts to get and stay sober. He finally found AA in 2017. Ernest in his efforts to stay sober through AA, he wasn’t completely convinced that AA would work. So he set up a contingency fund into which he made regular deposits. If AA didn’t work, he’d have enough money saved to drink himself to death. Fortunately, Kelvin went to meetings, got a sponsor, did service work around the AA club, and worked the steps sufficient to claim a place in the middle of the Program. After a year of AA recovery, Kelvin liquidated the contingency fund, bought a watch, went to the next meeting.

The rest of Kelvin’s story is captivating, fascinating, and colorful. My interview with him enriched my sobriety and I hope it will do the same for you. So sit back and enjoy the next hour and ten minutes with my friend and AA brother, Kelvin S.

Check out Howard’s Big Book Podcast, the complete unabridged audio version of the First and Second Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. The Big Book Podcast is an engaging cover-to-cover, word-for-word reading of all 11 chapters and Personal Stories, many of which were left out of the Third and Fourth Editions. Follow us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Or listen on https://bigbookpodcast.com

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.

[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.]