Sarah’s remarkable story begins with a relatively happy childhood in a family with little connection to alcohol. While other addictive behaviors may have been present, Sarah experienced issues with anorexia and bulimia years before her first drink. It manifested into feelings of low self-esteem and negative body-image, causing further shame and fear. By the time she found alcohol at age 16, she was able to ease her negative feelings and fit in, but such escape lead to problems. With difficulties at home and a stint at college cut short by alcohol, Sarah set off on the road to destruction, adding cocaine and crystal meth to the deadly mix along the way. Fortunately, her exposure to recovery for her eating disorders many years earlier left her with a friend who encouraged Sarah to attend AA. After some fits and starts, she finally made it into the Program in 1996. From the start, she worked a Program of diligence and meaning. That early anchoring in AA allowed her to continue to work safely in a bar. She earned enough to pay for education that extricated her from that same tavern job several years later. As her life was steadily improving as the result of Alcoholics Anonymous, she was faced with a major crisis, her husband’s cancer diagnosis, just three years into her marriage. For the next three years, until he passed, Sarah worked two jobs and cared for her husband while amazingly finding time to attend AA meetings. She credits those meetings and her selfless service work as her means to survive those difficult years without slipping.

Sarah’s story points to the insidious nature of the disease which allows it to find its way into the lives of even those who enjoyed happy childhoods. In Sarah’s case, alcoholism did not discriminate. That she was able to survive a booze-soaked and drug infused lifestyle was most certainly by the grace of God. That she thrives today and enjoys a relatively contented life is directly correlated to her involvement in an active AA Program. The women she sponsors find solace and hope in the experience she shares with them, while she, in turn, bolsters her solid Program to withstand the ups and downs of long-term sobriety.

There’s a lot to learn from Sarah M., and I invite you to tune in this especially poignant episode of AA Recovery Interviews. So, please enjoy the next 60 minutes with my dear friend and AA sister, Sarah M.

If you’ve found meaning, hope, or inspiration through my AA Recovery Interviews podcast, I invite you to go even deeper with a truly essential resource for recovery:“Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered From Alcoholism.”

This is a word-for-word, cover-to-cover reading of the First Edition of the Big Book, originally published in 1939—brought vividly to life through careful narration that lets the wisdom, clarity, and power of the text fully land. Listening allows the Big Book to meet you wherever you are: at home, on the road, or in moments when opening the book just isn’t possible. It’s a comfortable, meaningful, and deeply engaging way to enrich your AA program through focused listening.You can listen free at Audible, iTunes, or Amazon.

I also invite you to explore my latest audiobook,Lost Stories of the Big Book: 30 Original Stories Missing from the 3rd and 4th Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Narrated by me, this audiobook restores powerful, long-forgotten personal stories that many AA members have never encountered. These original testimonials were removed to make room for newer stories in later editions—but their messages of surrender, transformation, and hope are just as vital today as when they were first written. For many listeners, this will be the first time hearing these voices speak again—honest, raw, and deeply human.

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 for those who wish to read along while listening.

Whether you’re newly sober or decades into the journey, these audiobooks are must-have companions—designed to deepen understanding, strengthen connection, and help keep the message alive, one careful listen at a time.