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Bill Schaberg has arguably written the definitive history of how the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous was written.  Bill produced “Writing The Big Book,”  and his wife calls it, “the other big book,” because it’s 650 pages, before the appendixes. Bill completed the book after 7 years of research from the source material.  Bill is a rare book collector and seller and it all started with his purchase of Jim Burwell’s copy of the multilith copy of the original Big Book.    

In Part 1 of the interview with Bill Schaberg, we discuss:

• The genesis of the why he wrote the book
• Bill W’s realization of why a book was written
• Bill W’s original plan to help alcoholics recover
• Hank Pankhurst - the founder that drank and how there would be no Big Book without him
• The Oxford Group - how the originals got sober
• Bill Schaberg’s controversial take on who should be on the AA Mount Rushmore

Check out Bill Schaberg's site writingthebigbook.com where you can pick up his book, Writing the Big Book.

Learn more about Hank Parkhurst at hankparkhurst.com

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"WHY DOES THAT PERSON ALWAYS DO THAT TO ME?  DON'T THEY KNOW IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY?"

I heard a wise old-timer at a meeting recently say, "I brought out the defects of character in others."

I never thought of that!  Maybe my rotten behavior brought out the worst in the other person, whose bad behavior now gave me a resentment.

Steve and Matt talk about other people's behaviors, owning our own actions and making an amends to clean up our side of the street.

We wish the normies had the tools we alcoholics have!

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Ugh!  You need to stop drinking!  How do you handle going to meetings or whatever your sobriety method is and handle the responsibilities of being a parent and partner? This week, we got you covered!  Matt and Steve both had to deal with this issue when they got sober.  We tell our experiences and how to balance family and recovery.

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Joe Kelley had everything going for him.  He was a high school football star.  Joe’s family were all first responders - His father a firefighter an uncles in the police department.  Eventually, Joe followed in their footsteps to join law enforcement.  Joe described his job as a police officer as strenuous and as someone who had been physically fit all his life, loved it.  

Joe Kelley would have no idea that the pain pills prescribed after knee surgury would not only take down his law enforcement career, but his family and his freedom.

Joe is our guest on this week’s podcast.  In this episode Joe shares:

• The depths of his opioid addiction and how he turned to more desperate methods to get drugs
• Lying to his wife about spending money to get pain pills
• Having the community hear about his misdeeds in the paper
• Doing time and the challenges prison places on ex-law enforcement
• Recovery, starting a new business and new family

Joe and his wife run OM Center for Wellness.  You can check them out here.

Joe is the author of "Badge, Bars to Beyond."  You can purchase Joe's book here.

Cantina Blues - Take the Lead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Peter L is one of the many people in recovery to get sober during the pandemic and have is first experience with a 12 step group be over Zoom.  Podcasts like Sober Friends and Recovered Cast helped enhance his sobriety, during a time when getting together in person was not happening.

Peter L’s sobriety date is December 3, 2020.  Peter was the kind of guy who thought he could drink responsibly but at the same time, wondered if he had a problem.  Peter got drunk for the first time at the age of eleven.  Being a high school partier was part of who he was and took this behavior into adulthood.

Peter broke his ankle in a basketball game and led to an addiction to pain pills.  Peter was able to get off of pain pills with the help of Methadone.  With pain pills removed, Peter’s drinking accelerated, affecting his health

After Peter had his second child, he was drinking 2 fifths a day for three or four years.  Peter was hemorrhaging in his eyes because his blood pressure was so high. His sleep apnea worsened and Peter’s wife would watch him not breathe for minutes at a time.

Needing a drink to get started each morning, Peter finally decided to check into rehab.  After only one day, Peter’s withdrawal symptoms led to his doctor putting him in a medically induced coma.  When Peter work up, he tried to tell his wife he no longer needed rehab.

Once in rehab, a speaker came to a meeting that shared a similar story to Peters and that’s when he found his sponsor.  Peter’s sponsor was stern and it was exactly what he needed to maintain sobriety.  Peter let go and felt it was like someone was now driving for him.  He threw himself into the steps and work with his sponsor and it not only kept Peter sober, but it helped with his mental health too.

Getting sober on Zoom, you’ll hear Peter’s creative way to finding the best meetings.

Peter’s story is incredibly inspirational and we know you will love this episode.

Cantina Blues - Take the Lead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

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Joe and Charlie were actually three men who travelled the country providing Big Book Seminars.

• Joe McQ
• Charlie P
• Joe McC

Joe and Charlie were big book enthusiasts who studied the book Alcoholics Anonymous.  They were fascinated with how the book was constructed and went on to give seminars on the meaning behind the book.

Though Joe, Charlie and Joe have all passed, their work lives on in tapes, CDs and digital media.  At the beginning of each year, many alcoholics meet in homes and go through the seminar on tape and do a deep dive into the text of the book Alcoholics Anonymous.  Matt, Steve and John have done this for years.

In this podcast, Matt, Steve and John talk about why they go over these tapes year after year, how it's helped to learn more about the Big Book, how their small fellow ship at these meetings help them grow and how it's brought their sobriety to another level.

Cantina Blues - Take the Lead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100407

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

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Jean McCarthy is the host of the podcasts, The Bubble Hour and Tiny Bubbles.  Jean is also the author of Take Good Care, The Ember Ever There and the Unpickled series of recovery books.

Jean was terrified to walk into an AA meeting when she got sober.  It was an epiphany for Jean to quit drinking when she was ahead, instead of waiting until she lost it all.  

She was active and visible in her community and was concerned about what people would think about her.  She learned later when she finally attended 12 step meetings, that no one really cared about her terminal uniqueness.

Jean decided to start a secret blog called Unpicked about recovery to keep the story together and that she would document what it was like.  She also felt, maybe this can help someone else who feels like me.

Jean did not go to her first meeting until she was 8 years sober because she was looking for fellowship first and was afraid she’d be kicked out.  Jean met a fellowship online from all over the world, but felt disconnected and alone in her own community.  She learned in AA that she could take what she liked and leave the rest.

Jean shared a powerful story about her son’s wedding and how, when in the grips of alcohol addiction, she could only think about booze and how if her family realized who she really was, Jean would lose their love.

Jean talked about why she is ending the hugely successful Bubble Hour podcast and her reason will shock you.  It’s the antithesis of her terminal uniqueness in addiction and a sign of her continued health in recovery.

We were so blessed to have Jean McCarthy share her story of hope and recovery and know you will be affected like we were.

You can find Jean McCarthy at https://jeanmccarthy.ca/

Cantina Blues - Take the Lead by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100407

Artist: http://incompetech.com/

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The podcast audience comes and goes over the course of a show.  As we move past 100 episodes, you may not have looked at the back catalogue we have put together.  This is a great opportunity to look back to the past at some of our favorite shows.  

My wife brought Tyler to my attention.  She grew up with Tyler and knew his story.  This show had an incredibly positive reaction when it originally dropped.  There is a lot of spirituality in Tyler’s story and the role God has played in his life.  As I continue to go through my own spiritual journey, I thought this would be a great one to share with you too.

Tyler thought is was normal to get drunk growing up.  It was what everyone in town did at his age.  Then his parents got divorced and the drinking escalated.  But he already had a strong, spiritual faith and it ended up being his lifeline.

Tyler is a childhood friend of my wife.  He heard about this podcast from her on Facebook and wanted to talk about his life in sobriety.  In this episode, Tyler discusses is upbringing in a wealthy town, the break up of his parent's marriage and how alcohol entered his life.  Tyler grew up with a strong spiritual background, something that continues to this day.  He got sober at 19 and Tyler tells of his story of being in the Institute of Living and how he was able to continue his recovery in college and beyond.

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Andrea from the Adult Child Podcast joins the show this week.  Andrea is honest, vulnerable and in your face and this is a raw conversation about alcoholism and the trauma received of being an adult child of alcoholics.

Matt and Andrea are both sober and both children of alcoholics.  In this show, Andrea discusses:

• Their path to getting sober at 18
• Getting to 7 years of sobriety and realizing, after a bad break up, that the trauma of her childhood was echoing in her present
• How the 12 steps, therapy and a higher power helped her recovery
• Realizing she will never be fixed, but will make progress each day

As part of her recovery, Andrea created the Adult Child podcast.  You can click here to listen or download it wherever you get your podcasts.  Andrea has also created a community on Patreon where she helps others who are Adult Children of Alcoholics with:

• Weekly virtual support groups
• Exclusive content not shared on the pod
• Episode topic and guest question suggestions
• AMA (ask me anything - nothing is off limits!)

You can support Adult Child Patreon by clicking here.

Support the show

📫 Get more honest conversations about sobriety delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to The Sober Friends Dispatch, our weekly newsletter where we go beyond the podcast to share real strategies for alcohol-free living. Join our community by clicking here.

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Our guest this week is Gregg Champion who just celebrated 28 years sober.  Gregg has a fascinating story you will easily find a way to relate.  Gregg believes he was an alcoholic at 4 years old, when his father died in a car accident.  Alcoholism was in his family and he coped with fantasy, girls, and giving in to his anger.

When he was a teen, alcohol and drugs came into the picture.  Gregg was always looking for a short cut when he could and found one selling drugs.  This led to a bust with 50 pounds of pot.  Given a pass by the judge, he was immediately busted selling cocaine to an undercover officer.

This bottom led to Gregg's recovery where only the presence of a higher power could explain the chain of events, including the help of a local priest who got him sober, which he continues to be, to this day.

You'll love this powerful and emotional conversation with Gregg.

Check out Gregg on Instagram.  

Support the show

📫 Get more honest conversations about sobriety delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to The Sober Friends Dispatch, our weekly newsletter where we go beyond the podcast to share real strategies for alcohol-free living. Join our community by clicking here.