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The Boiled Owl
The Boiled Owl episodes
- Owl 057 LornaLorna got sober in Phoenix, AZ, on her 32nd birthday... by accident. She spent 8 weeks in rehab. "I didn't want what I had." At 5 years sober, she helped clean someone's house, without wanting to. We discuss meeting styles, service positions, and meditation.Lorna's home group is the Oasis Group in Raleigh, NC. Her sobriety date is 26JUN1994.Lorna contacted us via boiledowlaa.org and we were thrilled when she accepted our invitation to be a guest. Join us for a coffee!1 hr 1 min
- Owl 056 MichaelMichael's parents knew something was awry early on; he was introduced to AA long before he was interested in it. He was intoxicated at his first meeting. He came to realize he was an alcoholic in the years that followed. His family couldn't trust him and he pushed them away. Even is drinking/using buddies didn't want anything to do with him. On probation when he went to treatment, it was the first time he admitted powerlessness out loud. His early sober living arrangements were much like an "AA bootcamp" with thirty other guys.Michael's sobriety date is 05JAN2013 and his home group is Young People in Greensboro, NC.52 min
- Owl 055 SallieSallie had a traumatic event - we talk about pain meds and her use of the program for an ongoing resentment about the effects of the trauma. She was alcoholic for years and knew it; she drank every night. She met a guy in recovery and did controlled drinking or no drinking. Then she went to Al-Anon and realized they were talking about her. Sallie went to lots of speaker meetings and heard her story from many different types of people. Fun story about her 30-day chip.Sallie's sobriety date is 15MAY2011 and her home group is Bethel in Greensboro, NC.1 hr 3 min
- Owl 054 KevenRegarding AA, Keven was concerned about the "religious aspect." Keven talks about his first day sober and being stir crazy. His first meeting was on Step 1. A 6-week elimination diet led to his realization that alcohol was a problem for him. He drank only beer the last year due to a family vacation incident involving liquor. Keven got a sponsor and a home group within the first month of his sobriety. An atheist, Keven has a unique name for that power of his own understanding.Keven's sobriety date is 05OCT2017 and, until a recent move to Ohio, his home group was Young People in Greensboro, NC.1 hr 6 min
- Owl 053 DorisaDorisa decided to get dry a week before her wedding and got sober after her honeymoon. She tried AA a year earlier (but not really) and smoked pot during that. Her drinking caused lots of destruction in the lives of those around her. We have a great start-over chip discussion. Steps 4 & 5 were big for her, leading to "I'm not the victim anymore."Dorisa's home group is 16th Street in Greensboro, NC, and her sobriety date is 08AUG2011.1 hr 1 min
- Owl 052 ThomasA guy Thomas was making meth with told him about AA. Thomas used lots of drugs but didn't feel connected in NA. He felt connected in AA but read more NA literature at first. When he moved to Washington, DC, the AA members there called him instead of expecting him to call them. For his first 6 months of sobriety, he lived behind a recovery clubhouse and went to the 8AM AA meeting daily.Thomas's sobriety date is 18JUL2009 and his home group is the Summit Men's group in Greensboro, NC.1 hr 2 min
- Owl 051 AlexAlex's sobriety date is also his divorce date. He lost the security of living with his wife and had no job. He came to AA familiar with it from DUIs. Alex downloaded and printed his first copy of the Big Book. We have a good chat about emotional sobriety and how to choose a sponsor. He completed his degree in sobriety and is going back for more.Alex's home group is Young People in Greensboro, NC. His sobriety date is 21JAN2016.1 hr
- Owl 050 JodyJody went to AA as a teen because her sister took her. She got rid of her boyfriend and moved, but still drank - though had 1 & 2-week dry spells. She went back to AA in Norfolk, VA, at 21. Jody really hoped alcohol wasn't the problem and she struggled with the "God idea," but worked the steps in her first 6 months. When she got a new sponsor, she did them again. Steps 4 & 5 were powerful for her and 8 & 9 were where she had a spiritual experience, including a powerful 9th Step with her father.Jody's home group is the Serendipity Group in High Point, NC.56 min
- Owl 049 TylerTyler first got sober at 17. He worked the steps and even started an AA meeting in Wilmington, NC. NCCYPAA was an important part of his recovery. He went back out; it got worse. He was homeless and emotionally, mentally, and physically broken. He went to jail and rehab many times. His father, a drug counselor, asked him to give it one year. He did. He moved to High Point, NC, where he joined NA and worked the steps.Tyler's home group is the Awakenings Group of NA in Greensboro, NC. He's been clean & sober since 11JUL2017.1 hr 3 min
- Owl 048 RobertaRoberta got sober in Brooklyn, NYC. Being fired led her to the rooms of AA, an organization she'd never heard of. Her neighbor had just started and told her about it. She'd tried to quit on her own and was miserable. Alcohol was the glue that held her life together. She was a drinker from 18 to 38, with a career that allowed her to drink at lunch. Roberta was in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. She was 15 years sober then and wanted to get drunk - to not feel. The AA community supported her and she stayed sober.Roberta's home group is the Greene Street Group in Greensboro, NC. Her sobriety date is 17AUG1986.56 min
About The Boiled Owl
From the publisher's feed
After over 4 years of publishing 2 episodes a month, The Boiled Owl stopped production in September of 2021. Don and Sam worked with the AA Grapevine to launch the brand new podcast, The AA…
Grapevine Half-Hour Variety Hour. The first episode was published on October 4, 2021, and then weekly every Monday.
Over these years, we’ve recorded over 100 episodes and gotten to know so many guests and listeners (Owlcoholics!). We are grateful beyond measure for all these wonderful connections with our fellow alcoholics and hope you’ll jump over to the new podcast and jump in. (It’s a lot more interactive than the Owl!)
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The Boiled Owl is hosted by Don and Sam, both members of Alcoholics Anonymous who like listening to other alcoholics’ experience, strength, and hope. We both do this often via podcasts and speaker tapes (well, CDs and MP3s) while working or driving. While there are many recordings of speaker meetings, we found locating podcasts a bit more difficult. So…… Rather than just complaining about it (you know we did!), we decided to take action.
We both (used to) attend a Saturday morning men’s AA meeting and go to coffee afterward. (Then Sam just up and moved to California in 2020. Now we’re bicoastal!) Sometimes it (was) just the two of us, though often several more. The conversation there is always wide-ranging and invariably full of recovery. (You know Don’s still at it while Sam is building his peep crew out west.) The Boiled Owl is our attempt to recreate the environment of the coffee shop meeting-after-the-meeting. Since it’s not completely ad-hoc, we have to structure it a bit, but soon the flow of conversation takes hold and it then goes where it goes.
We start with a little banter, introduce our guest, and then ask them a question about why they’re in AA. This one question kicks off the conversation and we chat for 20-30 minutes. We close the podcast with “Ask the Old-timer,” where a question is posed to our resident oldtimer, Don, then our guest responds and Sam wraps it up. You can reach us at [email protected].