The Living Clean Podcast, we are pleased to share this special recording of the Paradise Strong Book Study meeting commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Fifth World Literature Conference (WLC5). Originally held on June 29, 2021, this event brought together members who attended the Fifth World Literature Conference, along with other trusted servants and members who participated in World Literature Conferences throughout the years.

This unique gathering offers firsthand accounts, historical reflections, and personal memories from those who helped shape Narcotics Anonymous literature. The discussion explores the spirit of service, collaboration, and dedication that contributed to the development of the Fellowship's message of recovery.

The meeting concludes with an open question-and-answer session, giving members of the Fellowship an opportunity to engage directly with the panel and learn more about this important chapter in NA history.

This recording was captured during a live Zoom meeting and is presented in its entirety to help preserve and share our Fellowship's history. We hope you enjoy this fascinating look back at the Fifth World Literature Conference and the members who helped carry the message forward.

In Part One, we break down the conference itself — the lost chapters of the Basic Text, the all-night group conscience meetings, the workshops, the editing battles, the spiritual moments, and the unbelievable amount of work done by recovering addicts trying to build a book that could carry the message worldwide. We explore not only what happened at WLC V in Warren, Ohio in 1981, but also the spirit of the process — the unity, passion, exhaustion, humor, and faith that held it all together.

In Part Two, we’re joined by members who were actually there. They share personal memories and firsthand insight into what it was like to live through the process of building the Basic Text and participating in one of the most historic literature conferences in NA history.

This episode is both a historical deep dive and a reminder that the literature we often take for granted today was built by addicts who believed the message was worth sacrificing for.

We also encourage everyone to check out the incredible work being done at:

Preserving the Message

and subscribe to the:

Preserving the Message YouTube Channel

In this episode of Francis's Archive, Francis sits down with Kareem K. to explore the history and preservation of the Orange County Area Archives. Kareem shares his journey into archival service, what sparked his passion for preserving Narcotics Anonymous history, and the importance of safeguarding our fellowship's collective memory.

Together, they discuss the value of archives in NA, the stories and documents that help connect us to our roots, and how preserving our past helps carry the message to future generations. Whether you're a history enthusiast, an archivist, or simply curious about the evolution of NA, this conversation offers insight into the dedication and service behind preserving our fellowship's legacy.

Join Francis and Kareem for a fascinating discussion about NA history, archival work, and the importance of remembering where we came from as we continue to move forward in recovery.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/196rEBBOrOExH2c-o0sHZ2qPDcFHYyEHp/view?usp=sharing

Earlier this year, we released a special Mother's Day episode, and we knew we couldn't let Father's Day pass without doing the same.

In this special episode of the Living Clean Podcast, Francis and Mason sit down for a heartfelt conversation about fatherhood, recovery, and the men who helped shape our lives. We share stories about our own dads—the lessons they taught us, the things we carry with us today, and how our relationships with them have evolved through recovery.

We also talk about being fathers ourselves. Recovery has given us opportunities many of us never thought possible: the chance to be present, dependable, loving, and engaged in the lives of our children. We discuss the challenges, responsibilities, joys, and occasional fears that come with trying to be the fathers our kids deserve.

Along the way, we explore how Narcotics Anonymous helped us heal family relationships, break generational cycles, and learn what it means to show up consistently for the people we love. Whether your experience with your father was positive, complicated, painful, or somewhere in between, we hope this conversation offers identification, hope, and encouragement.

Join us for a candid discussion about fathers, sons, daughters, gratitude, forgiveness, legacy, and the incredible gift of being able to participate fully in our families' lives—clean and present, one day at a time. Happy Father's Day from all of us at the Living Clean Podcast.

The Living Clean Podcast returns with a spontaneous and heartfelt conversation as Francis sits down with friend of the podcast, Mo. In this deeply personal episode, Mo shares how she first met Mason and Francis at NCCNA and how those connections grew into friendship, fellowship, and ongoing participation with the podcast community.

Mo opens up about her journey in recovery, the experience of becoming part of the Living Clean Podcast family, and the spiritual connection that developed through shared recovery and service. The conversation also explores the painful reality of relapse, the isolation that can come with drifting away from recovery, and the courage it took for Mo to find her way back to Narcotics Anonymous.

This episode is honest, emotional, and filled with hope—a reminder that no matter how far we wander, the doors of recovery remain open and the fellowship is ready to welcome us home.

In this episode of the Living Clean Podcast, we continue our discussion of the Living Clean chapter on Disabilities. Recovery doesn't eliminate life's challenges, but it does give us new ways to face them. Whether those challenges are physical, cognitive, emotional, visible, or invisible, this conversation explores what it means to live a full and meaningful life in recovery while navigating limitations, obstacles, and differences.

Our panel discusses the importance of acceptance, self-worth, accessibility, asking for help, overcoming shame, and finding purpose despite circumstances that may feel unfair or overwhelming. We also examine how recovery helps us move beyond seeing ourselves as our disability and instead allows us to recognize our value, strengths, and ability to contribute.

This chapter reminds us that while disabilities may affect how we move through the world, they do not define who we are. Recovery offers connection, dignity, hope, and the opportunity to participate fully in life—one day at a time.

Join us as we continue this powerful and heartfelt conversation on resilience, inclusion, gratitude, and the freedom that comes from learning to live clean no matter what challenges we face.

In this episode, “More Mo,” we continue our journey through the history and spirit of recovery in Missouri with two longtime members of Narcotics Anonymous.

First, Jeff B. from Kansas City shares about the beginnings of NA in Kansas City, his relationship with Bob R., and his involvement in helping start the region. Jeff also reflects on the efforts toward unity in Kansas City and the challenges and rewards of bringing addicts together in service and recovery.

Then we hear from Roger F. from Mexico, Missouri, who once again shares powerful stories about Bob R. Roger talks about recovery in rural central Missouri, the importance of conventions and fellowship gatherings, and the spirit behind Cabin Fever—one of the events that helped connect recovering addicts across the state.

These stories help preserve the living history of Narcotics Anonymous—one addict helping another, carrying the message across cities, small towns, and generations.

This week on the Living Clean Podcast, we continue our Twelve Step journey with Step Six: “We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.”

Our returning panel is back — Archer, Pete, and Douglas — and this week we’re joined by special guests Karen J. and Ron H. for a deep and honest conversation about willingness, readiness, and the lifelong process of change.

We explore what character defects really are, why some behaviors are so difficult to let go of, and how many of us want relief while still holding on to the very things causing us pain. We discuss pride, fear, control, resentment, self-centeredness, and the inner resistance that often shows up when real transformation begins.

Step Six is where we stop just identifying the problem and start becoming willing to live differently. It is where honesty meets humility, and where growth becomes possible.

This is one of the most relatable and practical episodes in the Step series so far.

If you’ve ever known what needs to change but struggled to let it go, this episode is for you.

Do yourself a favor and listen.

On this episode of The Living Clean Podcast, we explore a friendship that bridges generations in recovery.

Francis, with 33 years clean, and Travis, celebrating just over a year, share how recovery creates connections that go far beyond time clean. Though they come from different experiences and different places in their journeys, they’ve found something powerful in common: the ability to help each other grow.

This episode follows a special weekend in Northern California. On Thursday night, Francis speaks in Nevada City, sharing decades of experience, hope, and the spiritual principles that have carried him through life clean. The very next evening, Travis takes the message to Red Bluff at an Ice Cream Social Bingo Night, carrying a fresh and passionate message of early recovery.

Together, their stories show that recovery isn’t about seniority—it’s about connection. One addict helping another. Experience meeting enthusiasm. Wisdom meeting willingness. And both people walking away changed.

Whether you’re brand new or have decades clean, this conversation is a reminder that we never stop learning from each other, and we never outgrow the need for fellowship, friendship, and purpose.

Spotify Episode Description

On this episode of The Living Clean Podcast, we sit down with Jim H., one of the earliest members of Narcotics Anonymous in the Philadelphia area. Jim shares what it was like in the early days of recovery in the late 1960s and early 1970s, including getting clean on June 6, 1974 — a date that would ultimately change the course of his life.

Jim talks about being what he calls the fifth member of NA in Philadelphia around 1971, going back out for several years, and then finding his way back to recovery in 1974. From there, his story becomes deeply connected to the growth of Narcotics Anonymous itself. He helped start meetings throughout the Philadelphia area and carried the message internationally to places like Iceland and Copenhagen during a time when NA was still finding its footing around the world.

This episode is filled with personal history, hard-earned experience, humor, honesty, and a firsthand look at what recovery looked like before there were meeting lists, literature everywhere, or established fellowships in many cities. Jim’s story is a reminder that recovery survives because addicts continue carrying the message one person at a time.