Tilda B. is an AA member from the other side of the world in Nairobi, Kenya. She grew up in London, where she did most of her alcoholic drinking before getting sober over 28 years ago. Within her first several years of sobriety among London’s vibrant AA community, Tilda was offered a dream job in Kenya and has lived there since. Amidst a different culture, with its own norms related to alcoholism, Tilda’s relatively brief experience in Alcoholics Anonymous in England helped her quickly acclimate to Nairobi’s AA community. When Zoom emerged in the past several years, she re-connected with people with whom she’d gotten sober, and it was on Zoom that I first met Tilda. Her backstory is as colorful, yet tragic, as many in this podcast series, replete with a dysfunctional family rattled by alcoholism. Finding booze and people who drank, Tilda created her own world that alternated between drunken comfort and turbulent chaos, but, like many, she was still functional enough to achieve a higher education and some important jobs. But, towards the end of her drinking, she lost what little control she’d had and her life devolved into abject misery and self-loathing.

By the time Tilda crossed the threshold of Alcoholics Anonymous, she was thoroughly beaten by the disease. Sitting in the back of one of London’s largest AA meetings, she finally surrendered to the people and the Program. She quickly got a sponsor, worked the steps, attended daily meetings, sponsored other women, and became ensconced in AA service work.

Though moving to Kenya relatively early in her sobriety meant leaving the comfort and security of her AA fellowship in England, Tilda understood the absolute importance of establishing a strong Program in her new country. Throughout her long-term sobriety, she has become firmly rooted in Nairobi’s AA community with fellow Brits, other ex-pats, and local Kenyans at the heart of her program.

Tilda’s story is both fascinating and inspiring, and should provide hope and assurance to any AA members facing relocation to another city, state, or country, that AA sobriety is attainable and sustainable anywhere in the world. So sit back, and please enjoy the next hour with my friend and AA sister, Tilda B.

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 testamonials 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 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.]