My Dark Past Became My Greatest Possession - AA Speaker - Mark B.

Joe & Charlie - Part 2 - The Doctor’s Opinion Explained - AA Big Book Workshop

In Part 2 of the Joe & Charlie Founders’ Day series, Joe and Charlie explain why The Doctor’s Opinion is one of the keys to understanding alcoholism itself. ☀️ Sober Sunrise Episode Archive More AA speaker tapes and recovery stories: https://sober-sunrise.com/episodes 🧡 Sober Sunrise Merch Shirts, mugs, and recovery-inspired gear: https://sober-sunrise.com/merch 🌴 Sober Sunrise Newsletter Weekly AA speaker picks, recovery reflections, and updates: https://sober-sunrise.com/newsletter In this session, Joe and Charlie walk through Dr. Silkworth’s explanation of alcoholism: the body that reacts differently to alcohol, the physical craving that starts after the first drink, and the mind that eventually forgets the consequences and reaches for alcohol again. They break down the difference between craving and obsession, why the word “allergy” confused so many alcoholics, and why the Big Book says the body of the alcoholic is as abnormal as the mind. By the end, they connect The Doctor’s Opinion directly to Step One: if we cannot safely drink because of the body, and we cannot stay stopped because of the mind, then we are powerless over alcohol. They also point toward the answer: the psychic change produced through the Twelve Steps, where peace of mind, serenity, and usefulness begin to replace the restless, irritable, and discontented condition that once drove the first drink. Joe & Charlie speaking in Laughlin, Nevada, circa 1998 - "The Big Book Comes Alive" workshop tapes - Part 2: "The Doctor’s Opinion" Music: Deep by KaizanBlu

Joe & Charlie - Part 1 - AA History - AA Big Book Workshop

In honor of AA’s 91st Founders’ Day, we’re sharing the legendary Joe & Charlie Big Book workshops in order, from AA history through the Steps, over the next 10 days. ☀️ Sober Sunrise Episode Archive More AA speaker tapes and recovery stories: https://sober-sunrise.com/episodes 🧡 Sober Sunrise Merch Shirts, mugs, and recovery-inspired gear: https://sober-sunrise.com/merch 🌴 Sober Sunrise Newsletter Weekly AA speaker picks, recovery reflections, and updates: https://sober-sunrise.com/newsletter In Part 1, Joe and Charlie begin with the history behind Alcoholics Anonymous and the Big Book, starting from the Foreword to the Second Edition and the first AA group in Akron, Ohio in June 1935. They walk through Bill W., Dr. Bob, Ebby Thacher, Dr. Silkworth, the Oxford Groups, the early shape of the program, and why understanding the history makes the book easier to understand. This opening session sets up the pattern they return to throughout the workshop: what the problem is, what the solution is, and the practical program of action that carries the message. Joe & Charlie speaking in Laughlin, Nevada, circa 1998 - "The Big Book Comes Alive" workshop tapes - Part 1: "AA History" Music: Deep by KaizanBlu

You’re Working the Program on the Wrong Guy - AA Speaker - Geoff C.

Geoff says his first sponsor warned him that until he shook hands with the real version of himself, he would be working the program on the wrong guy. ☀️ Sober Sunrise Episode Archive More AA speaker tapes and recovery stories: https://sober-sunrise.com/episodes 🧡 Sober Sunrise Merch Shirts, mugs, and recovery-inspired gear: https://sober-sunrise.com/merch 🌴 Sober Sunrise Newsletter Weekly AA speaker picks, recovery reflections, and updates: https://sober-sunrise.com/newsletter Geoff walked into Alcoholics Anonymous on Christmas Day in 1978 after years of jail, drinking, using, fear, and desperation. In this AA talk, he shares the sponsor who almost refused to work with him, the inventories that forced him to meet the real Geoff, and the life that opened up when he began doing the work. He also talks honestly about drifting away after years sober, building a big life with a tiny program, relapsing before his 20th AA birthday, and coming back with no days. What follows is a moving story about sponsorship, service, prayer, prison panels, spiritual experience, and the discovery that God was never found alone, but in the spaces between one alcoholic and another. Geoff C. from Valley Village, CA speaking at the Third Tradition speaker meeting in Studio City, CA - November 14th 2007 Music: Deep by KaizanBlu

There Is No Door Number Three - AA Speaker - Chris S.

Chris used to know exactly where the serious AA people were, and he knew exactly how to avoid them. When he finally meant business, those “fanatics” were the ones he went looking for. ☀️ Sober Sunrise Episode Archive More AA speaker tapes and recovery stories: https://sober-sunrise.com/episodes 🧡 Sober Sunrise Merch Shirts, mugs, and recovery-inspired gear: https://sober-sunrise.com/merch 🌴 Sober Sunrise Newsletter Weekly AA speaker picks, recovery reflections, and updates: https://sober-sunrise.com/newsletter Chris, sober since November 19, 1998, shares how drinking took him from a 14-year-old waking up in a sand trap after 11 beers to school trouble, DUIs, work camps, prison, parole violations, detox, and finally the Okaloosa County Jail facing years behind bars. He talks about hearing the AA message long before he was ready, keeping it in his back pocket for “if it ever gets bad enough,” and finally reaching the point where there was no door number three. This is a rough, funny, gratitude-filled AA talk about singleness of purpose, strong sponsorship, a serious home group, following directions, doing the steps, carrying the message into detox and corrections, and finding out that the people he once dismissed as losers and fanatics were exactly the people who could help save his life. Chris S. from Ft. Walton Beach, FL speaking at the 17th Annual Southeast Louisiana Spring Roundup in Covington, LA - May 27th 2006 Music: Deep by KaizanBlu

My Wager Is Too High - AA Speaker - Scott L.

Scott could fly supersonic jets, but he could not outfly alcoholism. By the time AA found him, the dream job, the willpower, and the John Wayne act had all stopped working. ☀️ Sober Sunrise Episode Archive More AA speaker tapes and recovery stories: https://sober-sunrise.com/episodes 🧡 Sober Sunrise Merch Shirts, mugs, and recovery-inspired gear: https://sober-sunrise.com/merch 🌴 Sober Sunrise Newsletter Weekly AA speaker picks, recovery reflections, and updates: https://sober-sunrise.com/newsletter Scott, sober since June 28, 1984, shares a funny and deeply serious AA talk about drinking as a young Air Force pilot, flying high-performance aircraft with hangovers, losing the greatest job he ever had, and finally landing in treatment outside Atlanta. He talks about the “John Wayne syndrome,” the first drink that made him feel tall enough and smart enough, the treatment-center moment where he cried out for forgiveness, and the unanswerable question that made him realize he did not know how to keep himself sober. From there, Scott gets into the Big Book, sponsorship by assignment, the difference between fellowship and program, jail and prison service, fourth-step forgiveness, family pain, and the kind of spiritual life that lets him say his wager is too high to treat recovery like a buffet. Scott L. from Nashville, TN speaking at Maryland State Convention in Hagerstown, MD - June 13th 2002 Music: Deep by KaizanBlu