Jen didn't like the taste of alcohol and drank it for the effect. She knew her father was an alcoholic, so was scared of it and wouldn't try it. Then she did and went downhill quickly. At 10 years sober, she was prescribed Xanax and took it fine... until she didn't.

Jen's sobriety date is 08MAY2018 and her home group is Durham Central in Durham, NC.

Owl 098 Jen

Sherman has a sereneness and calmness in his life. He grew up in an alcoholic home. The chaos was bad. He started drinking and liked the chaos. He got sober and saw the chaos as wreckage. When he was a kid, he went to AA with his dad. The speakers' stories brought him in. Sherman got COVID-19 and realized the value of life.

Sherman's sobriety date is 01APR1994 and his home group is the Agnostics, Atheists, Freethinkers AA Group in Asheville, NC.

Owl 101 Sherman

Katherine called herself an alcoholic as a joke for years before coming to AA. She tried controlled drinking and also moved out of state away from family so she could drink how she wanted. Katherine has a fantastic first-meeting story! Principles of recovery helped her with going through getting a new job during the COVID pandemic.

Katherine's sobriety date is 15SEP2010 and her homegroup is Keeping It Green in Greensboro, NC.

Owl 102 Katherine

Steven was introduced to AA at age 13. He was forced to go into an all-boys recovery facility. The "Living Sober" book was good for him - easy to digest and identify with. He experienced old-school AA in Carson, NV. He identified with an LGBT story in the back of the Big Book. The nearest LGBT meeting was 45 miles away.

Steven's home group is the Wednesday Night Book Study in Alejo in Palm Springs, CA. His sobriety date is 24APR2018.

Owl 103 Steven

Claudette moved to Tacoma, WA, 6 years ago, with 30 years of sobriety. She found it difficult connecting with AA there because it was different. Work with another alcoholic helped her remember what it was like. Claudette became afraid of her behavior when drinking in public. She came to AA by way of Al-Anon. As an Al-Anon, she went to an open AA speaker meeting. 

Claudette's sobriety date is 01JUN1985 and her home group is Women in Emotional Sobriety in Tacoma, WA.

Owl 104 Claudette

Perry didn't lose his wife, his home, or his job, but he was spiritually bankrupt - a shell of a person. All the things he'd accomplished seemed worthless now. "Drinking overshadowed everything good about me." His good career in the United States Marine Corps was getting in the way of his drinking.

Perry's sobriety date is 25AUG2017 and his home group is Early Bird in Greensboro, NC.

Owl 105 Perry

Caroline stopped drinking for 18 months with a program. She went to AA meetings out of town and picked up a 1-year chip at her first meeting. Heads turned. She was miserable - getting divorced, she had thoughts of suicide and called someone in recovery. She went to a meeting and picked up a start chip.

Caroline's sobriety date is 31AUG2008 and her homegroup is Keeping It Green in Greensboro, NC

Owl 106 Caroline

First, a special announcement about the AA Grapevine Podcast! Also, we *finally* realized fans of the show are... OWLCOHOLICS!

Welcome to the Boiled Tao! Buddy, a return guest, talks about some of the rough times at the end of his drinking. He had to change/lose his old beliefs in God. We chat about how the Tao Te Ching has added to his recovery, leading him to start his own podcast about it and even to write a book.

Buddy's sobriety date is 10NOV2008 and his homegroup is Centre Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous in Centre, Alabama.

Owl 107 Buddy

Kip was introduced to AA in prison in 1989. He was in and out five times.  He had lost all power of choice to drink or not. "If God and church can't fix me, surely Alcoholics Anonymous can't do it." Kip got married and divorced in sobriety and is dating again in recovery.

Kip's sobriety date is 08JUL2010 and his homegroup is the New South Group in High Point, NC.

Owl 108 Kip

Susan started drinking at 13. The last 8 years of her drinking were daily drinking. She started trying to get sober in 1986. She called all the alcohol help numbers in the phone book, spoke with a woman for a while, and felt hope. Keeping her drinking life hidden from her mother, she called and told her about her drinking problem.

Susan's sobriety date is 07MAY1988 and her homegroup is Down & Dirty in Greensboro, NC.

Be sure to listen through the end of this episode. There's news!

Owl 109 Susan

Thanks for letting us be part of your recovery and for being part of ours! Head over to aagrapevine.org/podcast for the brand new AA Grapevine Half-Hour Variety Hour podcast. Don and Sam will be hosting this weekly 30-minute podcast starting 04OCT2021.

Swamp Nots

Owl 110 Goodbye

The inaugural podcast of The Boiled Owl!  Meet Don and Sam, recovered alcoholics who talked about doing a podcast as members of Alcoholics Anonymous and then actually did it.  

Our guest, Philip, tells us of his journey to AA and what his life of double-digit sobriety is like.

We conclude with our "Ask An Oldtimer" segment.

Visit us at http://boiledowlaa.org to learn more and to contact us.

Owl 001 Philip

Our guest, Thomas, tells us of his journey to AA and what his life in sobriety is like.

We conclude with our "Ask An Oldtimer" segment.

Visit us at boiledowlaa.org to learn more and to contact us.

Boiled Owl

Owl 002 Thomas

Our guest, Miranda, tells us of her journey to AA and what her life as a sober mom is like.

We conclude with our "Ask An Oldtimer" segment.

Visit us at boiledowlaa.org to learn more and to contact us.

Owl 003 Miranda

Our guest, Kenneth, talks about his recovery in AA and how general service is a big part of it.  He knew early on he was an alcoholic.  We speak about drugs - outside issue?  Kenneth was in a major accident in his drinking days.

Sobriety Date: 02JUN2000
Home Group: Inside Out, Wilmington, NC

We conclude with our "Ask An Oldtimer" segment.

Visit us at boiledowlaa.org to learn more and to contact us.

Owl 005 Kenneth

Sober 40 years and all of them in Greensboro, NC, Willie not only has lots of experience, strength, and hope, but he also knows lots of local AA history.  Willie's home group is the Summit Fellowship Men's Group in Greensboro, NC.

Owl 004 Willie

Tammy stayed drunk all day as a single mom, losing her house and job. 
 She experienced long blackouts.  She was a daily drinker who started at 16 and quit in her late 30s.  She shares about her powerlessness and making amends.  Tammy is married to an AA member.  Her home group is the Bethel group in Greensboro, NC.

Owl 009 Tammy

Pierce has a drawer of start/surrender chips.  A blackout drinker since high school, he was surrounded by alcoholics and that made his drinking seem normal.  His wife got sober - he still drank, but not at home.  He had a spiritual experience where "God just snuck in and said hi!"

Pierce's sobriety date is 02SEP1992 and his home groups are Starmount and Magnolia Street in Greensboro, NC.

Owl 025 Pierce

Steve came to AA in 1999, but "the fuck-its" would always send him out; justified anger got in the way of recovery. The part in the Big Book about the actor trying to direct the show really spoke to him. Fourth Step work continues to help him see how he's in conflict with things.  Becoming a sponsor was a pivotal moment in his recovery.

Steve's sobriety date is 18DEC2007 and his home group is Bethel in Greensboro, NC.

Owl 028 Steve

Molly just completed another 4th Step and is meeting one of her sponsors to do a 5th Step right after recording this episode.  A DUI in 2002 led her to getting sober 2 months later. Years before getting sober, she had a boyfriend in AA and, by living the AA program, he showed her what a sober life in AA can be like. A musician, Molly regained access to her talent at about 2 years sober and now is "performing behind enemy lines" frequently. Step 3 and the St. Francis prayer are very present in her life right now, particularly with the current political happenings. 

Molly's home groups are the weekly jail meeting and Women’s Experience, Strength & Hope in Greensboro, NC.  Her sobriety date is 28OCT2002.

Owl 039 Molly

Reality set in after Karen's husband left, furthering her drinking. Her first chip was a start-over chip. She didn't understand sponsorship at first and then got a sponsor at 6 months. Gratitude was a big part of her early recovery. For Karen, Step 5 was public and painful but allowed self-forgiveness.

Karen's home group is Big Book No Smoke in Greensboro, NC, and her sobriety date is 04MAY1997.

Owl 041 Karen

Dorisa 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.

Owl 053 Dorisa

Sallie 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.

Owl 055 Sallie

Lorna 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!

Owl 057 Lorna

Angela was 37 when she got sober. Well-accomplished, she figured she could stop drinking on her own, too. She lost so much, including custody of her daughter. She had lots of restarts until she did what was recommended to her.

Angela's sobriety date is 21APR2009 and her home groups are Early Bird and Big Book No Smoke in Greensboro, NC.

Owl 085 Angela

Program gave Doc a structure to live life: Steps on one side of his spine and Traditions on the other. When hospitalized, his doctor said, "I saved your life this time - don't know I can again." Doc knew he was an addict from age 19. He could not imagine a life without intoxicants.

Doc's sobriety date is 20MAY1988 and his AA home group is the Living Sober group in Palm Springs, CA.

Owl 088 Doc

It took Katharine 20 years to get 4 years. For the first time, she seriously thought she'd die. She crawled into AA and asked for help for the first time. Before that, she'd gone to get her driver's license or thought she was hopeless. Kindness kept her coming back.

Katharine's sobriety date is 14JUL2016 and her home group is Atheists, Agnostics, and Free Thinkers in Greensboro, NC.

Owl 089 Katherine

Liz went to her first meeting (an open one) for someone else and heard her own stories. To Liz's thinking, binge-drinking was now the same as being alcoholic. She stopped 5 years once. Liz's home group didn't go online when COVID hit, so she started going to Shivering Denizens. 

Liz's sobriety date is 01FEB1979 and her home group is Shivering Denizens. (see nc23.org)

Owl 092 Liz

Josh was calling his boss from jail - again - can't come to work. The beginning of the end of a spiritual crisis. The seed of AA was planted by a therapist. Years later, he decided to go. Josh made his own poker chip system.

Josh's sobriety date is 07JUL2006 and his home group is the Basics Group in Durham, NC.

Owl 093 Josh

Shana was Sam's "AA wife - assembly required" in NC. She has a few sobriety dates and once was on the "marijuana maintenance plan" for a couple of years. She fought being an alcoholic and was mad that drinking didn't work. Shana went to a roundup where she had fun and a spiritual awakening.

Shana's home groups are Colors of Gratitude and Live and Let Live in Greensboro, NC (see nc23.org). Her sobriety date is 15FEB2009.

Owl 094 Shana

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 attend a Saturday morning men’s AA meeting and go to coffee afterward.  Sometimes it’s just the two of us, though often it’s several more.  The conversation there is always wide-ranging and invariably full of recovery.  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 Don.  For our initial episodes, we made up the question.  The goal is for YOU to ask a question!  Send us your question via giveahoot@boiledowlaa.org.

New episodes are posted on the 1st and 15th of the month.

Popular tracks by The Boiled Owl