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Ep 124 13th Step Filmmaker Exposes AA’s Darkest Secrets — Monica Richardson's Story
Episode 132
After 36 years in Alcoholics Anonymous, filmmaker Monica Richardson discovered the truth she never expected: AA has a dark side.
In this episode of the Sobriety Bestie Podcast, Monica shares her journey from devoted member to whistleblower, revealing:
- How violent offenders and predators are court-ordered into meetings
- The cover-ups and silence that keep people trapped
- Why she decided to make her documentary, The 13th Step
- How she finally broke free after 36 years
This is a powerful conversation about trust, recovery, and taking your power back.
Monica Richardson's links:
Watch The 13th Step Documentary
Connect with Monica: makeAAsafer@gmail.com
Timestamp:
00:00 Monica's AA Escape Story
1:04 Criminals Court Ordered to AA
05:09 Monica's 13th Step Film
06:35 Cracks in the Brainwashing
13:00 Dark Side of LA and Hawaii AA
18:59 More Reasons to Leave AA
24:49 Making a Plan to Leave AA
39:13 Nurses, Doctors, Pilots Forced into AA
46:11 Anger and AA
47:50 Navigating Being 13th Stepped
54:57 A Wave of 12 Step Harm Awarness
1:04:45 Autism, Sexual Abuse + Gaslighting
1:09:16 Kicked out of Sober Living, Psychedelics + Healing
1:12:31 Monica's Deprogramming 12 Step Facebook Group
1:15:20 Advice to Someone Leaving AA
Additional Resources Monica Mentioned:
- Orange Papers
- One Little Pill documentary (Sinclair Method)
- The Business of Recovery Movie
- Quackaholics Anonymous YouTube
- Burn The Stigma YouTube
- Bobby C YouTube
🪩 Get fee tools, community, Zooms and book club to deprogram 12-step ideology 📚
👉 Inside the Deprogram Lounge click here.
💬 Let’s Connect @SobrietyBestie
DM me or comment on any Sobriety Bestie socials. I’m here for the conversation.
Let’s get f*cking free.
Published on 2 weeks, 5 days ago