Episode Details

[My amends to all my listeners for the unforeseen delay in releasing this episode.] April T., experienced the kind of nightmare that recovering alcoholics refer to when we say, “There, but for the grace of God, go I”. April’s road trip of terror began while drunk during a 4-hour drive on a major interstate. Halfway into the trip, while drinking vodka from a plastic bottle, she crossed the median at over ninety miles an hour, and crashed head-on into a car of three people, ejecting the driver. Injured and barely coherent, with a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit, April over-heard the EMT’s radio that the driver was dead at the scene. With death and destruction surrounding her, April’s first thought was an alcoholic one: “How can I get out of this?” Even though she’d been in AA years earlier and had even been in treatment, her disease made her amnesiac to the right thoughts about what to do. Thus began April’s odyssey on the road of dire emotional, legal, financial, and psychological consequences of her drunken behavior. The tragic crash became the bottom from which April’s sobriety finally emerged. And it was in prison that she found a spiritual awakening by working the AA program and being of service to other alcoholic women. She set up meetings and put full effort into every measure of sober living one can hope while incarcerated. By the time she was paroled, April was truly a changed women thanks to AA. Today, as an active member of the Program. She can be seen in meetings everywhere. She freely shares first-hand an agonizing story from which we can all benefit without having to experience it. Attitudes about drunk driving vary, even among recovering alcoholics. Those of us whose stories include drunk driving often express gratitude to God for having escaped grievous and deadly outcomes of our drinking.  And while many non-alcoholics would just as soon want someone like April put away for good, those of us recovering from alcoholism understand the true nature of this disease and how it wrecks lives. We also understand how sharing that experience can save lives.  Personally, while I’m somewhat vexed and saddened by April’s story, I am incredibly grateful that she has been sober since that fateful day. Knowing that she is sober and sharing her experience, strength, and hope with others, both inside and outside AA, gladdens my heartfelt outlook for the potential of healing from alcoholism one day at a time. So please enjoy the next hour and ten minutes of AA Recovery Interviews as you listen to the inspiring words of my friend and AA sister, April T. If you’ve found meaning, hope, or inspiration through my AA Recovery Interviews podcast, I invite you to go even deeper with a truly essential resource for recovery:“Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered From Alcoholism.” This is a word-for-word, cover-to-cover reading of the First Edition of the Big Book, originally published in 1939—brought vividly to life through careful narration that lets the wisdom, clarity, and power of the text fully land. Listening allows the Big Book to meet you wherever you are: at home, on the road, or in moments when opening the book just isn’t possible. It’s a comfortable, meaningful, and deeply engaging way to enrich your AA program through focused listening.You can listen to a free at Audible, iTunes, or Amazon. I also invite you to explore my latest audiobook,Lost Stories of the Big Book: 30 Original Stories Missing from the 3rd and 4th Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. Narrated by me, this audiobook restores powerful, long-forgotten personal stories that many AA members have never encountered. These original testimonials were removed to make room for newer stories in later editions—but their messages of surrender, transformation, and hope are just as vital today as when they were first written. For many listeners, this will be the first time hearing these voices speak again—honest, raw, and