Episode Details

Norma says God wrote Himself into her AA story, turning three years of abstinence without the Steps into a life of surrender, service, and faith strong enough to meet devastating grief.

☀️ Sober Sunrise App
Listen to Sober Sunrise AA speaker talks anytime, track your sober time, take a daily pledge, and keep recovery support close throughout the day.
📱 https://sober-sunrise.com/app
If you enjoy the app or find it useful in your recovery, a quick rating or review on the App Store would mean a lot and helps more people find Sober Sunrise.

☀️ Sober Sunrise Episode Archive
Hundreds of AA speaker tapes and recovery stories:
https://sober-sunrise.com/episodes

🧡 Sober Sunrise Merch
https://sober-sunrise.com/merch

🌴 Sober Sunrise Newsletter
https://sober-sunrise.com/newsletter

Norma, 24 years sober, shares how growing up with an alcoholic mother and a rage-filled father carried fear, loneliness, and despair into her adult life. A sober woman she met in a bar led her to Alcoholics Anonymous, but after three years of meetings without a sponsor, the Steps, or a spiritual foundation, Norma discovered that she had found relief rather than recovery. Following a relapse and an abusive marriage, she left with her baby and began rebuilding her life while moving from couch to couch, doing odd jobs, and trusting that the next right action would be enough for that day. The years that followed brought a loving marriage, family addiction, incarceration, her son’s serious head injury and time in foster care, painful estrangement, and repeated lessons in letting go. Speaking only days after the sudden death of her stepson, Norma describes how prayer, service, the Twelve Steps, and the arms of the AA fellowship carried her through circumstances she could never control. This is a moving talk about the difference between abstinence and recovery, surrender without resignation, and finding purpose, power, and peace even when life does not turn out as hoped.

Norma A. from Austin, TX speaking at the monthly Austin Citywide AA group in Austin, TX - September 22nd 2007
Music: Deep by KaizanBlu