AA Recovery Interviews with Howard L. Podcast By Howard L. cover art

AA Recovery Interviews with Howard L.

AA Recovery Interviews with Howard L.

By: Howard L.
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Alcoholics Anonymous members from around the world share their awesome stories of experience, strength, and hope with interview host Howard L.Copyright © 2020-2025 AA Recovery Interviews Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • Sabine H. – Sober 2 Years

    Sabine H. – Sober 2 Years
    Jul 16 2025
    Joining me from Copenhagen, Denmark, Sabine H. grew up in a culture in which alcohol is both ubiquitous and deeply ingrained in social life. She never considered drinking as the cause of her problems until well into her forties. By then, the ruinous effects of her drinking had supplanted Sabine’s diminishing ability to mask her growing alcohol abuse and other mental health issues. The fame, money, and lofty positions she had attained as a highly functional alcoholic conflicted with the self-loathing and disdain she felt deep inside. As the disease progressed and her Sabine’s life began to unravel. Despite her need for help, she nonetheless became an expert at hiding her problems. Naturally, she found little help or support from those with whom she worked. By the time she took a month’s sick-leave to both drink and work out her problems, she came up miserably empty. With utter despair eroding her desire to live, Sabine finally found the hand of AA reaching out to her. She entered the Program a little more than two years ago, clawing her way past preconceived notions and self-doubts toward the middle of the herd. Since then, Sabine has embraced AA wholeheartedly, doing the work she was instructed to do. She even demonstrated the progress she had achieved by recently leaving her stress-ridden, booze-soaked corporate career to work as a counselor at a rehab facility. I feel you will be inspired and encouraged by what Sabine has to share, especially if you’re relatively young in sobriety. Hers is a story that bears out the international appeal of Alcoholics Anonymous to those who reach out for help. So no matter where you are around the world, please enjoy the next hour or so with my friend and AA sister, Sabine H. If you’ve enjoyed my AA Recovery Interviews series, have a listen to “Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered From Alcoholism”. This is the word-for-word, cover-to-cover reading of the First Edition of the Big Book, published in 1939. It’s a comfortable, meaningful, and engaging way to listen to the Big Book anytime, anyplace. Have a free listen at Audible, i-Tunes, or Amazon. I also invite you to check out my latest audio book, Lost Stories of the Big Book, 30 Original Stories Missing from the 3rd and 4th Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s an engaging audiobook I narrated to bring these stories to life for AA members who’ve never seen them. These timeless testimonials were originally cut to make room for newer stories in the 3rd and 4th Editions. But their vitally important messages of hope are as meaningful today as when they were first published. Many listeners will hear these stories for the first time. Lost Stories of the Big Book is available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. It’s also available as a Kindle book and in Paperback from Amazon if you’d like to read along with the audio. [Disclaimer: AA Recovery Interviews podcast strictly adheres to AA’s 12 Traditions and all General Service Office guidelines for safe-guarding anonymity on-line. I pay all podcast production costs. AA Recovery Interviews and my guests do not speak for or represent AA at-large. This podcast is simply my way of giving back to AA that which has been so freely given to me. – Howard L.]
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Sam H. – Sober 38 Years

    Sam H. – Sober 38 Years
    Jun 25 2025
    With his life in tatters, Sam's entrée into Alcoholics Anonymous literally came down to a coin flip. Heads, he’d go AA. Tails, he’d put a bullet through his head. Such an abject choice was the culmination of a life largely ruined by alcoholism. Sam was penniless, homeless, and suffering from untreated clinical depression. His options were running out quicker than the many quarts of booze he consumed each week. Whatever knowledge Sam gained by examining his highly dysfunctional upbringing were not to be discovered until many years into his sobriety, but he admits such knowledge would have availed him nothing at the time. What Sam did discover during his early AA meetings was that his earnest desire to stay sober were hinged entirely on the time and effort he invested in his Program. So with the help of good sponsorship and an unwavering belief in AA’s literature, 12 Steps and 12 Traditions, and tireless service work, Sam built a rock-solid foundation on which he has based an AA-centric life over the past 38 years. Sam’s brand of sobriety and his no-nonsense approach to sponsoring other men has made him highly sought-after source of guidance and wisdom. I feel that his story will resonate strongly with AA members at all stages of sobriety. He is a serious believer in AA’s three legacies of Recovery, Unity, and Service. I’ve enjoyed knowing Sam for the past 35+ years and hope you will enjoy and benefit from the next hour here on AA Recovery Interviews with my very good friend and AA brother, Sam H. If you’ve enjoyed my AA Recovery Interviews series, have a listen to “Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered From Alcoholism”. This is the word-for-word, cover-to-cover reading of the First Edition of the Big Book, published in 1939. It’s a comfortable, meaningful, and engaging way to listen to the Big Book anytime, anyplace. Have a free listen at Audible, i-Tunes, or Amazon. I also invite you to check out my latest audio book, Lost Stories of the Big Book, 30 Original Stories Missing from the 3rd and 4th Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s an engaging audiobook I narrated to bring these stories to life for AA members who’ve never seen them. These timeless testimonials were originally cut to make room for newer stories in the 3rd and 4th Editions. But their vitally important messages of hope are as meaningful today as when they were first published. Many listeners will hear these stories for the first time. Lost Stories of the Big Book is available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. It’s also available as a Kindle book and in Paperback from Amazon if you’d like to read along with the audio. [Disclaimer: AA Recovery Interviews podcast strictly adheres to AA’s 12 Traditions and all General Service Office guidelines for safe-guarding anonymity on-line. I pay all podcast production costs. AA Recovery Interviews and my guests do not speak for or represent AA at-large. This podcast is simply my way of giving back to AA that which has been so freely given to me. – Howard L.]
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    1 hr and 2 mins
  • Jay S. – Sober Since May 2003 (Encore Episode)

    Jay S. – Sober Since May 2003 (Encore Episode)
    Jun 18 2025
    Jay’s foray into alcoholism stemmed from a difficult childhood in a home where his father drank, and fear and confusion reigned. By the time he started drinking in his early teens to quell the fear and ease his dissonance, he had set the pattern for a life of alcoholic behavior. Dishonesty and narcissism both isolated him and caused pain to those who cared about him. As his adult life was rapidly spinning out of control, Jay realized he needed help. He went into treatment and, subsequently, AA. But what started out as a good idea, inevitably failed as he continued to drink, paying lip-service to both treatment and half-hearted involvement in AA. In fact, as he collected countless desire chips on what seemed like a weekly basis, he labeled himself as Ph.D. in relapsing. Neither pride in nor practice of that degree did much to mitigate Jay’s incomprehensible demoralization. As the elevator plunged towards the bottom, his moment of clarity finally came into focus, Jay was finally ready to stop drinking and do the actual work to stay sober. Though Jay’s story is hilarious at times and tragic at others, it remains a cautionary tail of what can go wrong in the pursuit of sobriety. It’s value as a stark backdrop to Jay’s sober life in AA cannot be undervalued. His AA-inspired service work in the community and his no-nonsense approach to sponsoring other men in the program provides solid footing from which Jay can influence to the good in other people’s lives. His daily commitment to the basics of the Program has also made it possible to avoid hitting the potholes in his road of happy destiny. He is both available and approachable to others in a way that encourages his fellows to follow suit. I’m confident that you will benefit by listening to this episode of AA Recovery Interviews as we focus the next 65 minutes on my close friend and AA brother, Jay S. [This is an encore of Episode 76 originally released May 4, 2022.] If you’ve enjoyed my AA Recovery Interviews series, have a listen to “Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered From Alcoholism”. This is the word-for-word, cover-to-cover reading of the First Edition of the Big Book, published in 1939. It’s a comfortable, meaningful, and engaging way to listen to the Big Book anytime, anyplace. Have a free listen at Audible, Apple Books, or Amazon. I also invite you to check out my latest audio book, Lost Stories of the Big Book, 30 Original Stories Missing from the 3rd and 4th Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s an engaging audiobook I narrated to bring these stories to life for AA members who’ve never seen them. These timeless testimonials were originally cut to make room for newer stories in the 3rd and 4th Editions. But their vitally important messages of hope are as meaningful today as when they were first published. Many listeners will hear these stories for the first time. Lost Stories of the Big Book is available on Audible, Amazon, and Apple Books. It’s also available as a Kindle book and in Paperback from Amazon if you’d like to read along with the audio. [Disclaimer: AA Recovery Interviews podcast strictly adheres to AA’s 12 Traditions and all General Service Office guidelines for safe-guarding anonymity on-line. I pay all podcast production costs. AA Recovery Interviews and my guests do not speak for or represent AA at-large. This podcast is simply my way of giving back to AA that which has been so freely given to me. – Howard L.]
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    1 hr and 12 mins
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Just finished my first interview and love it!! I can listen at work and in the car now. Thank you❤️

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I'm an AlAnon, and get excited that I can get a probing yet caring understanding of AA via this meaty open show. I"ve listened to all the episodes, and they always power my 12 step day. Howard is a gifted interviewer - his questions skillfully pull even more experience, strength, and hope from the speakers' hearts and recovery stories.

High-quality AA, great variety of speakers, honest

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