Shawn S. – Sober 8 Years

Shawn's story should be required listening for any recovering  alcoholic facing a devastating loss early in their sobriety. In Shawn’s case, he was three years into the Program when he got word in the middle of the night that his brother had been a passenger in a helicopter that crashed on the East Coast. In the frantic hours that followed, Shawn’s sponsor directed him to a 6:30 AM meeting at a local AA club. By the time he arrived, Shawn learned that there had been one survivor of the crash, but it wasn’t his brother. Crushed by the reality of his brother’s death, Shawn tearfully shared with the group about the horrible loss of his younger brother with whom he’d been incredibly close and had just seen the previous weekend. Immediately after the meeting, Shawn was enveloped by a group of people in a cocoon of love, empathy, and support. By the time he reached New York to bury his brother, Shawn had received more than 100 texts and phone calls of support, including those from AA members he hardly knew. The lessons that Shawn and his AA fellows learned from that terrible event ultimately turned out as a blessing to all. To me, the God-part of it all is that it was Shawn’s brother who’d convinced him to go to AA in the first place. Shawn’s tale of becoming an alcoholic, despite both his father and sister being long-term AA members, will be readily identifiable to those who were functional alcoholics years before coming to the Program. Like many of us, he was seriously challenged by feelings of low self-esteem and unworthiness. Shawn still managed to carve out an incredibly successful career on Wall Street, albeit as a drunk. But the escalation of his problems related to drinking overtook that success and he quickly spiraled downward. And though he somehow managed to stay dry without AA for four years, and then sober in AA for five years before he relapsed, it wasn’t until he buckled down to the Program eight years ago that his life turned around with the grateful acceptance of God and AA into his daily life. I’ll leave the rest of the story for you to savor during this episode AA Recovery Interviews with my friend and AA brother, Shawn S. If you’ve enjoyed my AA Recovery Interviews series and my Big Book podcast, have a listen to 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. Check out my Big Book Podcast, the complete unabridged audio version of the First and Second Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. The Big Book Podcast is an engaging cover-to-cover, word-for-word reading of all 11 chapters and Personal Stories, many of which were left out of the Third and Fourth Editions. Follow us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Or listen on https://bigbookpodcast.com [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 and no one receives financial gain from the show. 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.]