Sober Sunrise - AA Speaker Podcast

Bill C. from Torrance, CA speaking about steps 6 and 7 at the Stateline Retreat in Primm, NV - December 9th - 12th 2010 Visit our website - Sober-Sunrise.com Bill reflects on growing up in an AA household, falling deep into addiction, and ultimately discovering humility, grace, and emotional maturity through the 12 Steps. Raised by devoted AA and Al-Anon parents, he rebelled into years of chaos, institutions, and isolation before his mother’s compassion brought him to recovery. His talk wove sharp humor with deep wisdom, exploring Steps Six and Seven as a lifelong process of growing up — learning self-awareness over self-obsession, intimacy over isolation, and service over ego. Through sponsorship, pain, and surrender, he discovered that true recovery isn’t just about abstinence but emotional connection, faith, and love in action. Now decades sober, Bill lives the full circle of healing—caring for his dying parents, sponsoring others, and maintaining a home filled with recovery and laughter—showing that giving love away isn’t how we keep it, but how we finally receive it. Music: Deep by KaizanBlu

Paul G. from Brookfield, OH speaking at the Spring Fling Conference in Eerie, PA - April 17th 2010 Visit our website - Sober-Sunrise.com Paul shares his deeply spiritual account of a life redeemed through Alcoholics Anonymous, tracing his path from a reckless San Francisco youth and hard-drinking biker to a grateful man of faith, service, and humility. Arrests, loss, and utter loneliness finally drove him into treatment, where a counselor’s challenge and an AA speaker’s message cracked his denial and gave him the first glimpse of hope. Though he nearly relapsed his first night out, one meeting and one handshake pulled him into the fellowship that saved his life. Guided by sponsors who taught that gratitude is action and that service is God’s work, he built a life of purpose—visiting newcomers, caring for aging parents, and helping countless others find recovery. Now more than three decades sober, Paul radiates humor, grace, and humility, proving that real freedom isn’t found in the bottle but in faith, love, and the daily act of showing up for God and others.  Music: Deep by KaizanBlu

Karen G. from Los Angeles, CA speaking at Jackson's Mill 31st Fall Roundup in Jackson's Mill, WV - October 4th 2008 Visit our website - Sober-Sunrise.com Karen delivers a powerful, hilarious, and deeply moving account of redemption through Alcoholics Anonymous, sharing how she rose from the depths of alcoholic and professional ruin to a life of faith, service, and grace. Once a nurse who lost everything—her children, career, and dignity—Karen found herself on Skid Row in Lincoln, Nebraska, drinking Mad Dog and dying from liver disease before AA and divine intervention saved her life. Guided by her sponsor, Clancy, she rebuilt from nothing, regaining her nursing license, joining the Pacific Group, and learning true humility through daily surrender and action. Her storytelling blended raw honesty and humor—from falling into a grave to accidentally super-gluing her ex-husband—reminding all that laughter and grace coexist in recovery. Today, she stands as living proof that no fall is too far for God’s mercy and AA’s miracle, having turned a life of despair into one filled with love, healing, and unwavering gratitude for “God’s magnificent AA.” Music: Deep by KaizanBlu

Steve D. from Rainbow, CA speaking at the Temecula water district meeting in Temecula, CA - 2011 Visit our website - Sober-Sunrise.com For Steve, a life that began in chaos and tragedy and was redeemed through the grace of Alcoholics Anonymous. From a childhood steeped in alcoholism and instability to wild years in the Navy, overseas near-death experiences, broken marriages, homelessness, and jails, Steve’s life was a portrait of self-destruction. He told with humor how he “got run over by a drunk driver — himself,” and how years of denial and pride kept him trapped in despair. His turning point came in a desert rehab after decades of drinking and homelessness, where he asked God for help and slowly began to rebuild through the Steps, sponsorship, and service. Through hard amends, humble faith, and willingness, Steve went from sleeping in cemeteries and soup kitchens to building a beautiful sober life — a loving marriage, honest friendships, steady work, and peace. His message shone with gratitude and laughter, proving that no matter how far one falls, God and AA can turn even the most broken story into a miracle of hope, dignity, and love. Music: Deep by KaizanBlu

Chris S. from Bedminster, NJ speaking on the topic of "First Step freedom, the gift of desperation" at the Nosara Big Book Workshop in Nosara Playa Guiones, Costa Rica - March 24th 2012 Visit our website - Sober-Sunrise.com Chris shared a powerful and practical talk on the Gift of Desperation and Step One, breaking down the truth of alcoholism with humor, depth, and clarity. Through vivid stories from his youth and years of struggle, he showed how the phenomenon of craving and the obsession of the mind made alcohol both his relief and his destroyer. He described how restless, irritable, and discontented living—long before sobriety—was the true prison, and how alcohol temporarily quieted the storm that only spiritual recovery could truly heal. Chris emphasized that Step One is the foundation of all recovery: accurately identifying the problem, surrendering fully, and finding motivation born from desperation. With heartfelt urgency, he reminded everyone that understanding powerlessness and unmanageability is not an academic exercise but a matter of life and death. His message—equal parts wisdom and warning—ended with a call to all sponsors and seekers alike: treat the First Step as sacred work, for it is where hopelessness transforms into hope and where the spiritual journey of freedom truly begins. Music: Deep by KaizanBlu

Jay S. from Redondo Beach, CA speaking at the 16th annual Thailand Roundup in Pattaya, Thailand - February 26th 2011 Visit our website - Sober-Sunrise.com Jay shares his deeply spiritual and profoundly humorous journey through 46 years of sobriety, blending the truth of Alcoholics Anonymous with timeless wisdom about grace, humility, and purpose. From his early years of chaos, blackouts, and denial to a complete surrender in 1979, Jay’s story illustrated how God—or what he calls light, truth, and love—can transform even the most broken spirit. Guided by old-timers who taught him honesty, service, and laughter, he rebuilt his life from living in a car to raising a peaceful family free of violence and fear. He spoke of the true miracle of AA—not just abstinence, but resurrection—where ordinary people become instruments of healing, raising the spiritually dead through compassion and service. With humor, reverence, and gratitude, Jay reminded all that recovery is a divine adventure, where love and laughter are not just byproducts of grace, but the very language of God. Music: Deep by KaizanBlu

Robin & Fernando speaking at the Thunderbird Speaker Meeting 449 Club in Yuma, AZ - January 13th 2007 Visit our website - Sober-Sunrise.com Robin and Fernando shared a powerful and contrasting testimony of recovery, showing how the same disease wears many faces but is healed through one spiritual solution. Robin’s story spoke for countless women who drank in shame and secrecy—trying to stay “ladylike” while spiraling into blackout nights, broken homes, and despair. From sipping other people’s drinks at fifteen to waking up soaked in humiliation, she found redemption when someone at her first AA meeting handed her a cup of coffee and showed her love without judgment. Through the 12 Steps, sponsorship, and service, she rebuilt her life into one of stability, education, marriage, and gratitude. Her husband Fernando then shared the other side of the coin—born into addiction, gang culture, and violence, he drank from childhood and lived homeless and hopeless before finally surrendering to AA in 1998. Guided by his sponsor and the Big Book, he rebuilt his spirit through faith, honesty, and helping others. Together, Robin and Fernando radiate the miracle of Alcoholics Anonymous—a union of grace and grit, proving that no matter how deep the darkness, God can use even broken lives to carry light to others. Music: Deep by KaizanBlu

Kenny D. from Seattle, WA doing a 12-step spiritual retreat in Santa Fe, NM - December 9th 2006 Visit our website - Sober-Sunrise.com Kenny’s workshop talk beautifully captured the heart of Step Two and Step Three in Alcoholics Anonymous — the journey from limited faith to full surrender. Through humor, humility, and vivid storytelling, he explored how closed-mindedness “fetters” the spirit and how willingness opens doors we never imagined possible. Reflecting on his early sobriety, he shared stories of disbelief, skepticism, and grace — from doubting God’s presence to praying his way up a mountain in a broken car to make his Third Step. His message centered on open-minded faith: that recovery begins not with proof but with willingness, and that surrender is the act of letting go of everything we think we know. Guided by meditation and prayer, Kenny led others through the Third Step — not as a ritual, but as a decision to begin real change through Steps Four through Nine. His story reminds all that spiritual freedom comes when we release fear, self-will, and resentment — allowing the sunlight of the Spirit to finally shine through. Music: Deep by KaizanBlu

Mike L. from Indianapolis, IN speaking at the men's St. Benedict retreat in McKenzie Bridge, OR - March 3rd-5th 2006 Visit our website - Sober-Sunrise.com Mike shares his spiritually rich story of redemption, illustrating how the power of surrender, honesty, and divine grace transformed a life once dominated by fear, pride, and self-will. From his first drink at age twelve, Mike spent years chasing the false sense of peace alcohol gave him—through war, failed relationships, and near-total ruin—until he reached a point of spiritual bankruptcy, crawling on a bathroom floor and begging for help. Through the mercy of old friends and Alcoholics Anonymous, he found recovery, discovering that true healing came not from intellect or effort but from a relationship with God and the fellowship of AA. After years of sobriety, Mike’s faith was tested again through divorce, illness, and cancer, each time deepening his surrender and gratitude. His story embodies the essence of recovery: that no matter how far one falls, grace can restore purpose, integrity, and love, turning even pain into a pathway toward God and service to others. Music: Deep by KaizanBlu

Robi S. from Ventnor City, NJ speaking on the topic of sponsorship at an Acts of Recovery Conference in Haddonfield, NJ - October 12th 2013 Visit our website - Sober-Sunrise.com Robi shares a heartfelt and deeply spiritual story of transformation—how years of pain, fear, and self-loathing gave way to freedom once she surrendered completely to God through the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. After countless failed attempts to fill the emptiness inside with people, substances, and chaos, she found lasting peace through honest sponsorship and rigorous step work. Guided by a sponsor who told her the truth, Robi learned that recovery wasn’t about managing life—it was about being remade through spiritual action and service. She now lives a life filled with purpose, leading a thriving sponsorship family, helping women awaken to God’s love, and walking hand-in-hand with others in recovery. Her message shone with humor, humility, and hope, reminding all that the miracle of AA lies not in staying dry, but in living with grace, truth, and joyful service to others. Music: Deep by KaizanBlu