Lynna talks to Olis and Don about jumping in to AA with both feet. She got a sponsor right away, a sponsor who spoke out of the Big Book, and she started on the Steps too. Lynna found a large group of young friends in AA and that helped her too. In A Newcomer Asks Jen asks when should one get a sponsor. Olis, Don and Sam discuss Listener Feedback f…

S6E13 Shank and Wayne share their experience on Season 6 and Grapevine Books. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "I've got a built in forgetter", "The goal is not to think less of myself but to think of myself less", and "Half measures availed us nothing". If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email Alcoholics Alive at freedom@alcoholicsali…

Andrea, who's story appears in the July Prison issue of Grapevine, talks to Don and Sam about getting sober while incarcerated. She recalls a women who brought a meeting into the facility saying to her "you don't ever have to feel this way again," and it made a huge impact on her. Andrea also tells about giving her Fifth Step to a guard. Andrea hel…

S6E12 Brie shares her experience with Sponsorship. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "You can only keep what you have by giving it away", "In the rooms" and "SLIP (sobriety losses its priority). If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email Alcoholics Alive at freedom@alcoholicsalive.comBy Shank and Wayne

Sam and Olis host Don and Chris to answer listener questions about the podcast following AA's Twelve Traditions. The questions include: "Who gets to say what constitutes a good AA program?" "Is sharing an online AA meeting's login credentials Grapevine promoting a particular meeting?" and "Is it wrong for the AA Grapevine podcast to have AA celebri…

Shank and Wayne discuss some Grapevine history, personal experience, relevance and financial condition. If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email Alcoholics Alive at freedom@alcoholicsalive.comBy Shank and Wayne

S6E11 Chris shares his experience with coming to believe. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "I came, I came to, I came to believe", "Give your higher power a hand for the chips that you hold", and "ISM - I sponsor myself". If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email Alcoholics Alive at freedom@alcoholicsalive.com…

Tracy describes to Don and Olis how she came to AA by way of the Al-Anon Family Groups and how she could see alcoholism in everyone but herself. Tracy says she only had to change one thing—everything. Now she strives to live a sober life of service. In a Blast from the Past, we hear a recording that Ernest M. gave to the Tudor Group in 1952. Alan c…

S6E10 Steve shares his experience with Long Term Sobriety. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "A check up from the neck up", "An alcoholic on his own is terrible company" and "There's only two things you have to do to become an old timer: Don't drink and don't die". If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email Alcoholics Alive at freedom@alc…

Scotty, who got sober before he was old enough to drink, talks to Don and Sam about hitting his bottom while dry and learning the value of working AA's 12-Step program. He started to listen, and the Steps brought him closer to God in many areas of his life. There's also an Ask it Basket question about chips and medallions. While we provide the podc…

S6E9 Tom shares his experience with Making Amends. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "I'm making living amends", "Everything happens for a reason" and "There are no coincidences in AA". If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email Alcoholics Alive at freedom@alcoholicsalive.comBy Shank and Wayne

AA Grapevine Magazine celebrates 80 years of member-to-member sharing of experience, strength and hope this month. Grapevine has helped alcoholics each month since that first issue in June of 1944 and in recent years has grown into a multi-media outlet reaching members and potential members on a weekly and even daily basis through our apps, podcast…

Special Episode - Shank and Wayne discuss the approved Advisory Action from the 74th General Service Conference relating to the PLBB: The committee recommended that the draft manuscript “Plain Language Big Book: A Tool for Reading Alcoholics Anonymous” be approved with minor editorial changes to include: • Relocation of the “A.A. Steps Table” to co…

S6E8 Katie shares her experience with "Thank you for sharing". Meeting Shrapnel discusses "You can only keep what you have by giving it away", "Act of Dog" and "I have a Sponsor who knows they are my Sponsor". If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email Alcoholics Alive at freedom@alcoholicsalive.com…

Dawn from Port Coquilam, BC and Patrick from Vancouver, WA share with Don and Olis about coming into AA and finding general service to be a great way to enhance their lives in sobriety. Both serve as District Committee members and they share how they participated in helping bring more people into service in their districts. This discussion resulted…

S6E7 Nick shares his experience with "Into Action". Meeting Shrapnel discusses "A member in good standing", "Grateful to be here, grateful to be sober", and "Suit up and show up". If you have a question, commment or suggestion you can email Alcoholics Alive at freedom@alcoholicsalive.comBy Shank and Wayne

Nathan joins Sam and Don and talks about how in his early days in AA he found the laughter and fun to be annoying. In time though he too found joy in sobriety. Nathan describes starting a new young persons' group and finding that service is the path to long term sobriety. There's an Ask it Basket question from Craig too. While we provide the podcas…

S6E6 Tracy shares her experience with being Happy, Joyous and Free sober. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "Poor Me, Poor Me Pour Me another Drink", "If you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your Plan" and "FEAR - Fight Everyone and Relapse". Email questions, suggestion or comments to freedom@alcoholicsalive.com…

Sam and Olis have a frank conversation with Debbie and Scott about sex in sobriety. They all discuss such topics as new relationships in the first year, different takes on the "3Ms," and thirteenth stepping. Olis sums it up well, "we came to have a conversation about sex and we ended up having a conversation about faith and about honesty and about …

S6E5 Jeremy shares his experience with being free while incarcerated. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "I'm allergic to alcohol - when I drink, I break out in handcuffs", "Stick with the winners", and "One more link in the chain". If you have a comment, question of suggestion you can email Alcoholics Alive at freedom@alcoholicsalive.com…

Todd, whose story "New Guy in Town" appears in the May issue of Grapevine, talks to Olis and Don about becoming willing to go to any length to get sober. First, though, he experienced a last drunk that convinced him he was powerless over alcohol and that his life was unmanageable. Jon W., now the Editor-in-Chief of Grapevine, Inc., comes on to disc…

S6E4 Julia shares her experience with being Young and Sober in AA. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "PUSH - Pray until something happens", "Whom I choose to call God" and "It works if you work it, work, work, work." If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email Shank and Wayne at freedom@alcoholicsalive.com…

Mily talks with Don and Sam about trying to get sober on her own, but drinking every day. Some folks suggested she try AA, and her first meeting was a 4,000-person roundup. The three discuss the early history of women in AA, including two women who worked on the original Grapevine. You can find photos of the original Grapevine, and other items ment…

S6E3 Dee G. shares her experience with handling adversity in sobriety. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "Life on lifes terms", "In the rooms" and "There is no escalator to recovery, you have to take the steps". If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email Shank and Wayne at freedom@alcoholicsalive.com…

Jimmy D. talks to Don and Olis about the difference between going to AA and being in AA. Jimmy says the most profound AA job he has done was putting signs out for his group. The three then discuss the power of group commitments in AA. There's also an "Ask it Basket" question about June 10 as AA's anniversary date. While we provide the podcast at no…

Drew shares his experience with AA in the Military. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "Give up the fight, pick up a white!", "$5000 Big Book" and "Stick and Stay". If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email Shank and Wayne at freedom@alcoholicsalive.comBy Shank and Wayne

In this episode Kristen talks to Olis and Sam about learning to socialize and some of the changes in the family after she stopped drinking. Over time, Kristen found a special man who is amazingly supportive of her AA program. The three then discuss some posts and emails from #heardinameeting. On the Listener Feedback Line we hear from Jerry and Jac…

S6E1 Carmack shares his experience with Fun in Sobriety. Epic meeting shrapnel segment explores "Has anyone told you they love you today?", "Progress not perfection", and "Change is a process not an event." If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email Shank and Wayne at freedom@alcoholicsalive.com…

Brothers Ralph W. and Ronald W. talk with Olis and Don about the combination of grace and surrender that brought them in to A.A. They talk about service people working in the hospitals and institutions committees that helped them, and discuss a Big Book study group they participate in. While we provide the podcast at no charge, we do have expenses.…

S5E13 Shank and Wayne share their experience on the 12 Traditions during the Season 5 wrap up. If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email Shank and Wayne at freedom@alcoholicsalive.comBy Shank and Wayne

Kathy, whose article appears in the April issue of Grapevine magazine, shares with Olis and Sam about her experience with reading the Big Book for the first time in two days and thinking to herself: "this is me, this is me" throughout the book. Her book today is marked up, torn and taped together. Kathy also discusses the uncommon honesty she found…

S5E12 Suzi shares her experience with Tradition 12. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "Yay God, "Put the hearse in reverse" and "I would lie when the truth would suffice". If you hae a quesiton, comment or suggestion you can email Shank and Wayne at freedom@alcoholicsalive.comBy Shank and Wayne

Ramon shares with Don and Olis his experience with the Twelve Steps and how he continues to work them, to the extent of putting an inventory on paper each week. Olis and Don inform listeners about the Grapevine's Traditions Checklist. At the end you'll hear excerpts from Grapevine's new audio book Prayer and Meditation. While we provide the podcast…

S5E11 Graham shares his experience with Tradition 11. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "I'm recovering out loud" "Grateful recovering alcoholic" and "Just another bozo on the bus". If you have a suggestion, comment or question you can email Shank and Wayne at freedom@alcoholicsalive.comBy Shank and Wayne

Mary shares with Don and Sam the good advice she got from a professional who recommended AA, that she not try to figure it out all at once. She talks about the benefits of her slow recovery. Mary shared a photograph with the podcast hosts of a note she scribbled at an early meeting, where she heard tips for avoiding the first drink. In "Listener Fe…

S5E10 Courtney shares her experiene with Tradition 10. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "I have a sponsor, who has a sponsor, who has a sponsor", "The big meeting in the sky" and "Do a fourth or you'll drink a fifth". If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email Shank and Wayne at freedom@alcoholicsalive.com…

Chris talks with Sam and Olis about Bill W.'s early writings that defined self as the root of our troubles. They discuss the differences and the cohesion of the fellowship and the program, and there's a funny story about drunk dialing. In Listener Feedback we hear from Donna and Jeremiah. While we provide the podcast at no charge, we do have expens…

S5E9 Kevin shares his experience with Tradition 9. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "God's got this", "One day at a time" and "One is to many and a thousands not enough!" If you have a question, comment of suggestion email Shank and Wayne at freedom@alcoholicsalive.comBy Shank and Wayne

Nadja, who's article appears in the March issue of Grapevine, discusses her journey to AA and her work in bringing Spanish-speaking and English-speaking members together. Paz, the Chair of the AA Grapevine Board, talks about La Viña magazine and connecting with the Spanish-speaking community. In a bonus section, Aaron talks about his Big-Book-quote…

S5E8 Carrie B shares her experience on Tradition 8. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "Drop the Rock", "First Things First" and "Try it for 90 days - if you are still miserable we will refund your misery". Send quetions, comments or suggestion to Shank and Wayne at freedom@alcoholicsalive.comBy Shank and Wayne

Cindy tells Don and Sam that while early on she admitted powerlessness, deep inside she had the thought that some day, some how she could drink again. Eventually she did have a relapse. It took more, she needed to admit at her inner-most self that she was an alcoholic. The three also discuss honest and being useful even during hardship. "Stump the …

S5E7 Matt shares his experience with Tradition 7. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "Nobody gets here by mistake", "I've got to balance the gifts the program has given me" and "Because of you people and the rooms". If you have a questions, suggestion or comment you can email Shank and Wayne at freedom@alcoholicsalive.com…

Sam and Don talk to Debbie, who serves as Secretary for Area 51. Debbie tells about coming to AA as the result of strong suggestions from her probation officer, her treatment counselor and various law enforcement officials. She feels that her service in jails and prisons keeps her out of jail. Also, Sam and Olis discuss the 2022 Membership survey. …

S5E6 Amy shares her experience with Tradition 6. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "Stick and Stay", "I didn't get into trouble everytime I drank, but everytime I got into trouble I was drinking", and "I'm just a garden variety drunk". If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email it to freedom@alcoholicsalive.com…

In this episode we get to learn a bit about how the podcast is put together as Don and Sam talk shop with Bob S., a Grapevine podcast editor. The three go on to talk about coming into AA, observing others' growth as they work the program, and the healing and strengthening of relationships as we make Ninth Step amends. There's a great question from …

David F shares his experience with Tradition 5. Meeting Shrapnel discusses "Me and My Recovery", "I got a God size hole inside, and only God can fill it", and "AA is for those that want it, not those who need it". If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email Shank and Wayne at freedom@alcoholicsalive.com…

Lisa, who's story appears in the February issue of Grapevine magazine, shares with Don and Sam about how not putting sobriety first led to a relapse. Lisa goes on to describe how God places people in her life when she needs them, or when they need her. While we provide the podcast at no charge, we do have expenses. Grapevine is the only AA entity t…

S5E4 Tammy shares her experience with Tradtion 4. Meeting Shrapnel Segment discusses "I've been sober a few 24 hours", "You gotta clean up what you messed up", and "I'm not a bad person trying to get good - I'm a sick person trying to get well". If you have a question, comment or suggestion you can email Shank and Wayne at freedom@alcoholicsalive.c…

Joe talks to Sam and Olis about being secular in a spiritual program. There's listener feedback from Penny on the different types of AA meetings, and Aaron writes in about his favorite line from the Big Book, which is tattooed on his forearm. While we provide the podcast at no charge, we do have expenses. Grapevine is the only AA entity that does n…

S5E3 Billy shares his experience with Tradition 3. Meeting Shrapnel segment looks at "Powder form of alcohol", "My disease is an inside job" and "I have alcohol-ism not alcohol-wasim". If you have a comment, suggestion or question you can email Shank and Wayne at freedom@alcoholicsalive.comBy Shank and Wayne