016: "The Roustabout" Fred D. shares his 8 yr story of addiction, drug abuse and alcoholism until he finds recovery!016: "The Roustabout" Fred D. shares his 8 yr story of addiction, drug abuse and alcoholism until he finds recovery!
The SHAIR Recovery Podcast
Fred D. recounts 8 chaotic years of alcohol and drug use, including heroin overdoses and cross-country escapades, before entering AA in 1972. He shares how simple AA basics, spiritual practice and strong groups carried him through 43 years of sobriety, loss, and rebuilding a meaningful life.
59:39•2 Jun 2015
From Heroin Overdoses to 43 Years Sober: Fred D.’s AA Journey Across America
Episode Overview
- Strong attachment to party friends can be a major barrier to getting clean until desperation sets in.
- Simple daily practices—prayer, meditation, meetings, sponsorship and group membership—formed the backbone of Fred’s early sobriety.
- Long-term recovery involves earning back respect through consistent behaviour, not quick promises.
- The “disease” can resurface through self-will and emotional chaos even without drinking, especially when spiritual practices and meetings are dropped.
- Finding a solid home group and a strong sponsor is presented as the single most important suggestion for newcomers.
“"You had better straighten yourself out or you will wish you had."”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation with “The Roustabout” Fred D. offers a raw, detailed look at what 8 chaotic years of addiction can do to a life—and what 43 years of recovery can look like on the other side. Fred, now 67 and sober since 1972, talks about growing up with two alcoholic parents who later found long-term recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous.
He describes his first drunk at 15, going straight from grey-out to alcoholic coma and being told by his sober parents, “You’re an alcoholic.” From there, it’s a whirlwind of daily drinking, pot, speed, LSD, heroin overdoses and white lightning in New Orleans, oil-rig work as a roustabout, Woodstock on acid, hitchhiking across the U.S., and stunts that could easily have killed him.
The episode shifts gears as Fred recounts the moment of sheer terror in delirium tremens when a voice in his head said, “You had better straighten yourself out or you will wish you had.” He walks through his first meeting, the simple five suggestions that gave him hope, and how Boston-style AA—heavy on basics like meetings, sponsorship, and prayer—became his foundation.
You’ll also hear how long-term recovery unfolds: rebuilding trust with family, taking over his father’s waterfront coffee shop, starting a successful seafood distribution business, marrying a fellow sober alcoholic, drifting away from meetings, and then being forced back to spiritual basics after his wife’s death.
Fred is very clear that the “disease” stayed active even without a drink, and he credits returning to AA and a strong men’s group in Costa Rica with giving him some of the best years of his life. If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s too late, too messy, or too far gone, Fred’s story might make you ask instead: what could happen if you really threw in the towel and gave recovery everything?
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