Brenda J a self described lesbian - hispanic - catholic - alcoholic - drug addict - full figured woman (LGBTQ) NSFWBrenda J a self described lesbian - hispanic - catholic - alcoholic - drug addict - full figured woman (LGBTQ) NSFW
Sober Cast: An (unofficial) Alcoholics Anonymous Podcast AA
Brenda J shares a candid, funny and emotional AA speaker talk about staying sober as a lesbian Hispanic Catholic alcoholic and addict. She focuses on family, God, depression, service and the ongoing work of changing old ideas while remaining sober through major life changes.
1:06:30•2 Nov 2026
Brenda J: Faith, Family and a Wildly Honest Road to Sobriety
Episode Overview
- Brenda focuses on life in recovery more than drunk stories, stressing what has changed since joining Alcoholics Anonymous.
- Humour and straight talk help her share about pain, surrender, peace, God, love, forgiveness, holding on and letting go.
- She shows how family ties can both threaten and later support sobriety, including choosing AA over drinking with relatives.
- At two years sober she seeks treatment for depression and old beliefs about herself, others and God, showing that extra help can be part of recovery.
- Her story highlights service, sponsorship and turning up for others – from women she sponsors to schoolchildren and her own family.
“If the CD or the tape gets somewhere 10 years from now, and some newcomer is listening to it in the car, if all they get is, ‘God, if she made it, I can do it,’ that’s all that matters to me.”
What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? Brenda J from San Angelo, Texas answers that with equal parts honesty, grit, and laugh-out-loud humour. She walks on stage at the Big D Roundup calling herself a “lesbian, Hispanic, Catholic, alcoholic, drug addict, full-figured woman” and from there, you’ll get a raw, funny and deeply human account of life before and after Alcoholics Anonymous. This AA speaker meeting-style episode is aimed at anyone who wants straight-talking recovery without polish or pretence.
Brenda keeps her drinking history to “three sentences” and focuses instead on what happened once she stepped over the threshold into AA – from being shoved into a van for her first meeting, to sulking behind a newspaper with fake headphones, to being gently bullied into service by being demoted from ashtrays to Styrofoam cups. She talks through pain, surrender, God, love, forgiveness, holding on and letting go.
There are powerful moments about family: the sister who said she had to drink to belong, the decision to choose sobriety even if it meant walking away, and the slow repair of a brutal relationship with her father that turns into genuine tenderness and shared tears. Her story also touches on depression at two years sober, treatment for old ideas about herself, others and God, and how that work transformed her life.
One of her clearest intentions is simple: “If the CD or the tape gets somewhere 10 years from now, and some newcomer is listening to it in the car, if all they get is, ‘God, if she made it, I can do it,’ that’s all that matters to me.” If you’re juggling identity, family expectations and the chaos of early sobriety, this talk might feel like sitting with a slightly wild, brutally honest big sister who has been there.
Which part of her story sounds most like yours?
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