Chad P. AA Male
Chad P. AA Male

Recovery Radio Network

Chad P. shares his journey from chaotic drinking and failed attempts to stop, through intervention and early AA life, to a deeper recovery rooted in all twelve steps. He highlights how sponsorship, service and a spiritual solution changed his experience from mere abstinence to a meaningful sober life.

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1:00:11•25 Jun 2026

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From Taco Runs to Transformation: Chad P. on AA, Ego and Doing the Work

Episode Overview

Meetings alone may leave an alcoholic restless, irritable and discontent; a deeper solution is needed beyond just not drinking.
Alcohol initially felt like a spiritual experience for Chad, but repeated loss of control showed him the real nature of his alcoholism.
Intervention and treatment acted as a bridge into AA, where he was urged to ‘get in the middle’ and eventually to work all twelve steps.
Sustained recovery for Chad involved strict attention to steps 10 and 11, continuous inventory and a shift away from self‑will.
Working with sponsees and carrying the message became the real turning point, changing his focus from what he gets from AA to what he can give.

“I didn’t work the steps because I believed in God. I worked the steps because I believed in alcoholism.”

Interested in the personal battles against addiction? This talk from the Recovery Radio Network shares Chad P.’s raw, funny and very honest account of Alcoholics Anonymous life, from chaotic childhood to long-term sobriety.

Chad, an AA member sober since April 2003, paints a vivid picture of growing up in an alcoholic home where “five out of six of us have at some time been a member of a 12‑step fellowship”, mixing dark chaos with plenty of humour about bookies, parties and smashed plates.

He explains the inner voice that told him he wasn’t good enough, and how alcohol initially felt like “the solution for a spiritual malady”, giving him what he describes as his first version of a spiritual experience.

You’ll hear him describe brutal loss of control, including the night a 20‑minute taco run turned into a two‑week disappearance: “My 20‑minute trip to get tacos takes two weeks… that’s what happens when I lose control.” From there he moves into the “quitting years”, repeated failed attempts to stop, and an intervention that landed him in treatment and then AA. The heart of this talk is aimed at people who already know meetings but feel stuck or restless.

Chad talks about discovering the Big Book, being “12‑stepped” on the clubhouse steps, and finally embracing all twelve steps rather than just meetings. He stresses that sobriety alone isn’t the answer, calling out how restless, irritable and discontent life can feel without a spiritual solution.

Later, he shares how sponsorship and service shifted his entire focus: “The answer to alcoholism is to do the work… carrying this message and working with others.” His style is casual, self-deprecating and very down-to-earth, ideal if you’re in AA, thinking about it, or just wondering why meetings alone might not feel like enough. If you’ve ever sat in a meeting thinking, “Is this it?”, this talk might be the nudge you need.

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