Dave F. Manastash Men's Retreat 2026Dave F. Manastash Men's Retreat 2026
Mad Dog Recovery AA Speakers
AA speaker Dave F. shares his journey from violent drinking and a shattered face to a long sober life as a pilot, husband and father. He talks frankly about faith, pain, family, emotional work and the Big Book tools that keep him sober and spiritually grounded.
1:12:43•17 Jun 2026
From Mad Dog to Airline Pilot: Dave F.’s Hard-Hitting Story of Sobriety and Faith
Episode Overview
- Fellowship is vital, but the actual AA programme lives in the Big Book and needs to be worked step by step with a sponsor.
- Honesty, even when careers and reputations are on the line, can change outcomes and is central to long-term sobriety.
- Deep pain – physical or emotional – may require intensified prayer, meditation and outside help, rather than self-pity or relapse.
- Keeping a written "miracles list" can help during dark periods by showing where help and grace have appeared before.
- Living transparently, dropping secrets and seeking counselling can protect both sobriety and relationships over the long haul.
“"God's grace lasts only as long as ignorance."”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? At the Manastash Men's Retreat, AA member Dave F. shares a raw, funny, and hard-hitting story that many in recovery will recognise instantly. He talks about growing up in a loving yet violent alcoholic home, learning early on that "there's tremendous value in that substance that's in the glass" and chasing that first warm hit of beer for years.
You’ll hear how his drinking escalated into bar fights, blackouts and, eventually, a brutal beating that left his face shattered and landed him in intensive care – and how that night in 1981 became his sobriety date. From there, Dave describes being literally surrounded by AA – working on a sober masonry crew, going to meetings all day, and being pushed into proper step work by straight-talking sponsors and even a priest.
He contrasts the comfort of fellowship with the actual AA programme in the Big Book, and admits how, over time, success, career and ego pulled him away from the basics. Much of the episode will hit home for anyone who’s juggled recovery with "good" life problems. Dave shares near-disaster in a 747 over the Alps, rigorous honesty in FAA investigations, getting called up for the Gulf War, and a terrifying back injury that left him in agony and nearly suicidal.
His tools? Prayer, meditation, radical honesty, and what he calls his "miracles list" to remind himself that "God was there" even in the darkest moments.
He also speaks openly about marriage, counselling, sexual behaviour in AA, his son’s severe mental health struggles, and why he now lives with total transparency: "God's grace lasts only as long as ignorance." Expect humour, blunt truth, and a clear warning that real emotional work in recovery can bring an "emotional hangover" – but also a level of freedom he describes as the best his life has ever been.
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