David D Grace Group 07-08-26

David D Grace Group 07-08-26

What are the common struggles and victories in addiction recovery? This talk from Dave Dawson, shared at the Grace Group, offers a raw, moving account of chronic alcoholism, near-death, and long-term sobriety through Alcoholics Anonymous. Dave sets the tone early: his job is "an adequate presentation of the program" rather than a polished performance.

With 36 years of sobriety, he looks back to age 22, waking up in a Baltimore jail, then almost dying after a 20-foot fall from a car park while drunk. Doctors told his family he would either die or be brain damaged. Blood from his ears, paralysed on one side, he describes feeling death in "the chill in the marrow" and praying, "God, please help me." What follows is a story grounded in AA’s Big Book and service.

His grandmother rallies a prayer group in the middle of the night, and his sponsor, Tom F, rushes to the hospital. Tom stands over his bed and says the line that changes everything: "It never has to be this way again, Dave." From there, AA members bring meetings into his hospital room and later his home, "spoon feeding" him hope when he can’t walk, drive, or even trust his own mind.

Dave explains the "double‑edged sword" of alcoholism: the physical craving once he starts drinking and the restless, irritable state when he stops. He walks through the early steps, how he "borrowed" his sponsor’s God, and the moment Tom tells him, "You aren't losing it, you're getting it" as he experiences a spiritual awakening.

This talk will likely resonate with anyone who feels beyond help, anyone drowning in guilt with family, or anyone wondering if AA sponsorship and showing up for others really matters. Dave’s story suggests that even when medicine, family and clergy think it’s over, "maybe it’s just starting."