Dick M. AA Male
Dick M. AA Male

Recovery Radio Network

Long-sober AA member Dick M shares how sponsorship, action and community shaped his recovery, mixing candid stories with humour and practical experience. His talk focuses on working the steps, leaning on sponsors and helping others as key parts of staying sober.

HonestAuthenticInformativeHopefulEngaging

58:35•30 Mar 2026

RSS Feed

Sponsorship, Sobriety and a Sense of Humour: Dick M on AA Recovery

Episode Overview

AA’s promises do not arrive by wishful thinking; they follow from taking concrete actions such as working the steps and making amends.
Sponsorship offers principled direction when emotions cloud judgement, providing someone to be accountable to and to consult on difficult decisions.
Service roles, even simple tasks like greeting at meetings, can reduce fear of people and help someone become part of the AA community.
Helping others through sponsorship not only supports newcomers but also strengthens the sponsor’s own recovery and growth.
Recovery is described as creating an environment where people can get well together, with change often seen more clearly through others than in oneself.

“AA works because we work it. AA works because we take the actions.”

What remarkable journeys have people faced head-on against addiction? Here, long-time AA member Dick M shares exactly that, with over five decades of sobriety since September 1965 and a sharp sense of humour to match. Across this talk, you'll hear Dick focus on one central theme: action. He pushes back against the idea that the AA "promises" arrive by magic, stressing that "AA works because we work it" and that change comes from taking the steps, especially making amends.

He explains how Alcoholics Anonymous was built on the then-radical idea that actions change thinking – not the other way round. A big part of his story is sponsorship. Dick describes being "12-stepped in the very traditional sense" and how his sponsors, especially Buck Doyle and later Clancy, gave him "principled direction" when his own emotions would have led him astray.

He jokes that his opinions usually came from weakness, and that a sponsor’s job is to see clearly where he can’t. Dick also brings AA’s family feel to life. He talks about his "AA brothers", the chain of sponsorship, and how newcomers are placed in an environment where they can get well, even if no one can "fix" anyone else.

There are vivid snapshots: being stuck at a coffee shop table with early AA mentors, piling on hot fudge sundaes in early sobriety, greeting people at the door despite being terrified of others, and even sneaky smoking and health scares years into recovery. Throughout, he stays honest about fear, shame and even suicidal thoughts, but balances them with wry humour, practical direction and deep gratitude for AA.

For anyone curious about how sponsorship, service and steady action can sustain long-term sobriety, this talk offers a grounded, no-frills view of recovery in daily life. What actions could you take today that future-you might be grateful for?

PreviousThat's Me That's Me Episode # 8 Mary T.G.

NextDon L. AA Male