Don L Step 12 Saratoga Springfest 2026

Don L Step 12 Saratoga Springfest 2026

Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This talk from Saratoga Springfest 2026 brings you straight into the heart of AA service, sponsorship, and Step 12 with speaker Don L from Bellingham, Washington. Don shares, with plenty of humour and honesty, what it means to live “happy, joyous and free” as “a drunk that doesn’t drink.” He talks about sponsorship as a hands-on, sometimes awkward, always essential part of recovery.

From being told to pray while not believing in God, to angrily welcoming a newcomer because his sponsor insisted, Don shows how reluctant action often comes before willingness. As his sponsor bluntly put it, “You’re 12 days sober… you’re living in an undeserved gift.” A big chunk of the talk focuses on carrying the message through real relationships.

Don tells stories about his first sponsee, Donnie, who asked him for help when Don had only six months sober, and how simple acts like reading the Big Book together under a streetlight became life-changing for both of them. “AA’s not complicated,” he says. “It’s monkey see, monkey do.

But you’ve got to pick the right monkeys.” You’ll also hear how these principles reach far beyond meetings: cleaning up legal wreckage through sponsored direction, stumbling into a career he hated then came to love, and practising Steps Ten, Eleven and Twelve at home in marriage. Don’s honest about his defects, especially anger, and walks through a powerful example of making amends to his wife after terrifying her with a rage outburst.

This talk is ideal if you’re new to AA, sponsoring others, or feeling stuck and wondering how to “practice these principles in all our affairs.” It’s a reminder that service, humility and a sense of humour can turn even the most unlikely lives around. What small act of service could you say yes to today?