Dottie H. AA Female

Dottie H. AA Female

What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? For Dottie H., it started with a water glass full of booze at a family Christmas and a mother’s heartbreaking question: "Why do you drink so much?" From there, she takes you through a lifetime of fear, giggles at all the wrong moments, blackouts, and the desperate belief that alcohol was the only thing that made her able to function.

You’ll hear how she grew up in a loving Kansas family with “no alcoholism in my family”, yet carried crippling anxiety, grief, and a chronic inability to handle emotions.

Her first drink – a flaming concoction called "the thing" – felt like a miracle cure: "It was like a social lubricant… it took that knot out that was inside of me." What follows is a funny and painful ride through car sickness, blackout drinking, bizarre anti-drunkenness tricks (olive oil, cream, and too many chocolate bars), and humiliating memories she couldn’t recall the next day.

The turning point comes after that shattered Christmas, a desperate prayer to God, and a shaky phone call to a newly sober friend.

Dottie walks through early AA with her trademark humour: hiding in the kitchen doing dishes, only being able to say "I’m Dottie, alcoholic" before giggling and fleeing, and sponsors who answered every crisis with "Have you written your inventory?" This talk isn’t just about getting sober; it’s about staying sober through deaths, divorce, financial collapse, serious illness, and raw grief.

Dottie shows how the AA steps, daily reading, phone calls, and a growing relationship with a loving God carried her through, right down to boogie-boarding and playing softball with her grandkids. Her message is crystal clear: "You can stay sober no matter what." If you’ve ever wondered whether recovery can survive real life, this one will make you think again — what could staying sober "no matter what" look like for you?