ESH: Sharon C - Stateline RetreatESH: Sharon C - Stateline Retreat
Sober Cast: An (unofficial) Alcoholics Anonymous Podcast AA
Sharon C shares her journey from chaotic drinking, jail and deep family pain to long-term sobriety, amends and gratitude through Alcoholics Anonymous. Her story focuses on dropping the victim role, rebuilding relationships and finding daily purpose in service and spiritual practice.
1:04:06•19 Oct 2026
Sharon C at Stateline Retreat: From Victimhood to Gratitude in AA
Episode Overview
- Alcohol can slowly strip away creativity, dignity and relationships, one "piece of your soul" at a time.
- Identifying as a victim can become a habit, but the AA steps offer a way to hang up that "itchy black victim cloak".
- Simple service commitments, like washing cups or buying cookies, help build connection and humility in early sobriety.
- Consistent financial and emotional amends can gradually rebuild trust with family members who were deeply hurt.
- Gratitude is expressed through daily actions – showing up, being kind, and staying open to helping others in recovery.
“"King Alcohol will ask you to slide across pieces of your soul if you go down that road."”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? In this heartfelt share from the Stateline Retreat in Las Vegas, Sharon C takes the mic and walks through a wild, often painful, and deeply moving drinking history that many will recognise, even if the details are unique. From Canadian Club with a Schlitz chaser to dancing on Bourbon Street in a platinum blonde wig, Sharon talks honestly about chasing a "spiritual experience" in the bottom of a bottle.
She describes blackouts, jail time in Bogalusa, life above a biker bar in the French Quarter, and the moment she saw the word "victim" written above her name on a hospital chart.
As she puts it, "King Alcohol will ask you to slide across pieces of your soul if you go down that road." You’ll hear about shattered creativity, broken family trust, and the long, messy road to making amends with the dad she once tormented by rattling ice cubes and waving nail-polish fumes. Her story shows how victimhood can become a second skin, and how, through the AA programme, that "itchy black victim cloak" can finally be hung up.
Sharon also shares the quieter gifts of long-term sobriety: washing coffee cups at meetings with her jaw wired shut, learning to be "the least disturbed person in the room", rebuilding relationships with her parents, and finding love and partnership in recovery. She reminds everyone that gratitude isn’t abstract – it’s found in simple daily actions: smiling at strangers, phoning someone who might be struggling, or just showing up with "smart feet" when the mind is noisy.
This talk is a good fit if you’re new, stuck in self-pity, or simply need a strong dose of AA experience, strength and hope with a touch of humour. Where might you still be clinging to that old cloak of victimhood, and are you ready to hang it up?
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