Jake G. Age 29 Sober: 7/13/17

Jake G. Age 29 Sober: 7/13/17

How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation between host Mike S and guest Jake G gives a raw, funny, and very honest look at exactly that. Jake, 29 and sober since July 2017, talks about how he didn’t “get it” the first time round in AA.

He shares wild, very specific stories from his drinking days: all-day bar crawls that start with a beer at 11:30am, driving at 60mph with no brakes to try to find cocaine, waking up next to a stranger, and stumbling into work reeking of alcohol while insisting he was fine.

He also recalls his parents finding him at 6 or 7 in the morning and his mum saying, “I love you, but I don’t like you right now” – a line that hit like “a knife in the chest”. The chat tracks the shift from “I just need a break” to “I need to be sober.” Jake describes going in and out of AA, fake day-counting, trying to swap substances, and assuming everyone else in meetings must be lying.

Mike relates with his own experience of manipulating rules around substances and faking his way through early recovery. Things change when Jake asks for help getting into rehab, starts taking suggestions seriously, and actually works the programme. He talks about his first amends – turning up 10 years later to pay for a smashed mailbox – and emotional amends to his parents, who cut him off mid-speech to say everything was forgiven.

There’s also a warm section on finding AA meetings around the world and feeling at home, whether in New York, London or Bermuda. For anyone worrying what people will think if they stop drinking, Jake’s message is simple: if someone sees you in AA, they’re there for the same reason. If you’re stuck in that “one last bender” loop, this chat might make you ask yourself what your own “writing on the wall” looks like.