Jim K. AA speakerJim K. AA speaker
Recovery Radio Network
speaking in 1984
1:02:36•28 Jan 2019
Jim K.’s Wild Ride from Blackouts to Gratitude in AA
Episode Overview
- Alcoholism can begin with seemingly ‘normal’ teenage drinking and progress quietly for years before the consequences become undeniable.
- Blackouts, accidents, violence and legal trouble are shown as clear markers that drinking has moved far beyond social use.
- AA members and Al-Anon family support play a crucial role in repeatedly offering help, even when someone keeps returning to alcohol.
- Simply attending meetings is not enough for lasting sobriety; working the Twelve Steps thoroughly, including a written Fourth and honest Fifth Step, is presented as essential.
- Recovery is portrayed as imperfect but worthwhile, involving financial repair, mending relationships, parenting and learning basic adult life skills sober.
“As a practising alcoholic I had no rights. Society can do anything it chooses to do with me when I am drunk, and I can’t lift a finger to stop it.”
What remarkable journeys have people faced head-on against addiction? This talk from Jim K. gives a raw, funny and sometimes shocking look at exactly that. Speaking to an AA audience in 1984, Jim walks through his life as a “registered alcoholic” with a mix of dark humour and brutal honesty.
From his first teenage drink – when “my pimples fell off, I could dance better, I could talk to girls” – to blackouts, hospitals, straitjackets and mental health wards, he lays out the progression of alcoholism without dressing it up. You’ll hear about a so‑called ‘functional’ alcoholic family, brewing beer in a school basement, near-fatal accidents, and the slow slide into daily dependence.
Jim doesn’t present himself as a hero; he talks about violence, shame and the damage done at home, including the moment he points a gun at his wife and ends up strapped down in a psychiatric unit. The turning point comes as he starts attending AA, helped by persistent members and a very determined Al‑Anon wife.
He shares how treatment centres, big book studies and finally working a proper Fourth and Fifth Step shifted him from just admitting he was alcoholic to actually staying sober. One line hits especially hard: “As a practising alcoholic I had no rights.
Society can do anything it chooses to do with me when I am drunk.” Later, Jim also speaks candidly about swapping alcohol for nitrous oxide, another trip to treatment, early sober depression, financial chaos, and slowly rebuilding a marriage, career and family life through AA and Al‑Anon support. This episode suits anyone in recovery, those wondering if they’re alcoholic, and loved ones trying to understand.
It’s messy, honest and often very funny – the kind of story that makes you ask: how far am I willing to go to stay sober today?
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