Paul M. AA malePaul M. AA male
Recovery Radio Network
AA veteran Paul M. shares his decades of sobriety, stressing that real change comes from repeatedly working all 12 steps rather than relying on meetings alone. With humour and candour, he talks about untreated alcoholism, rigorous honesty, amends, and a spiritual life grounded in daily practice.
46:14•27 Apr 2026
Paul M. on Sober Since 1947: Why Meetings Alone Aren’t Enough
Episode Overview
- AA is presented as “of itself sufficient”, offering everything needed for sober and meaningful living within the fellowship and the steps.
- Simply attending meetings and not drinking is described as leaving alcoholism untreated; repeated work on all 12 steps is stressed as the real solution.
- Tradition Eight is highlighted, warning that paid counselling and professional roles can dilute AA’s message and motives.
- Regular written inventories, multiple fifth steps and concrete financial and relational amends are shown as key to relief from depression, fear and guilt.
- Prayer and meditation, focused on “knowledge of His will” rather than getting what you want, are described as central to ongoing spiritual growth.
“Going to meetings and not drinking do not treat my alcoholism. Working the 12 steps treats my alcoholism.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? Here, long‑time AA member Paul M. shares more than fifty years of experience with a mix of sharp humour and straight talking that makes heavy themes feel very human and very real.
Paul jokes about being on the “senior tour of Alcoholics Anonymous” and having “hadn’t had a drink or a pill… since August 15, 1947,” but he’s crystal clear on what he thinks keeps him sober: AA and the 12 Steps. He repeats a message he first heard in 1948 from early member Paul Stanley: “AA is of itself sufficient,” insisting that within the fellowship “you and I have… everything we need” to live well, not just dry.
You’ll hear Paul contrast early AA with the rise of the treatment industry, and why he believes professionalism has watered down the message. He leans heavily on Tradition Eight and is blunt about the dangers of “talking for money.” Instead, he puts his faith in amateurs helping each other for free. A big chunk of his talk centres on working and reworking the steps, especially 4–9.
Paul calls depression, anxiety and fear “symptoms of untreated alcoholism” and says his own relief came not from pills, but from inventories, repeated fifth steps, and making tough amends – including a powerful story of visiting his estranged father twice before his death. He explains how his group sponsors: rapid step work, swapping fifth steps, men with men and women with women, and very little emphasis on socialising.
Along the way, he drops memorable one‑liners, from AA picnics to “ethically challenged” presidents, keeping things light while talking about rigorous honesty, daily tenth steps, tithing, meditation, and a God “as you understand him”. If you’ve ever wondered whether just going to meetings is enough, Paul’s experience might nudge you to ask: how fully are you actually working the programme?
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