Ray G. – Sober 20 YearsRay G. – Sober 20 Years
AA Recovery Interviews
Ray G. shares how a loving childhood, deep insecurities, business success, and repeated DUIs led him to AA and 20 years of sobriety. He reflects on mentorship, family strain, loss, and the power of long-term fellowship and service in staying sober.
1:05:12•12 Aug 2026
From “Crazy Ray” to Maximum Service: Twenty Years Sober in AA
Episode Overview
- Even with a stable, loving childhood, feelings of inferiority can fuel alcohol and drug use as a way to feel bigger and more confident.
- Career success and social drinking can hide serious addiction, especially when alcohol is used to build relationships and stay "in the club."
- Court consequences, including long-term probation and the threat of prison, can become a turning point that pushes someone towards AA.
- Strong relationships with long-sober AA members can act like family, offering tough love, practical help, and a model of how to live sober.
- AA fellowship can provide crucial support through devastating losses, including the death of a child, helping people stay sober one day at a time.
““I was able to drop all my baggage of my library and let somebody review it and give it back to me.””
Ray grew up in a loving, noisy household of eight children, never really feeling deprived, but quietly battling feelings of inferiority from always being "the shortest in every grade." Alcohol and drugs quickly became his shortcut to confidence: “I could be somebody else when I was drunk… I could be Superman under drugs and alcohol.” As his career progressed and he started a successful telecom business, drinking simply became part of the job, a way to bond with clients and stay “in the club.” The cost was brutal.
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation with “Crazy Ray” G. offers a raw, funny, and very human look at building a new life after decades of booze, drugs, and DUIs. Multiple DUIs, near-misses on the road, draining the family finances on high-priced lawyers, and pushing his marriage to breaking point. At one crucial moment, he was facing serious prison time and ended up spending two and a half years in a treatment facility instead.
Even that wasn’t enough to keep him sober long-term. His 2006 felony DWI became the real turning point. Court-ordered to attend 90 meetings in 90 days, Ray found AA, and crucially, he found people. Old-timers like Ralph V. and James A. became “legacy” figures, passing on sayings, showing up in court with cheques from his mum, and offering the kind of tough love that comes from decades in the programme.
Ray explains AA as a place where he could "drop all my baggage of my library and let somebody review it and give it back to me." Now sober around 20 years, Ray talks about gaining back his health, building deep friendships, and inheriting Ralph’s Saturday meeting, which he still helps keep going.
He also shares how AA carried him through the devastating loss of his son, with fellow members forming “a club of our own” of parents who’ve lost children. If you’re wondering whether connection and long-term sobriety are really possible, Ray’s story might be the nudge you need to reach out and sit in a chair at a meeting—what’s stopping you from taking that first step?
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