Sponsorship with Dick M., Peggy M.Sponsorship with Dick M., Peggy M.
Recovery Radio Network
AA members with long-term sobriety share candid stories about being sponsored and sponsoring others, highlighting tough love, service, and Big Book guidance. The focus stays on how real sponsorship relationships help people stay sober and grow over time.
56:56•19 May 2026
Sponsorship, Tough Love and Laughter in Long-Term AA Sobriety
Episode Overview
- Sponsorship is presented as a core ethic of AA, not just a label, involving close, honest and sometimes uncomfortable relationships.
- Several speakers stress sponsoring the way they were sponsored, grounding their guidance in the AA Big Book and regular meetings.
- Having one sponsor at a time helps avoid shopping for the easiest answer and supports taking clear, principled direction.
- Working with newcomers and sponsoring others is described as a key way to stay sober, grow spiritually, and regain enthusiasm for the programme.
- Tough love – saying what someone needs to hear rather than what they want to hear – is framed as a genuine act of care, rather than being "nice" while they slide back towards drinking.
“Sponsorship is the greatest act of love.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This panel-style AA recording focuses on the nuts and bolts of sponsorship, with long-time members sharing how being sponsored – and sponsoring others – keeps them sober and grounded.
Colleen sets the tone with warmth and humour, saying she "sponsors like I was sponsored" and values a strong sponsorship "family" where women can call each other when "something's going down." Her sponsor put her straight into action: Big Book reading, daily calls, and institution meetings, even when she hated being told to "go find the new girl" instead of obsessing about her own problems. Clint speaks as the "newcomer on the block" despite decades of sobriety.
He reads from the Big Book about how a sponsor should have "no attitude of holier than thou" and admits he often falls short of that ideal. His stories show sponsorship in action: being pushed to pay child support properly, tell the truth on his bar application, and stop playing games with his responsibilities. He notes that sponsoring others forces him to keep growing: "When I move, they move. And if I don't move, they don't move." Dick M.
talks about a sponsorship ethic built on respect and clear direction. He shares the idea of having one sponsor at a time so there’s no shopping for the easiest answer, and describes his sponsor's blunt approach to his "broken thinker": he doesn’t negotiate, he gives simple directions and expects them to be followed. Finally, Peggy Munner brings sharp honesty and humour, calling sponsorship "the most important ethic" in her life.
She refuses to "pamper" sponsees into the grave and insists that real care means saying what needs to be said, even when it’s uncomfortable. For her, "sponsorship is the greatest act of love" because it gets her out of self and into helping others. If you’re curious about how sponsorship really works in AA – warts, laughter and all – this conversation offers plenty to relate to and think about.
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