Story MattB 20260821

Story MattB 20260821

Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? Matt, a long-time member of the Bouldin Group, shares a raw, funny, and deeply honest story about going from daily drinking and drug use to a life he actually wants to be present for. You’ll hear how a simple moment with his wife Charlotte – her saying, “I haven’t had a drink in three days, and I don’t want to drink anymore” – cracked something open in him.

Matt admits, “I said, I don’t know if I can stop. And I had never said those words before.” From there, his brother Danny introduces him to AA, the “doctor’s opinion,” and a room full of people laughing, hugging and saying things like, “You never have to drink again if you don’t want to.

Even if you do want to, you never have to drink again.” The episode walks through Matt’s early sponsorship with Gary, who gets him writing a first step on a yellow legal pad and doing quiet acts of kindness to get out of himself. Matt talks candidly about the steps, including freezing up on his fifth step until his sponsor shares some of his own history, which lets Matt “vomit it all out.” This isn’t a straight-line success story.

Matt describes a “decade of darkness” with untreated alcoholism while still sober, drifting away from meetings, drowning in self-pity, and nearly losing his marriage. The turning point comes when he drags himself back to AA, starts sponsoring again, and leans on old-timers like Jim Cooley and his current sponsor Billy Dee.

The style is relaxed, story-driven, and full of humour and colourful language, aimed at people in recovery, those wondering if they belong in AA, or anyone who’s stayed dry but miserable. Matt sums up his life today simply: he likes the man who shows up, he doesn’t want to die, and he’s learning to “show up happy and see what happens.” Ready to hear how long-term sobriety can still grow and change, even after decades?