That's Me! That's Me! episode 22 with Gary M.
That's Me! That's Me! episode 22 with Gary M.

Recovery Radio Network

Gary M. shares how a powerful moment of identification in AA started his journey to 50 years of sobriety, with service, family recovery, and simple daily tools at the heart of his story. The conversation also looks back at early AA in Cincinnati and reflects on how unity, commitment, and humour help keep recovery going one day at a time.

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47:59•3 Jul 2026

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“That’s Me, That’s Me”: Gary M. on 50 Years of Sobriety and Showing Up

Episode Overview

Hearing someone describe their drinking with striking similarity can create a powerful “that’s me, that’s me” moment that brings a person back to AA.
Early and consistent service work, such as taking institution meetings, can anchor sobriety by creating commitment and connection.
Simple practical tips, like always keeping a soft drink in hand at parties, can ease fears about staying sober at social events.
Tools like the Serenity Prayer, “just for today” readings, and the first tradition help shift focus from self‑centred fear to shared welfare and unity.
Recovery can run through families, with AA and Al‑Anon offering parallel paths of support for both Alcoholics and their loved ones.

“Best chance today I ever had at permanent long-term sobriety is right here and right now.”

Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation on Recovery Radio Network’s “That’s Me! That’s Me!” drops you right into the Cincinnati Public Radio studio with hosts Monica Kay and Julia Jay as they sit down with long‑time AA member Gary M. The show’s focus is simple but powerful: what actually brings someone back to their *second* AA meeting?

Gary, sober since the mid‑70s, shares how his own “that’s me, that’s me” moment came when an old-timer described being too scared to have a lunchtime beer in case he never made it back to work.

Gary realised, “oh my gosh, that is absolutely, that’s me, that’s me.” You’ll hear about AA in Cincinnati 50 years ago, when the oak street clubhouse phone rang behind the coffee bar and someone would shout, “we got a live one.” Gary talks about starting service work at just three months sober, being handed an institution meeting that “saved my tail” and taught him that commitment and giving it away to keep it are key.

The episode also touches on family recovery, with Gary’s wife finding Al‑Anon, pamphlets left around the house, and later in life his own decision to attend Al‑Anon when a partner struggled to stay sober. He shares how applying AA’s first tradition and simple tools like the “just for today” bookmark and a reworked Serenity Prayer around honesty helped him become “a citizen of the world” again.

There’s humour (club soda tricks at parties, being known as “Gary’s brother”), gentle wisdom, and a grounded message: life will still life—marriages, debts, illness, joy—but AA gives people to do it with. If you’re wondering how long‑term sobriety can actually feel peaceful, this chat with Gary might be just the nudge you need to think, “that’s me.”

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