That's Me! That's Me! episode # 24 with Lou K.That's Me! That's Me! episode # 24 with Lou K.
Recovery Radio Network
Lou K shares how a second DUI at 65 led him into AA, where meetings, friends and service reshaped his life. He talks about amends, family reconciliation, Al-Anon, and finding a personal sense of a higher power without traditional religious ideas.
44:55•17 Jul 2026
Fifty Years of Drinking, One Sobriety Date: Lou K on Late-Life Recovery
Episode Overview
- A second DUI and a failed substance use questionnaire pushed Lou to attend his first AA meetings at age 65.
- Frequent meetings and strong support from friends helped replace his nightly bar routine and stabilise early sobriety.
- Writing amends letters, including to a former gay‑basher and to his estranged father, led to unexpected reconciliation and healing.
- Lou maintains sobriety by remembering his last drink and the consequences, using living sober literature as a reminder.
- After several years in AA, Al‑Anon added deeper emotional work and community through “double winners” who attend both fellowships.
“I just had all the help that I ever needed even when I didn’t know I needed it.”
What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? For many, it’s hearing someone say, with humour and honesty, “I had a 50 year drinking pin, but not that long in AA.” That line from Lou K pretty much sets the tone here. Lou shares how a second DUI at 65, a Scantron-style substance use assessment he couldn’t even fill out correctly, and a court date pushed him through the doors of AA.
He talks about swapping evenings on a bar stool for back‑to‑back meetings, doing around ten a week and still being annoyed he only clocked 86 in 90 days. You’ll hear how friends ferried him to meetings while his licence was gone, handed down a treasured family Big Book, and made sure he never had to do early sobriety on his own. The conversation also opens up tender ground: making amends, grief, and complicated family ties.
Lou tells the story of writing to a man who had gay‑bashed him as a teenager, and how that letter turned into a late‑in‑life friendship: “I’m really glad that both of us have lived long enough to be friends now.” He also shares the quiet power of a birthday card that reopened the relationship with his father years before both parents died, each leaving him with the words “I love you”. Lou’s views on higher power are refreshingly plain.
He doesn’t buy into a bearded God, but he’s happy to call it “that thing with no name” and see grace in getting a last‑minute call to do service when he’s anxiously waiting on health test results. From AA to Al‑Anon, from wild bar nights to rebellious cross‑talk meetings, this chat shows how community, humour and honest amends can keep sobriety grounded and very human.
If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s “too late”, could Lou’s story be the nudge you need?
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