There Is A SolutionThere Is A Solution
RAW Recovery Podcast
The episode focuses on AA’s "There Is A Solution", with Dion sharing Big Book passages, his own spiritual experience, and views on fellowship and service in sobriety. It offers a candid look at how trust, principles, and helping others shape ongoing recovery.
38:53•24 Aug 2026
There Is A Solution: AA, Spiritual Experience and Real-Life Sobriety
Episode Overview
- Recovery requires more than simply putting down the drink; it becomes a way of life built on principles and fellowship.
- Spiritual experiences may be hard to explain, but trusting a Power greater than oneself can support long-term sobriety.
- Ex-problem drinkers can often connect with alcoholics more effectively than professionals, offering understanding without judgement.
- Creating barriers in recovery, such as strict sponsorship rules, can limit help that AA intends to offer freely.
- Service work, like starting new meetings and sharing stories, helps maintain sobriety while supporting others.
“I had a profound spiritual experience during an open meeting which led me to blurt out, "I'm an alcoholic." I have not had a drink since that day.”
How do people find hope in the darkest times? This episode of RAW Recovery Podcast, titled "There Is A Solution", centres on Alcoholics Anonymous, lived experience, and the messy, honest reality of staying sober. Dion, speaking from over 20 years without a drink, talks frankly about how simply avoiding alcohol isn’t enough; recovery becomes a way of life built on fellowship, service, and spiritual growth.
You’ll hear him read from "There Is A Solution" in the Big Book, unpacking lines like, "We of Alcoholics Anonymous know thousands of men and women who were once just as hopeless as Bill" and reflecting on what "a common solution" really means in everyday life. The style is raw, conversational, and often funny in a slightly grumpy-Monday-morning way.
Dion jokes about his "seven minutes of whining" before shifting into Big Book study, daily reflections, and his own spiritual experience: "I had a profound spiritual experience during an open meeting which led me to blurt out, 'I'm an alcoholic.' I have not had a drink since that day." He openly admits he can’t explain exactly how it happened, using that uncertainty to talk about trust, faith, and learning to rely on a Power greater than himself.
There’s plenty here for anyone wrestling with AA, sponsors, and traditions. Dion pushes back on barriers to recovery, challenging ideas like "men should only sponsor men" and calling out practices he feels put marketing or promotion ahead of safety and anonymity. He also shares his current service work, including helping start an AA meeting at a crisis centre, showing how recovery continues in action, not just in theory.
If you’re curious about AA’s "solution" and want something honest, slightly irreverent, and grounded in day-to-day sobriety, this one might be worth your time—what parts of his story and the Big Book language resonate most with you right now?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.