Tim H Pleasant Valley Group Anniversary 08-24-19Tim H Pleasant Valley Group Anniversary 08-24-19
Mad Dog Recovery AA Speakers
Tim Hyland shares how alcoholism dismantled his dreams, marriages and family life, and how 29 years in AA have helped rebuild dignity, relationships and purpose. The talk blends humour with hard truth, highlighting the power of service, the 12 steps and fellowship in long-term recovery.
1:13:50•8 Nov 2026
Tim Hyland’s Long Road: From Courtroom Dreams to AA Fellowship
Episode Overview
- Alcoholism can show up as lifelong restlessness, isolation, and dishonesty, long before the obvious consequences hit.
- AA offers a "whole package" of recovery, unity and service, with real change coming from action on all three legacies.
- Credibility with family is rebuilt slowly "by not drinking and doing the next right thing one day at a time."
- Staying in the middle of AA—home group, service, and step work—is where the real fun and stability of sobriety are found.
- Extending the hand of AA, even to a distant loved one, may be the most loving and effective help a sober person can give.
“Nobody here cares what color you are, what sex you are, what your sexual orientation is, where you're from, what your politics is. We don't care. If you want to stay sober and you show up in these rooms, we're glad you're here.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? In this anniversary talk for the Pleasant Valley Group, long-time AA member Tim Hyland shares nearly three decades of living sober after his last drink on 12 April 1990. From the start, Tim’s warmth and humour set the tone.
He jokes about road trips with the guys he sponsors and declares "I love Alcoholics Anonymous," but he quickly gets honest about what alcoholism looked like for him: a lifetime of feeling "restless, irritable, and discontent," always "apart from, not a part of," and locked into "progressive patterns of dishonesty" even when the truth was good enough. You’ll hear how drinking cost him a Division I basketball career, a shot at law school, his dignity, and multiple marriages.
He describes the chaos of the 1980s—psychiatrists, antidepressants, failed businesses, living with his parents—and the moment of clarity that brought him to AA, sitting frozen in his office while the phone remained silent for four hours. Tim gives plenty of real-life examples of AA’s principles in action: becoming a coffee maker, joining a weekly big book group, and learning that "fun’s in the middle" of AA with service, fellowship, and steps.
He talks about rebuilding credibility with his children "by not drinking and doing the next right thing one day at a time" and shares tender stories of his once-estranged Christmas-born son and his daughter who eventually got sober in Los Angeles after living in her car.
Above all, Tim celebrates AA as a place where "nobody here cares what color you are, what sex you are, what your sexual orientation is, where you're from, what your politics is"—only that you want to stay sober. If you’re wondering whether AA can handle the mess in your life and your family, this talk might be exactly what you need to hear today.
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