Topic: Step 1 - Russell S (NSFW)Topic: Step 1 - Russell S (NSFW)
Sober Cast: An (unofficial) Alcoholics Anonymous Podcast AA
Russell S shares a candid AA speaker meeting on Step 1, focusing on being recovered, resentments, and the spiritual shift from human solutions to a higher power. The talk highlights how personal stories, surrender and service shape long-term sobriety and relief from alcoholism.
50:22•30 Aug 2026
Russell S on Step 1, Resentments and the ‘Chicken on the Roof’ Moment
Episode Overview
- Russell distinguishes between stopping drinking and addressing the deeper problem of alcoholism, which continues after alcohol is removed.
- He stresses that many AA members have "recovered from a hopeless state of mind and body" through a relationship with God rather than human solutions.
- Resentments and high expectations of others are presented as major obstacles in early sobriety, calling for lowered expectations and humility.
- Carrying the message means trying to share experience honestly, without claiming responsibility for how others receive or use it.
- Chasing money, sex, prestige and power ("pelf") is described as a major source of ongoing discomfort, contrasted with surrender and service to a higher power.
“Alcoholism has to do with everything you feel when you're thinking about stuff other than God.”
What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? In this AA speaker meeting from Sobercast, Russell S shares his long-term sobriety experience, talking candidly, with humour and a bit of swearing, about Step 1 and what he sees as the real purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous. Russell introduces himself as an alcoholic who hasn’t had a drink since January 1981, and makes it clear early on that this isn’t going to be a neat, step-by-step workshop.
Instead, you’ll hear him talk about the core ideas behind the steps, especially the shift from relying on human solutions to building what he calls a "relationship with God". He points repeatedly to the Big Book, stressing that AA is "more than not drinking" and that many people "have recovered from a hopeless state of mind and body".
He digs into resentments, expectations and ego, laughing about how three weeks sober had him thinking he knew everything, yet he couldn’t hear a speaker who described himself as a "recovered alcoholic" because his mind was too busy judging. There’s a powerful story about a man in the back of a meeting who was suicidal, but heard Russell say something he remembers as "the chicken was on the roof" and credits that misheard phrase with saving his life.
Russell uses this to show how his job is simply to "try to carry the message", not control outcomes. For those struggling with the difference between a drinking problem and alcoholism, Russell offers a stark definition: the endless cycle of vowing not to drink and ending up drunk again, and the painful thinking that continues even after the drink is gone.
His focus is on surrender, service, and shifting attention away from "pelf"—money, sex, prestige and power—towards a life guided by a higher power. If you’re curious about a raw, Big Book–based take on Step 1 and the spiritual foundations of AA, this talk might give you something to think about on your own path to sobriety.
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