vol 309. The Miracle of AA with Julie P.vol 309. The Miracle of AA with Julie P.
Keep Coming Back Podcast
Julie P shares her journey from early addiction and trauma through relapse, homelessness and suicide attempts to nearly nine years of sobriety in AA. She talks about rebuilding her relationship with her daughter, finding a loving marriage, and deepening her connection with a higher power while her son remains active in addiction.
1:04:08•17 Sept 2026
Julie P on The Miracle of AA, Tough Love and Starting Over at 19 Years Sober
Episode Overview
- Julie suggests pausing your own decision-making early in sobriety and trusting the guidance of women who are actively working the programme.
- She emphasises getting a sponsor quickly, doing the 12 steps and staying honest as the core of her long-term sobriety.
- A strict commitment to "no boys, no sex, no dating" for nine months helped her break destructive relationship patterns and focus on herself.
- Julie uses both AA and Al-Anon, along with therapy, to manage PTSD, anxiety and the pain of having a son active in addiction.
- Daily practices like morning meditation, prayer and regular meetings are how she keeps her promise to "do everything from day one" to protect her sobriety.
“Take your thinking and throw it out the window and rely on the other women around you to think.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This instalment of Keep Coming Back Podcast shares the raw, emotional story of alcoholic-addict Julie P, whose sobriety date is 22 August 2017. Her story stretches from sniffing white-out in primary school to meth at 13, teen pregnancy, abusive relationships, homelessness, suicide attempts and being chained in a garage, all before finding her way back to Alcoholics Anonymous.
Julie talks openly about how untreated alcoholism showed up long before booze took over, from food and sugar to using sexual attention and chaotic relationships to feel worthwhile. Her first sober stint came after what she calls a "moment of clarity" when she heard, "your whole life has been a pity party" and walked into AA.
Years later, a bar, a single shot and one line of meth kicked off a devastating relapse that cost her her home, job, car and, for a time, her kids.
The heart of the episode is her return to recovery: God telling her to "walk to your daughter's house", a 19-year-old giving her an ultimatum, detoxing on a couch, then moving into a strict Christian-based sober living where she committed to "no boys, no sex, no dating for nine months" and threw herself into meetings, step work and sponsorship.
She shares how a young sponsor and housemates protected her from old patterns, and how AA helped her rebuild a relationship with her daughter, redefine love, and eventually marry a kind, respectful partner. You’ll also hear Julie and host Tara V chat about higher power, Al-Anon, PTSD, shopping and food as later expressions of the disease, and what she calls the "teenage years" of long-term sobriety.
Her message to anyone suffering is simple: "Take your thinking and throw it out the window" and let the women who are doing the deal guide you. If your own thoughts are tearing you down, whose thinking could you lean on today?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.