Big Book Podcast

Howard L.

Listen to the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous anytime, anyplace. Unabridged audio version of 1st & 2nd editions read by Howard L. (1/1/88) read less
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Episodes

FREEDOM FROM BONDAGE – 2nd Edition
23-02-2021
FREEDOM FROM BONDAGE – 2nd Edition
This is the final story in the Second Edition entitled “Freedom From Bondage” and was printed in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Editions of the Big Book. It was written by Wynn L. who joined AA in 1947 at the age of 33. Married and divorced four times before she got sober in AA, Wynn married her fifth husband, George L., shortly after her story appeared in the Big Book. George was a fellow member of AA at the time and the two of them became a popular duo at speaker meetings. Of those meetings, Wynn’s step-daughter, Caroline, was quoted as saying, “My dad was Wynn’s opening act. He couldn’t help but be funny. Then he would defer to Wynn, whose tale was hair-raising.” Wynn and Jack P. of Los Angeles started more than 80 meetings in hospitals, jails and prisons in Southern California from about 1947 to 1950. Jack P. reports that during this period they were widely criticized by other members of the Fellowship who thought this was not something A.A. should be doing. Howard L, sober since January 1, 1988, presents this inspired reading of the Big Book and encourages listeners to revisit earlier podcast episodes that feature the main chapters and stories in the First and Second Editions of the Big Book. Enjoy listening on our website, BigBookPodcast.com, or download and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a minute, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also join our facebook group, Big Book Podcast Listeners, where you can share your thoughts and experiences with fellow listeners. Check out Howard L.’s newest podcast, “AA Recovery Interviews“, where AA’s share their stories in an interview format. Search for it on Apple Podcasts and other podcast apps. Or listen on https://recoveryinterviews.com
HE WHO LOSES HIS LIFE – 2nd Edition
16-02-2021
HE WHO LOSES HIS LIFE – 2nd Edition
This story, printed in the 2nd and 3rd Editions, was penned by Bob R. who sobered up in New York City AA in 1947. The story’s literary flair reflects Bob’s earlier ambitions of becoming a playwright and the depths to which he had descended prior to sobriety. Though not much is known about Bob, he did write a follow-up to his story for a 1967 issue of the Grapevine entitled, “Come On Be Happy, Too”. The article provided an updated perspective of a sober member of AA some 12 years after the original Big Book story. Bob wrote, “I hope I am no less human for being dry, twenty-years-plus dry, in AA. The bad old years, the years of suffocating in the deep morass of alcoholism, are years I could have used to good advantage had I not been trapped by this hideous disease. There were seven or eight years before I found AA - oh, how I could have used those years! But they were not wasted; they stripped me of everything, including self-respect; but they made me ready for the happiness of the last twenty years in AA. Howard L, sober since January 1, 1988, presents this inspired reading of the Big Book and encourages listeners to revisit earlier podcast episodes that feature the main chapters and stories in the First and Second Editions of the Big Book. Enjoy listening on our website, BigBookPodcast.com, or download and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a minute, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also join our facebook group, Big Book Podcast Listeners, where you can share your thoughts and experiences with fellow listeners. Check out Howard L.’s newest podcast, “AA Recovery Interviews“, where AA’s share their stories in an interview format. Search for it on Apple Podcasts and other podcast apps. Or listen on https://recoveryinterviews.com
THE INDEPENDENT BLONDE – 2nd Edition
11-02-2021
THE INDEPENDENT BLONDE – 2nd Edition
Published only in the Second Edition, this is the story of Nancy F., who got sober in New York City in 1945 when she was 39 years old. It is said that Nancy and another young woman, perhaps AA pioneer Marty Mann, were often asked to go to hospitals and drying-out places frequented by the wealthy, because they were younger and "presentable." According to reports at the time, they carried the AA message wearing little black dresses, pearls, and hats with flowers on them. For 15 years, Nancy was also a regular attendee at one of the first "women only" meetings, started by Marty Mann in Midtown Manhatten. Nancy personified what people can accomplish by staying sober. She went to high school in her fifties and graduated cum laude from college in her late seventies. Her search for spirituality lead her to becoming a Quaker and doing missionary work teaching English to migrant workers. Nancy spoke at the 2000 A.A. International Convention in Minneapolis.  She died in April 2005 with 57 years of sobriety. Howard L, sober since January 1, 1988, presents this inspired reading of the Big Book and encourages listeners to revisit earlier podcast episodes that feature the main chapters and stories in the First and Second Editions of the Big Book. Enjoy listening on our website, BigBookPodcast.com, or download and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a minute, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also join our facebook group, Big Book Podcast Listeners, where you can share your thoughts and experiences with fellow listeners. Check out Howard L.’s newest podcast, “AA Recovery Interviews“, where AA’s share their stories in an interview format. Search for it on Apple Podcasts and other podcast apps. Or listen on https://recoveryinterviews.com
THE CAREER OFFICER – 2nd Edition
05-02-2021
THE CAREER OFFICER – 2nd Edition
This story's author is Sackville M., who got sober in Dublin, Ireland in 1947. Sackville helped reorganize the original Dublin AA meeting in which the secretary and a dozen members got drunk shortly after he joined. Of the three alcoholics from the group who stayed sober, Sackville became secretary and was instrumental in working with the Roman Catholic church to help them better understand alcoholism and generally improve AA’s relationship with the local churches. His AA service group also included editing the Dublin group’s bimonthly newsletter for more than 28 years. In an October 1968 article in the Grapevine, Sackville reflected on the 21 years since he first entered AA and his rank as an “Old-Timer”. He said, “Old-timers must often be a headache to younger members. But the old-timer who has come to realize, as I hope I have myself, that he is not God's gift to AA, but that AA is God's gift to him, still has something good to give to his group: the demonstration of his continued sobriety, his active membership, and his gratitude for his recovery to - under God - the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.” This is the 81st episode, story number 9 in Part 3 of the Personal Stories section of the Second Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous published in 1955. It was printed in the Second and Third Editions. Howard L, sober since January 1, 1988, presents this inspired reading of the Big Book and encourages listeners to revisit earlier podcast episodes that feature the main chapters and stories in the First and Second Editions of the Big Book. Enjoy listening on our website, BigBookPodcast.com, or download and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a minute, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also join our facebook group, Big Book Podcast Listeners, where you can share your thoughts and experiences with fellow listeners. Check out Howard L.’s newest podcast, “AA Recovery Interviews“. Post navigation
THERE’S NOTHING THE MATTER WITH ME! – 2nd Edition
20-01-2021
THERE’S NOTHING THE MATTER WITH ME! – 2nd Edition
Written by Bill G., who got sober in 1945, this story runs the gamut from being a successful business man to literally being a bum on the street, pawning his shoes, living under a bridge, and drinking Sterno. As bottoms go, it's hard to imagine one going much lower. As graphic and engaging as this story is, it was printed only in the Second Edition of the Big Book, so it has remained largely unseen by those AAs who’ve otherwise been raised on the Third and Fourth Editions. Not that much is known about Bill, except what’s revealed in his story. However, Bill was recorded in 1989 speaking at the 3rd Annual Tampa Bay Roundup. In an hour-long rendition, he reiterated his entire story from the Big Book. But, he did shed some additional light on his early days in the Program, reminiscing about the first time he was asked to speak when he had 90 days of sobriety. Said Bill of that experience some 45 years earlier: “I had a carefully prepared text in my pocket, some 2000 words, and I got up there in front of those 12-15 people, and (stutter, cough, stammer)…’I’m an alcoholic’, I said and sat down.  And the applause was tremendous. I have since found out it was because I was so brief!” Howard L, sober since January 1, 1988, presents this inspired reading of the Big Book and encourages listeners to revisit earlier podcast episodes that feature the main chapters and stories in the First and Second Editions of the Big Book. Enjoy listening on our website, BigBookPodcast.com, or download and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a minute, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also join our facebook group, Big Book Podcast Listeners, where you can share your thoughts and experiences with fellow listeners. Check out Howard L.’s newest podcast, “AA Recovery Interviews“.
THE PRISONER FREED – 2nd Edition
15-01-2021
THE PRISONER FREED – 2nd Edition
“The Prisoner Freed” was printed only in the Second and Third Editions,  so it will be heard for the first time by those who’ve otherwise been raised on the Fourth Editions alone. As with some stories in the Second Edition, the author of this story is unknown. A deep dive on Google did not reveal the author, though the search terms “prisoner” and “AA” yielded a trove of links to AA’s rich history and association with correctional facilities and the alcoholics within the walls. Perhaps the best description of that association was written in a letter to a prison group by Bill W. in 1949 and later published in the book, “As Bill Sees It”:   “Every A.A. has been, in a sense, a prisoner. Each of us has walled himself out of society; each has known social stigma. The lot of you folks has been even more difficult: In your case, society has also built a wall around you. But there isn’t any really essential difference, a fact that practically all A.A.’s now know. “Therefore, when you members come into the world of A.A. on the outside, you can be sure that no one will care a fig that you have done time. What you are trying to be–not what you were–is all that counts to us.” Howard L, sober since January 1, 1988, presents this inspired reading of the Big Book and encourages listeners to revisit earlier podcast episodes that feature the main chapters and stories in the First and Second Editions of the Big Book. Enjoy listening on our website, BigBookPodcast.com, or download and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a minute, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also join our facebook group, Big Book Podcast Listeners, where you can share your thoughts and experiences with fellow listeners. Check out Howard L.’s newest podcast, “AA Recovery Interviews“.
PROMOTED TO CHRONIC – 2nd Edition
10-01-2021
PROMOTED TO CHRONIC – 2nd Edition
Printed only in the 2nd and 3rd Editions of the Big Book, “Promoted to Chronic” was written by Helen B., who got sober in 1945. After working for the Boston Central Services Office of A.A., Helen became a senior staff member at the New York office in 1949, where she personally helped Bill W. promote the Traditions and the General Service Conference to the Fellowship. She helped organize the first General Service Conference held in April, 1951 and served a secretary to the first two Conferences. Helen also worked closely with Bill on the booklet called "The Third Legacy." Bill praised her in the book “Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age”, saying: "Helen B. of the office staff had a real flair for statesmanship in the best sense of the word, and she understood practical politics too. Her assistance throughout proved invaluable.” As important as the formation of the General Service Conference, and, later, AA World Services, were to the stability and structure of AA, Helen’s sobriety-born service work remain an important contribution to Alcoholics Anonymous to this day. Howard L, sober since January 1, 1988, presents this inspired reading of the Big Book and encourages listeners to revisit earlier podcast episodes that feature the main chapters and stories in the First and Second Editions of the Big Book. Enjoy listening on our website, BigBookPodcast.com, or download and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a minute, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also join our facebook group, Big Book Podcast Listeners, where you can share your thoughts and experiences with fellow listeners. Check out Howard L.’s newest podcast, “AA Recovery Interviews“.
JIM’S STORY – Second Edition
04-01-2021
JIM’S STORY – Second Edition
“Jim’s Story” was written by Dr. Jim S., a physician in Washington D.C., who is credited with founding the first black AA group. While the struggles of starting that group are well-noted in the story, its importance as an AA milestone was recognized by AA co-founder Bill W. in the book “Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age”. Dr. Jim gave an address on the final morning of the first AA convention held in Cleveland in 1955. Here’s what Bill W. had to say about that talk: “"Deep silence fell as Dr. Jim S., the A.A. speaker, told of his life experience and the serious drinking that led to the crises which had brought about his spiritual awakening. He re-enacted for us his own struggle to start the very first group among Negroes, his own people. Aided by a tireless and eager wife, he had turned his home into a combined hospital and A.A. meeting place, free to all. He told how early failure had finally been transformed under God's grace into amazing success, we who listened realized that A.A., not only could cross seas and mountains and boundaries of language and nation but could surmount obstacles of race and creed as well." Howard L, sober since January 1, 1988, presents this inspired reading of the Big Book and encourages listeners to revisit earlier podcast episodes that feature the main chapters and stories in the First and Second Editions of the Big Book. Enjoy listening on our website, BigBookPodcast.com, or download and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a minute, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also join our facebook group, Big Book Podcast Listeners, where you can share your thoughts and experiences with fellow listeners. Check out Howard L.'s newest podcast, "AA Recovery Interviews".
OUR SOUTHERN FRIEND – 2nd Edition
30-12-2020
OUR SOUTHERN FRIEND – 2nd Edition
This is one of only 5 stories to show up in all 4 Editions. The author is John Henry Fitzhugh Mayo, known to his contemporaries as “Fitz” M. Unlike some of the previous Personal Stories, quite a lot is known about Fitz and his contribution to early AA and the Big Book. Fitz got sober in October 1935, after a visit from Bill W. in Townes Hospital in New York City, and is reputedly the third person whom Bill helped to get sober after he returned to New York from Akron. He was among the earliest AA members who helped Bill make the transition from the Oxford Group to the 12 steps of AA in the late 1930s and was heavily involved in the formative years of the Program. Interestingly, Fitz originally submitted a much shorter version of this story which he titled “Me and John”, as in John Barleycorn, in 1938. Bill asked him to expand the story. After being renamed, the story, more than twice the length of the original, was published in the First Edition of the Big Book as one of the longest stories in that 1939 Edition. Its most famous passage is Fitz’s revelatory thought “Who are you to say there is no God?” and the falling to his knees to experience hope and a great sense of peace. Just why the First Edition story was pared down for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th editions is a mystery, but its enduring message still rings true today. Howard L, sober since January 1, 1988, presents this inspired reading of the Big Book and encourages listeners to revisit earlier podcast episodes that feature the main chapters and stories in the First and Second Editions of the Big Book. Enjoy listening on our website, BigBookPodcast.com, or download and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a minute, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also join our facebook group, Big Book Podcast Listeners, where you can share your thoughts and experiences with fellow listeners. Check out Howard L.'s newest podcast, "AA Recovery Interviews".
JOE’S WOES – 2nd Edition
25-12-2020
JOE’S WOES – 2nd Edition
This 73rd episode begins Part 3, the last part of the Personal Stories section of the Second Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous published in 1955. Part 3 is entitled “They Lost Nearly All” and contains the final 12 stories in the Second Edition. Story number 1 in Part 3 is called “Joe’s Woes” and like the last story, was published only in the 2nd Edition. “Joe’s Woes” was authored by Joe M. who got sober in 1940 in New York City, during the earliest years of AA when Bill W. was visiting alcoholics in the hospital. While not much is known about Joe, except for what is revealed in his Big Book story, and in a 1965 talk he made to the Old Timer’s Panel in Cleveland. One part of the story that was left out of the Big Book concerned Joe’s voluntary commitment to Rockland State Hospital during one of his many stays there. Though he was there to treat his alcoholism, he and his fellow inmates found a way to get drunk all the same. Joe said in his talk, “I got drunk so often in Rockland that they threw me the hell out of Rockland for being a bad example to the other alcoholics!” As you listen to “Joe’s Woes”, you’ll quickly understand why this story was chosen to lead off this final section of Personal Stories in the Big Book. Howard L, sober since January 1, 1988, presents this inspired reading of the Big Book and encourages listeners to revisit earlier podcast episodes that feature the main chapters and stories in the First and Second Editions of the Big Book. Enjoy listening on our website, BigBookPodcast.com, or download and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a minute, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also join our facebook group, Big Book Podcast Listeners, where you can share your thoughts and experiences with fellow listeners.
STARS DON’T FALL – 2nd Edition
10-12-2020
STARS DON’T FALL – 2nd Edition
This story was penned by Felicia G. who first came to AA in 1943, but didn’t get sober until 1944. When she first met Bill W. at the AA Foundation office in New York, he turned her over to Marty M., who became her sponsor, and, together with Pricilla P., helped her become known as the 6th woman to get sober in New York AA. As a gifted writer, it was Felicia who collaborated with Marty and Pricilla to start the AA Grapevine. As stories go, Felicia was considered by some as a "high bottom" drunk because she had not lost everything, but things had gotten pretty bad. In an update to her story published in the November 1967 Grapevine, Felicia said when the second edition was published, she was disappointed to learn that her story would be in the section labeled "They Stopped in Time." She thought she had sunk pretty low. Felicia died in 1999, at the age of 92. This is the 70th episode, story number 10 in Part 2 of the Personal Stories section of the Second Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous published in 1955. The Second Edition is out-of-copyright and in the public domain. Howard L, sober since January 1, 1988, presents this inspired reading of the Big Book and encourages listeners to revisit earlier podcast episodes that feature the main chapters and stories in the First Edition of the Big Book. Enjoy listening on our website, BigBookPodcast.com, or download and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a minute, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also join our facebook group, Big Book Podcast Listeners, where you can share your thoughts and experiences with fellow listeners.
PHYSICIAN, HEAL THYSELF – 2nd Edition
05-12-2020
PHYSICIAN, HEAL THYSELF – 2nd Edition
Written by Dr. Earle M. from San Francisco, who got sober in June of 1953, this story was printed in the Second, Third, and Fourth Editions. Earle was a very active member of AA throughout his life, spreading its message of hope to those he touched in his medical practice, as well as countless alcoholics he met during his many world-wide travels. In his first year of sobriety, Earle met Bill W. in New York, became close friends, and frequently visited Bill and Lois at their home, Stepping Stones. Earle referred to Bill as one of his sponsors and is said to have taken his Fifth Step with Bill. Over the years, they discussed Bill’s bouts with depression and their shared interest in spiritual practices and quests for serenity. In an interview published in the October 1995 edition of The Grapevine, Earle recounted a request that Bill W. made of him prior to Earle’s extended visit to southeast Asia. He quoted Bill as saying, “"Do me a favor. When you get over to Asia, see if you can investigate firsthand, the various religions in Asia. That means Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism, and Confucianism and ancestral worship and the whole shebang." And he said, "Stay in contact with me and maybe we can find something in those religions. After all, we've taken from William James, we've taken from all the Christian religions. Let's see what these others have." Dr. Earle M. was sober 49 years when he died in 2003 at the age of 92. Howard L, sober since January 1, 1988, presents this inspired reading of the Big Book and encourages listeners to revisit earlier podcast episodes that feature the main chapters and stories in the First Edition of the Big Book. Enjoy listening on our website, BigBookPodcast.com, or download and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a minute, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also join our facebook group, Big Book Podcast Listeners, where you can share your thoughts and experiences with fellow listeners.