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Paula squeezed an amazing amount of alcoholic destruction into the years between her first drink at 14 and the day she ultimately got sober at 17. Some 42 years later, she recounts the story of her dysfunctional family with a violent father, alcoholic mother, and siblings, all of whom struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction. Her own nasty behavior surfaced early as she became the class bully and was always in trouble. Of course, she was drinking all the time. At 14, she was up in front of the juvenile court who sentenced her to AA meetings, none of which had any effect upon her. Though her mother got sober in AA, and frequently had fellowship friends over to attempt multiple interventions on Paula, her drinking and drug use escalated. So did the consequences. She was in and out of countless juvenile detention centers and group homes. After she tried to kill her mother, her custody was finally turned over to the state. She was facing serious adult prison time as she approached her 18th birthday. Fortunately, the concentrated misery she had crammed into 3 years culminated into a moment of clarity and she finally got sober in AA in 1979.
As similar as Paula’s story is to others in the AA Recovery Interviews podcast series, it still contains elements that few people ever survive, much less speak about in an AA meeting. As such, much of her service work, in addition to sponsoring many women over the years, includes speaking at AA conferences and other gatherings. She has also modeled incredible bravery and courage to other AA women by blowing the whistle on inappropriate, predatory, and misogynistic behavior from men to other women at some AA meetings she attended. Though it was a bone of contention for some members, her work still centers on Illuminating this somewhat rare, but real, dark side of the Program. It became her personal mission to help keep AA a safe and secure place for women to gather and recover. As you tune into Paula’s story, I think you’ll find much to relate to. It’s a stark, yet reassuring, tale of the continuing power of the program to change people’s lives. Though she’s been sober many years, her story resonates both fresh and vital in the continuing narrative of Alcoholics Anonymous. So, I invite you to become enraptured in the next hour or so with my friend and AA sister, Paula P.
Check out Howard’s Big Book Podcast, the complete unabridged audio version of the First and Second Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. The Big Book Podcast is an engaging cover-to-cover, word-for-word reading of all 11 chapters and Personal Stories, many of which were left out of the Third and Fourth Editions. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Or listen on https://bigbookpodcast.com
[Disclaimer: In strict adherence to A.A.’s traditions, my anonymous guests and I speak for ourselves only, not for Alcoholics Anonymous at large. We share only our personal experiences with A.A. recovery. We acknowledge that AA’s sole concern is the recovery and continued sobriety of those alcoholics who turn to the Fellowship for help. As members of AA, our primary purpose is to stay sober and to help other alcoholics achieve sobriety. – Howard L.]