I've Been Around Airports for 50 Years. I Still Can't Fly - AA Speaker - Tom K.

Tom says being around AA is like spending fifty years around airports without learning to fly: recovery began only when he became willing to do absolutely anything, take the Steps, and stay useful. ☀️ Sober Sunrise App Listen to Sober Sunrise AA speaker talks anytime, track your sober time, take a daily pledge, and keep recovery support close throughout the day. 📱 https://sober-sunrise.com/app If you enjoy the app or find it useful in your recovery, a quick rating or review on the App Store would mean a lot and helps more people find Sober Sunrise. ☀️ Sober Sunrise Episode Archive Hundreds of AA speaker tapes and recovery stories: https://sober-sunrise.com/episodes 🧡 Sober Sunrise Merch https://sober-sunrise.com/merch 🌴 Sober Sunrise Newsletter https://sober-sunrise.com/newsletter Tom, sober since September 15, 1978, shares what Alcoholics Anonymous taught him about living with alcoholism rather than searching for a loophole out of it. Born in Pennsylvania and introduced to heavier drinking while attending college in Ohio, he entered marriage and fatherhood wanting to be dependable but steadily became the opposite: he lied about his drinking, took company money, lost jobs, neglected his family, and repeatedly lowered the line he swore he would never cross. Even after a doctor identified alcoholism, Tom turned a controlled-drinking experiment into proof that he had passed the test, then stayed to give himself a graduation party. A geographic move and a country-club career could not stop the progression. When the job, home, finances, relationships, and hope finally collapsed, the AA meetings he had resisted became the only place left to go. Tom told a sponsor he was willing to do absolutely anything, and the fellowship began teaching him how to live through the Big Book, the Steps, a home group, prayer, accountability, and action. At a year and a half sober, legal and financial consequences returned, but another member helped him stop asking God to remove the burden and start asking for the strength to carry it. Tom follows that lesson through family decisions, General Service, sponsorship, and daily practice of Steps Ten, Eleven, and Twelve. Nearly thirty years into recovery, his message remains practical: it is not the meetings you make but the Steps you take, spiritual maintenance cannot wait until something breaks, and all anyone can stay sober in is now. Tom K. from Jacksonville, FL speaking at The 42nd Annual New Hampshire Convention in North Conway, NH - April 11th 2008 Music: Deep by KaizanBlu