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“.

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