Jim H. is one of those alcoholics whose unabated drinking created serious medical problems amidst all the other destruction of career and family. He did not drink much in high school. But in college, he was a tie-died in the wool hippie, with a penchant for marijuana, hashish, LSD, and psilocybin mushrooms. He used amphetamines to achieve academic success. But it was the alcohol that took him down rapidly during his early career as an attorney. He became a daily drinker and was ultimately hospitalized with alcohol-induced cardio myopathy that was destroying his heart muscle. But he somehow survived through white-knuckle sobriety, until he felt better. Then he drank again. Jim repeated this pattern over and over until 1996 when diminishing liver function and gastro-intestinal distress made it impossible to nourish his skeletal body. His bottom reached, he crawled into a treatment facility, and shortly thereafter into AA.

I met Jim in his earliest days of AA nearly 25 years ago. As with all new members, I had no idea of whether this very sick man would make it. But he kept coming back to the same meetings I attended. I got to know him and see demonstrated his ardent desire to stay sober. Sponsored by a good friend of mine, Jim worked the steps and continued to stay in the middle of the Program. His physical health was restored. Given the opportunity, Jim has shared about the bodily destruction that alcohol can cause even in the early years of the disease. Were anyone who’s slipped to hear Jim’s story, they might be moved to make it back to the rooms of AA sooner than later. The importance of his message cannot be understated.

This is the 29th interview in this podcast. I’m certain you will find of immense interest. So please enjoy the next hour and ten minutes of AA Recovery Interviews with my long-time friend and AA brother, Jim H.

[This is an encore of Episode 29, originally released June 2, 2021].

If you’ve enjoyed my AA Recovery Interviews series and my Big Book Podcast, have a listen to Lost Stories of the Big Book, 30 Original Stories Missing from the 3rd and 4th Editions of Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s an engaging audiobook I narrated to bring these stories to life for AA members who’ve never seen them. These timeless testimonials were originally cut to make room for newer stories in the 3rd and 4th Editions. But their vitally important messages of hope are as meaningful today as when they were first published. Many listeners will hear these stories for the first time. Lost Stories of the Big Book is available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. It’s also available as a Kindle book and in Paperback from Amazon if you’d like to read along with the audio.

I also invite you to check out my latest audio book, “Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered From Alcoholism”. This is the word-for-word, cover-to-cover reading of the First Edition of the Big Book, published in 1939. It’s a comfortable, meaningful, and engaging way to listen to the Big Book anytime, anyplace. Have a free listen at Audible, i-Tunes, or Amazon.