Sober 24 years since 1987 and sponsored by Polly P, Donna comes from an alcoholic home where every form of abuse and violence occurred. Her father was the alcoholic but both parents were very, very sick people. She was the oldest and was always trying to fix things.
At age 17 her dad was close to getting caught for what was going on in the house and they moved to Northern California.
She met a navy man on a trip back to Montana and married him in three weeks. By 25 she had five children and no skills to raise them.
Her husband left and she went to work in cowboy bars and discovered alcohol.
"I'm the kind of mom that neglected and abused and loved and cherished my kids all at the same time."
She came first to AA in February 1981 spurred by her boyfriend to do something about her drinking.
She found to her surprise, people staying sober and not just trying to quit drinking.
"I came into Alcoholics Anonymous and I would stay here until the pain of being sober was worse than the fear of getting drunk...and I did that for seven years...but I didn't get a sponsor and I didn't work the steps."
She lost her children over her drinking and they did not come back until they were grown.
Donna's workshop on Steps 4 and 5 in Atlanta in 2014 is also on WeJoy:
Donna H of Huntley, MT at Girlstock International Atlanta 2014 - Steps 4 and 5
(51 min) (23.5 MB) (id#1748)