Sober 46 years since 12/31/1964, one of the grand long timers in AA in the Atlanta Area, Helen has touched many lives in her decades of recovery.
She was pretty, popular and smart - she said, "maybe a smart-ass".
She first drank at age 15, got a job and married a man she knew only three months. He wanted a family - she did not. They parted ways.
She married again - for 45 years - then divorced. "It was just something we just kept putting off." They moved over 30 times.
"I am an ex-winette." She drank when pregnant. Guilt kept her from drinking til the baby was 6 months old. Then she started up and it was worse than before.
Living in Texas, after one bad bout, her husband threatened to kick her out. She said, "Howard, I'm sick. I need to go to AA. They didn't ask me if I'd been drinking."
She stayed sober 11 months and 2 days, drank one day, celebrated a false AA birthday and started "dying inch by inch and day by day...around all these honest people". Six months later she heard two speakers who convinced her she had to tell the truth.
"That was the beginning of my recovery."
She died sober 6/23/2014.
Funny and delightful.
(33 min) (11.6 MB) (id#1264)
