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BILL WILSON
AA
TALKS BY WOMEN SPEAKERS
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PEGGY MARTIN - COLUMBUS, OH APRIL 2006
Peggy, from Bellevue, Nebraska recorded this Alcoholics Anonymous talk in Columbus, Ohio in April of 2006. Peggy’s date of sobriety is February 4th, 1964. At the beginning of her talk, Peggy reminisces about her good old days of AA in Washington, DC. Peggy believes that many people are predestined to become alcoholics even before they pick up their first drink. She believes that she was one of those people. As a kid she tore through life like a Tasmanian devil. By age 24, Peggy had developed cirrhosis of the liver. Peggy’s got some really great stories, and most of them are very humorous. However, towards the end she gets serious and reflective when she speaks of her father’s passing on.
Contents – 12 Tracks
Length – 61 Minutes
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PEGGY MARTIN - RICHFIELD, OH OCTOBER 2006
Peggy Martin, from Bellevue, Nebraska recorded this Alcoholics Anonymous talk at the 2nd Annual Greater Cleveland Conference in Richfield, Ohio in October 0f 2006. Peg’s sobriety date is February 4th, 1964. She has some down-to-earth facts on her success and why this program works. She says that it's important to become teachable; open your mind to new things instead of being rigid; the ego has to get out of the way. Peggy says that our enthusiasm for this program will show the newcomer that this really works. MEETING MAKERS MAKE IT!
Contents – 14 Tracks
Length – 67 Minutes
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PEGGY MARTIN - VIRGINIA BEACH, VA 10-30-98
Peggy, from Bellevue, Nebraska recorded this Alcoholics Anonymous talk at the Fifth Annual Pockets of Enthusiasm in Virginia Beach Virginia on October 30th, 1998. Peggy’s sobriety date is February 4th, 1964. She tells about the time when her husband was having heart surgery. She was in the hospital waiting room and that old familiar feeling of impending doom began to creep in. She quickly put the AA program of service into action and began serving coffee to all the other patient’s families that were in the waiting room with her. She says her focus on her own problems immediately left her. Peggy says that AA is full of “mood changing” people, and if you like everybody then you’re not going to enough meetings. Peggy tells an excellent story of recovery from alcoholism and at the end of her talk she says, “If I could, I would lie down in front of you and say thank you for all the gifts you’ve given me. Thank you for my babies, thank you for my life.”
Contents – 15 Tracks
Length – 72 Minutes
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PEGGY MARTIN - WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA 8-31-01
Peggy from Bellevue, Nebraska, recorded this Alcoholics Anonymous talk at the 24th VCAAC in Westlake Village, California on August 31st 2001. Peggy is a truly great speaker and even with a voice that’s slightly hoarse from a cold, she’s able to get her message across with humor and sincerity. Peggy gives her sobriety date as February 4th, 1964 and had 37 years of sobriety at the time of this talk. She says that as a child, because she was scared all the time she compensated and became a school bully. Peggy goes on to tell many, many great humorous stories about drinking and recovery and has the crowd laughing almost all the way through this recording.
Contents – 14 Tracks
Length – 67 Minutes
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RUTH BARGER - KIRTLAND, OH 3-14-99
Ruth, from Newton Falls, Ohio recorded this Alcoholics Anonymous Talk at the Kirtland Breakfast Group in Kirtland, Ohio on March 14th, 1999. Ruth gives her sobriety date as October 7th, 1981. She says she was very much an asshole long before she picked up her first dink. She was 17 when she had her first drink. Ruth was kicked out of college for hiding alcohol in her dorm room. She was first introduced to AA during a short period of incarceration. After several years of sobriety, she was diagnosed with depression. Ruth reads a very interesting list of “Things I learned in AA.” This is a woman who is very grateful to be sober.
Contents – 10 Tracks
Length – 50 Minutes
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SANDY HICKOX - LAKE MILTON, OH AUGUST 2003
Sandy, from Pocatello, ID recorded this Alcoholics Anonymous talk in Lake Milton, Ohio in August of 2003. Her date of sobriety is November 14th, 1983. She was born and raised in Georgia. Sandy did a lot of drinking, hung around with the wrong crowd, got abused by her boyfriend, and on and on and on. Sandy says that she finally went into an alcohol treatment center for the sole purpose of saving her job. Her reputation was so terrible that when Sandy was looking for an AA sponsor, she couldn’t find one; no one would have her. Sandy had been sober for nearly 20 years at the time of this recording; she has come a long, long way.
Contents – 14 Tracks
Length – 71 Minutes
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SHEILA ARMSTRONG - KANSAS CITY, KS 2-26-93
Sheila Armstrong from Norman, Oklahoma recorded this Alcoholics Anonymous talk in Kansas City, Kansas on February 2nd, 1993. This is an excellent talk by a wonderful AA. Sheila’s message is about love, hope and forgiveness. She came from an alcoholic family and spent her childhood between various families and foster care. Her father got sober in California (sponsored by Clancy Imislund) and eventually Sheila found her way to AA and back to her family. Her message is profound and beautiful.
Contents – 12 Tracks
Length – 61 Minutes
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SHOTGUN MARY - AMARILLO, TX 9-29-94
Shotgun Mary, from Houston, Texas recorded this Alcoholics Anonymous talk at the 48th Top of Texas in Amarillo, Texas on September 29th, 1994. Mary was sober for 30 years at the time this recording was made; her date of sobriety is April 21st, 1964. Her first drink was when she was a teenager; she got very ill and didn’t try alcohol again for ten years. As a homemaker she tried a beer and this time alcohol worked fine for her. She graduated to bourbon and became a mean drunk who loved to shoot guns. In addition to being known as Shotgun Mary, she earned the nicknames of Pistol Pete, Fast Draw, and Hip Shot. A lot of guilt set in over the years and suicide attempts became routine for her. Mary wanted to quit drinking and tried church, phyciatrists, hypnotists, and faith healers. She finally got in contact with AA through a cousin who had become a member earlier. One night, Mary said a prayer and was relived from the obsession to drink. AA has allowed this pistol-packing mama to lay her pistols down.
Contents – 13 Tracks
Length – 62 Minutes
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SHOTGUN MARY - MANY, LA 4-9-90
This AA talk by Shotgun Mary of Houston Texas was recorded at the Louisiana State Conference in Many, Louisiana on April 9, 1990. She is speaking just days after her 25th year sobriety date. She talks about her many attempts to solve her problem. Shotgun Mary’s story is one of a drinking and sometimes violent housewife. She tried psychiatrists, pills, and suicide. Mary shares how she came to learn about AA and her struggle to get the program with her sponsor’s help. She talks about her life in sobriety and how she sponsors other women.
Contents – 12 Tracks
Length – 57 Minutes
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SISTER BEA MOORE - NEW ORLEANS, LA 4 -2-94
Humorous AA speaker Sister Bea delivered this Alcoholics Anonymous talk at the 20th Deep South Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 2nd, 1994. She doesn't take herself too seriously and says her own story of selfishness is on page 62 in the Big Book. She talks about the tremendous resentments she had for her younger siblings while growing up. Her talk contains a lot of quotations from the Big Book and how she applies them to herself. Sister Bea tells how she eventually hit bottom and found sobriety. She also talks about how the 12 AA promises are coming true everyday in her life now.
Contents - 13 tracks
Length - 63 Minutes
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SISTER BEA MOORE - WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA 8-31-02
Sister Bea Moore, from Brea, California recorded this Alcoholics Anonymous talk in Westlake Village, California on August 31st, 2002. She tells of her father being killed in a car accident when Bea was still young; her mother expected Bea to help raise the younger children. In 1950, Bea became a nun. In 1964, Sister Bea moved to southern California. She goes into quite a bit of humorous detail describing her first drink. It was somewhat of a spiritual awakening for her. Sister Bea had many years of fun drinking; then alcohol turned on her and she began craving it morning, noon and night. This is really a very funny, witty, and inspired talk by this nun.
Contents - 12 Tracks
Length - 59 Minutes
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SISTER MAURICE - WEST ORANGE, NJ 5-1-03
Sister Maurice from the Bronx, NY recorded this Alcoholics Anonymous talk at the first anniversary of the Carry This Message Group in West Orange, New Jersey on May 1st, 2003. At the time of this talk, Sister Maurice had been a member of AA for 32 years. She opens up her talk with a very funny joke, and then she gets serious. Sister Maurice has some great Drunken-Nun stories. She says that she doesn’t hold herself responsible for the sickness that came to her, but she hold herself very, very responsible to the precious life-giving gift of sobriety that had been given to her. Sister Maurice is very grateful that she is in the small percentage of alcoholics that have found the rooms of AA. When she finishes her talk she says, “Now I’m going to give you the short version of Sister Maurice’s story.” At that point she recites the words from the song, Amazing Grace. Great, inspiring talk.
Contents – 14 Tracks
Length – 68 Minutes
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SISTER RUTH - RICHMOND HEIGHTS, OH 11-26-95
Sister Ruth, from Anderson, Indiana recorded this Alcoholics Anonymous talk at the Freeway Breakfast Group in Richmond Heights, Ohio on November 26th, 1995. Sister Ruth gives her sobriety date as August 28th, 1983. She begins her talk by explaining her belief that the entire AA program was divinely inspired. She says she gets very emotional whenever she enters into Ohio because that’s where the original miracle happened. Sister Ruth was ready to commit suicide during the latter part of her drinking years. She spent over six months in a treatment center in the Washington DC area. She particularly liked attending the AA meetings in the ghetto areas. Sister Ruth ends her talk by reading the 12 promises of AA and by saying, “God had a dream for us when he created us. Today my prayer is that this dream will be fulfilled in every one of your lives. Thank you.
Contents – 15 Tracks
Length – 75 Minutes
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SUE FOLDS - CLARKSTON, GA 11-14-92
Sue, from Lantana, Florida recorded this Alcoholics Anonymous talk in Clarkston, Georgia on November 14th, 1992. Sue has a really great story. Her sobriety date is December 14th, 1973. She was born and raised in West Virginia, where they start everything at an "Early Urge." Sue says she "Was raised in a family of Drunken Hillbillies." She herself got drunk for the first time at age twelve. Her family moved to Toledo, Ohio and became known as the "Black Sheep of the Ghetto." By the age of 23, Sue had seven children. She was so out of control with alcoholism that one time she tried to poison her alcoholic husband by mixing lighter fluid into his chili. Sue finally came to AA with a, "God-shaped hole in her soul." One of the most important things AA has taught her about drinking is that it’s not the caboose that kills you, it’s the engine. Sue's got a lot of great sayings, such as, "Money can buy a really great dog, but only love can wag its tail."
Contents - 12 Tracks
Length - 60 Minutes
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SUSAN B ANTHONY - BLACKSTONE, VA
This is an Alcoholics Anonymous talk by the grandniece of the well-known Women’s Voting Rights Advocate. Susan is from Boca Raton, Florida. On this recording she is speaking in Blackstone, Virginia. She begins her talk by briefly describing her drinking and her work as a radio talk show host in New York City. She tells how she decided to have Alcoholic Anonymous on her show and how this contact led to her eventual sobriety. Susan also talks about the 12 steps of AA. She explains that it took 19 months for her to go from admitting powerlessness over alcohol to accepting it. She explains the difficulty she had in forming a faith in her Higher Power. Susan says that because she was unable to turn her will over all at once she instead did it "moment by moment". She explains how where she took her fifth step. She wraps up the talk by discussing prayer, meditation and her relationship with her Higher Power. Her talk is very well delivered with lots of very meaningful content.
Contents – 11 Tracks
Length – 52 Minutes
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TERRY - LONDON, ENGLAND 6-5-09
This Alcoholics Anonymous recording was made at Ealing Hospital in London, England on June 5th, 2009. We don't have a description of the contents of this CD because we have not personally listened to this yet. Please let us know if you have any comments or questions after listening to it.
Contents - 7 Tracks
Length - 35 Minutes
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TOMMI DAYTON - MERIDAN, CT 11-16-03
Tommi, from Pompano Beach, Florida is one of the best known old-timers around. She recorded this Alcoholics Anonymous Talk in Meriden, Connecticut on November 16th, 2003. Tommi says she’s 81 years old but she actually sounds more like 40. She has been sober since 1960. She had seen seven different psychiatrists while trying to get sober and also spent some time at High Watch Farms in Kent, Connecticut. Tommi talks about her acquaintance with Bill Wilson and Ebby Thatcher. She speaks very fondly about making the trip down to Texas to attend Ebby’s funeral. At the end of her talk Tommi says, “Dear Lord, please help me to accept the kind of life you have chosen for me to live. Make me ever mindful of the needs of others and what you would have me do with my life, that Thy will be done. Amen. Thank you very much and I love you.”
Contents – 8 Tracks
Length – 40 Minutes
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WOMEN'S LONG TIMER'S PANEL - LAS VEGAS, NV 2-11-05
This recording was made at a woman's conference in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 11th, 2005. There are five women with a lot of sobriety giving short Alcoholics Anonymous talks. Collectively they have been sober for 190 years. The recording moves along at a pretty good pace and has a very upbeat feel to it. The speakers are Nancy with 32 years, Betty with 39 years, Patti with 34 years, Rita with 41 years, and Rose Marie with 44 years.
Contents - 12 Tracks
Length - 58 Minutes
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WREATHA GRISHAM - COLUMBUS, OH
This Alcoholics Anonymous talk was recorded in Columbus, Ohio at a mini AA Conference. At the time of this talk, Wreatha was a member of the AA Grapevine staff. She’s very well spoken and delivers a very strong AA message. Wreatha begins her talk by stating that she’s a West Virginia Hillbilly and she’s proud of it. Her sobriety date is February 14th, 1969. She tells a very interesting sobriety-threatening story about a man that escaped from the Lima State Hospital, a mental institution. He somehow got a rifle and was randomly shooting at people across the street. A very dear friend of Wreatha’s was killed. Wreatha describes how she became involved with the Grapevine. She sums up her talk by saying, “If you want to keep this program, all you’ve got to do is give it away.”
Contents – 12 Tracks
Length – 59 Minutes
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