From a Hospital Bed to a Ph.D. - AA Speaker - Dave D.

Dave returned to Alcoholics Anonymous at 22 from a hospital bed, unable to move and given little hope, then used the same AA actions that kept him sober to return to college and earn a Ph.D. in engineering.

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Speaking with nearly 15 years sober, Dave uses the Big Book chapter “A Vision for You” to explain why hope without action remained only a delusion in his life. He first entered Alcoholics Anonymous at 19, looked around at members decades older than him, and could not imagine what their fellowship could offer a young man who still wanted bright lights and fast times. Three years of painful returns followed, including a relapse in Tijuana after completing only the first three Steps. Back in Maryland, Dave quickly returned to wrecked cars, jail, violent encounters, and the hospital injury that left him unable to move and uncertain whether he would survive. A sponsor carried AA to his bedside, took him through the Big Book and all Twelve Steps, and gave him a new foundation of action, commitment, fellowship, and reliance on God. When Dave regained his physical abilities, that same sponsor told him to return to college and apply the AA approach: arrive early, stay late, sit in front, ask for help, find the winners, and trust God. Dave eventually became the outstanding graduate in his department and continued through a master’s degree and Ph.D. in engineering. He also describes lifelong amends to the grandfather who raised him, learning about the father he lost in Vietnam, helping his mother and his father’s fellow servicemen heal, and becoming the husband and father he once dreamed of being. Dave’s vision of recovery is ultimately larger than education or outward success; it is the character built through consistent action and the willingness to stand near the door so the next suffering alcoholic can find the way inside.

Dave D. from Severna Park, MD speaking at Acts of Recovery in Newark, DE - April 9th 2005 Music: Deep by KaizanBlu