Podcasts Health Busting Addiction and Its Myths Mini Series 2 - What is a sponsor and how do I get one?

Mini Series 2 - What is a sponsor and how do I get one?

Published: June 9, 2023, 8 a.m.

In this podcast, we ask the question... What is a sponsor and how do I get one?

It is a bewildering experience for newcomers to a 12-step program such as AA. On the one hand, they are sponges for learning about how to stay sober, and on the other, all they may know is they should go to AA meetings and find a sponsor. So, what is the role of the sponsor in AA?

  1. The principal role of a sponsor is like that of a tour guide who takes the newcomer through the basics of the AA program, such as reading the Alcoholics Anonymous text which we call The Big Book.
  2. It is not unusual for sponsors and their "sponsees", as they are called, to form friendships that last a lifetime. This partnership becomes the cornerstone of recovery for many recovered alcoholics.
  3. Having a sponsor means that one can disclose intimate details of one's life that will remain private, staying within the confines of the relationship. Like a confessional.
  4. The relationship as defined by our AA traditions is a direct extension of the spark that ignited the Fellowship in the first place, in 1935: one alcoholic talking to another, helping one another get and stay sober, one day at a time.
  5. Men sponsor men, women sponsor women, with a few exceptions. All one has to do is raise a hand at a meeting and say: "I'm looking for a sponsor". It works best for both if the relationship starts as a trial run to see if the chemistry works. It usually does.

The founding insight that started the AA fellowship, that of one alcoholic helping another, lives on in the concept of Sponsorship, now woven into the fabric of AA itself.