
Ralf Friedrichs
- Age
- 64
- Sober Since
- June 13, 2013
- Sober For
- 13 Years & 100 Days
01 What it was like
My life was very out of control.
I had no control, no will, and no desire to save myself.
My drinking was in charge. I felt that either I or God was accepting what the disease was giving to me.
Then one day, God spoke to me in a deep way.
I had no control, no will, and no desire to save myself.
02 What happened
Growing up in a Christian home, I served in the USMC as a chaplain assistant in 1983.
In 2013, I had an epiphany and realized that God was the answer. The answer I had always known but ignored because of alcohol.
I stopped drinking cold turkey, continued college, praised God day by day, and then became a reverend.
03 What it is like now
Today, I have a Doctorate of Theology and a Master of Divinity.
I wake up sober, think sober, and live sober.
I have published 8 books, and one newspaper wrote a front-page story about me titled “From Booze to Writing Books.”
I reach thousands through my YouTube channel, with 15,000 videos, and the iHeart Radio podcast.
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