Kirsten Johnson Podcast

Kirsten Johnson Podcast

Ep 212 The D*ath Threats From AA Members

Jun 30, 2026 · 31 min · 10 segments

Last week we explored some of the doomsday prophecies in AA's Big Book. This week we're diving deep into death threats that come from AA members directly. I do believe most of these people have good…

Last week we explored some of the doomsday prophecies in AA's Big Book. This week we're diving deep into death threats that come from AA members directly. I do believe most of these people have good intentions and say that leaving will kill us because they actually believe it. The problem, of course, is that the fear AA instills in us isn't a fact. Leaving AA does not mean we are going to die, even if some do. Leaving AA and "graduating" recovery is something I believe should be celebrated. We finished our addiction recovery journey. This is great news. A huge victory in fact. Or some may decide to always have support. Also great. The point is that we have choice. Recovery is so individual. Timestamps: 00:00 AA Member Death Threats Intro 04:01 AA Member Threatened I'd Die 07:14 The Actual Comment 08:30 1. Leaving is equivalent to drinking again 09:15 2. Leaving means death 11:11 3. There are only two outcomes: stay in AA or die 12:08 4. Your judgment can't be trusted 14:43 5. The AA member knows your future 15:32 6. Your fate is already determined 16:40 7. Fear is an appropriate tool of persuasion 20:03 8. Staying doesn't lead to funerals 24:13 9. Survivorship bias in the funerals 27:01 Believing The Threats Traps Us 🔥 Deprogram Course + leaving AA resources → here 🧠 Brain optimization tools → here ❤️‍🔥 If you’re ready to stop holding yourself back → here **Come vibe with me:** Kirsten's Facebook Kirsten's Instagram Kirsten's TikTok 📱 My content creation setup (camera, mic, lighting, etc.) → here 💻 Tools + software I use to run my business and create online → here ⚠️ Disclaimer: I’m not a therapist, doctor, or licensed healthcare provider. Everything shared is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional care. 💖 Some links may be affiliate links. I only share what I genuinely use and love.

Last week we explored some of the doomsday prophecies in AA's Big Book. This week we're diving deep into death threats that come from AA members directly. I do believe most of these people have good…

Kirsten JohnsonHost

0:04

If you've been around AA, you know that the death threats, or you likely know the death threats, are fairly common.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

0:11

Last week we talked about how the death threats are inside the AA Big Book itself, and today we're going to be talking about how sometimes the death threats, or often the death threats, come from actual AA members.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

0:24

Now, this might be just repeating the literature or the ideology as a speaker or someone sharing inside of a meeting.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

0:33

It might be in the context of sponsorship.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

0:36

It might be in the fellowship context or whatever.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

0:39

Or it might be directly to you on social media.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

0:43

The death threats that I'm referring to here in this video are not ones of AA members or Not the ones that are mad at me for dissenting and saying they're going to come take my life.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

0:55

I mean the AA members who, let's take a beat because that's actually kind of intense.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

1:01

I'm talking about in this video, the AA members who will tell you that you're going to die if you don't do AA basically.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

1:09

So that if you don't do AA, if you're not rigorously honest, if you are not doing all the work, if you leave AA, then you are going to die.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

1:18

It'll sound like you're going to drink and then you're going to die.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

1:20

But a lot of them will just say you're going to die.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

1:22

It's not safe.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

1:23

So I want to know, did you get any did you get any death threats from AA members when you were in AA or after you left AA? By the way, welcome to the Kirsten Johnson podcast.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

1:32

I was in AA for 10 years and I left in 2020.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

1:36

So I left a while ago.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

1:37

I recently got another death threat from an AA member.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

1:42

And this one is like so interesting.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

1:44

This is what we're going to be doing today.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

1:46

And this was somebody thinking that I was going to die because I was going to drink, not I was going to die because they were going to come for me.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

1:51

Right.

Kirsten JohnsonHost

1:52

So These ones are like to me as like, I don't know, as ridiculous sounding like they're not funny, but like this comment here that I'll read in a second and we're going to go through it.