Keith L Step Study – Part 2 – Keith L.

About This Speaker Tape

Keith L Step Study - 1993

Keith L. dismantles the mechanics of the eighth and ninth steps arguing that the list of people harmed is a living document born from the fourth step. He maps out the psychological patterns of self-will and envy that poisoned his relationship with his brother Denny D. and his father. Through concrete stories of childhood poverty—counting pennies for root beer and the memory of a father in a wool suit in the August heat of South Carolina—Keith traces how his perception of love was distorted by fear. He details the grueling process of making direct amends from the trip to New Jersey to the agonizing decision to allow his daughters to be adopted by their stepfather. He makes the case that the ninth step is the only way to truly walk down a street without fearing who you might run into transforming a life of wreckage into one of maximum service.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Keith L. explains the connection between the fourth step and the eighth step list.
• 2:15 Laughter: Stories about sponsors and the temptation to 'firebomb' a house to force an amends letter.
• 5:30 Keith describes his lifelong pattern of self-will and the cycle of getting involved and then blaming others.
• 10 Childhood memories of Denny D. and the first time they drank alcohol at age four and five.
• 16:45 The process of making direct amends to Denny D. in New Jersey.
• 22:10 Keith discusses the spiritual experience of seeing his father's fear rather than his lack of love.
• 27:30 The memory of his father wearing a wool suit in the South Carolina heat to see him at Parris Island.
• 32:15 Discussion on the Big Book promises and the necessity of working the ninth step to achieve them.
• 36:00 The 'indirect amends' story involving the IRS and his ex-wife.
• 42:20 The emotional account of allowing his daughters to be adopted by their stepfather.
• 48:10 Keith's reflection on how the ninth step allows one to be of maximum service to others.