Why the Steps Separate the Men from the Boys – David B.

About This Speaker Tape

St John the Evangelist - 1972

Dave B. maps out the early days of AA in Montreal and Quebec tracing the movement from a shabby living room in Cote-des-Neiges to the establishment of the first French-speaking group in the world. He reflects on the 'non-alcoholics' who inadvertently paved his way—the patient bishop who let Dave sleep on his lawn the doctor who threw the Big Book on his bed and the nurse who forced him into a first-step admission of powerlessness. Dave dismantles the idea of a solitary recovery instead honoring a lineage of 'marathon 12th steppers' and pioneers like Clarence and Paul M. a taxi driver who carried the message across the province in a tiny car. He frames sobriety not as a clinical achievement but as a spiritual miracle and a 'great adventure' that requires a grateful heart and a willingness to walk into the darkness by the hand of a Higher Power.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Dave reflects on his time as an agnostic sitting in the back of a church.
• 2:15 Discussion on the nature of a spiritual awakening and the 12 Steps.
• 4:30 Laughter: Dave recalls the early days of meetings in a shabby living room in Cote-des-Neiges.
• 6:10 Dave defines alcoholism as a three-part disease of the body, mind, and soul.
• 8:45 The story of Fred W. and Dave falling asleep on his lawn.
• 11:20 Dave describes the moment he first read the Big Book in secret at the hospital.
• 14:10 The 'First Step' moment with Miss C. at Western Hospital.
• 17:30 Dave discusses the steps that 'separate the men from the boys' and his relationship with Bill W.
• 20:15 Tribute to the early pioneers: Clarence and the Saturday night meetings.
• 23:40 The history of the first French-speaking AA group in the world.
• 26:10 Paul M.'s tireless 12th step work across the province in his tiny car.
• 29:30 Closing prayer and a poem about walking into the darkness with a Higher Power.