Character Defects as Weapons – Jennifer K.

About This Speaker Tape

Southern Maryland Roundup - 2025

The 'coveted' Steps 6 and 7 are at the heart of Jennifer K.’s grueling transition from survival mode to actual recovery. She dismantles the illusion that character defects are safety mechanisms describing them instead as weapons that isolate her from others and her Higher Power. Through a series of humbling disasters—including a stint in jail ten years into her sobriety for a registration sticker violation and a shared shoplifting spree involving a bottle of Poo-Pourri—she argues that pain is the only price of admission for true change. She traces her evolution from a 'drunken preschool teacher' who lived in a state of constant gossip and dishonesty to a woman who learned to date with a 'Ninja Warrior course' of boundaries eventually finding a partner who reflects her new spiritual condition.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Laughter: Jennifer K. describes her time as a drunken preschool teacher and the 'apple jumper' incident.
• 4:15 Jennifer K. discusses the phenomenon of craving and the necessity of the 12 Steps.
• 8:30 Discussion of Step 6 and 7 and the struggle with gossip as a character defect.
• 12:15 Laughter: The 'Mexican restaurant' story about avoiding gossip by eating excessive chips and salsa.
• 18:20 Jennifer K. shares the story of her arrest for a car sticker violation nearly 10 years into sobriety.
• 23:45 Jennifer K. discusses the essence of Step 6 (stopping what is wrong) and Step 7 (starting what is right).
• 28:10 Laughter: The 'Poo-Pourri' theft story and the realization of her spiritual condition.
• 34:15 Reading from the 12 and 12 regarding humility and the price of admission.
• 38:40 Jennifer K. describes her 'American Ninja Warrior' approach to dating and establishing boundaries.