Convincing the Prospect – Marsha S. – Nosara Big Book Workshop – Costa Rica – 2012

About This Speaker Tape

Marsha, a former prosecutor in South G., describes a life of high-functioning wreckage and a 'double life' where she put people in jail for the same crimes she committed after 5 PM. Despite a law degree and a career, she was a 'tornado' in her family's life, disappearing for days and leaving her children to raise each other. Her turning point came after a series of failed treatments and a 'kidnapping' by paralegals who forced her into a detox center.

After hitting a wall of total hopelessness and a moment of surrender on a mustard-yellow shag carpet, she embraced the Big Book. Now living in Texas, she works in a women's recovery center, viewing her history of addiction as her greatest asset in helping others find the same surrender she once fought.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Introduction and reading from the Big Book regarding turning the past into assets.
• 4:15 Discussion of childhood trauma and using an abusive stepfather as a 'trump card' to justify drinking.
• 10:20 The 'double life' as a prosecutor in South Georgia.
• 15:40 Laughter: The 'eight-ball' barter deal with a legal client.
• 21:10 The 'kidnapping' by paralegals and arrival at detox in Atlanta.
• 25:30 Surrender: The moment on the mustard-yellow shag carpet and the 'lie of the disease'.
• 31:15 Mention of working the 12 Steps (Steps 4, 6, 7, and 8) during treatment.
• 35:40 The 'light bulb' moment regarding the purpose of the 12 Steps: helping others.
• 40:10 Discussion of the 'Doctor's Opinion' and the physical allergy of alcoholism.
• 46:20 Sponsorship: Working with a newcomer who identified as an atheist.