Daily Reprieve and Spiritual Progress as Told by Sandy B.

About This Speaker Tape

East Coast Convention - 1997

The meeting opens with a reading of 'How It Works' and a reminder of the Traditions setting the stage for a series of 'long-timers' to share their wreckage and recovery. Bill Norm Bob C. Greg Bill C. and Tony each map out the distance between their darkest days and their current lives. The narrative shifts from the grit of 'cruddy old jails' and DTs with striped elephants to the quiet tragedy of a son lost to drugs. They dismantle the idea of 'perfect adherence' to the program instead emphasizing the daily reprieve and the necessity of getting 'off your duff' to do service work. Through stories of losing everything from a 60-foot truck and trailer in a house of ill repute to a literal freight train the speakers make the case that the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking and that the miracle is found in the space between two alcoholics and a Big Book.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Meeting opening: Announcements about tapes and the Serenity Prayer.
• 2:15 Reading of 'How It Works' and the 12 Steps.
• 7:40 Bill shares his sobriety date of January 30, 1964.
• 10:15 Norm describes his DTs in a 'cruddy old jail' and seeing striped elephants.
• 15:30 Norm discusses the importance of jail service and the 'exposure' required for recovery.
• 21:10 Bob C. discusses the 'only requirement' for membership and his early days of drinking.
• 26:45 Bob C. shares the tragedy of his son Harry's death from drugs.
• 31:20 Bob C. tells the story of Joe L. and the man who lost a freight train.
• 36:15 Greg discusses his journey from atheism to faith through his sponsor, Fritz.
• 42:10 Bill C. reflects on feeling like a 'misfit' and his travels to find AA on six continents.
• 48:50 Bill C. describes the 'metamorphosis' of drinking to fit in.
• 54:10 Tony shares his experience with the Marine Corps and his 'Aqua Velva' moment.