Helen at the 3rd International AA Convention – 1960 – Etter M.

About This Speaker Tape

1948, a bedroom in New York. Helen W. is nursing a "dilly of a hangover" while her husband, the boss, is in the other room. The wreckage is complete: she has spent years hiding bottles and paying neighbors to stash liquor in her office, playing a "rat race" of deception. The breaking point arrives when an innocent employee is fired for lying to cover her binge. Helen tries to drink her way into oblivion to drown the remorse, but the alcohol finally lets her down; it won't provide the blackout.

She describes the physical compulsion as a "wet, hot overcoat" that a Higher Power eventually lifts. She recalls the shock of her first meetings, where she found "her kind of people"—the ones who spoke frankly about the lies and the hiding. For Helen, sobriety is not a Hallmark card but a rigorous adherence to principles, a daily grind of 24-hour periods that restored her self-respect and salvaged her marriage.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Etta Mae J. introduces Helen W.
• 4:15 Helen describes siphoning wine from barrels as a child.
• 10:30 Helen discusses the 'dead giveaway' of repeating herself while drunk.
• 16:45 Helen recounts the disaster involving Bernie and the fallout with her husband.
• 22:10 Helen's first AA meeting in New York and the feeling of hope.
• 31:20 Helen discusses the importance of Step 3 and Step 11.
• 38:15 Earl begins his story, discussing his love for the taste of booze.
• 45:50 Earl describes the 'piercing' thought on the stairs that it was his last drink.
• 52:10 Laughter: Earl's encounter with the butcher, carpenter, and baker in Mill Valley.
• 58:40 Earl discusses the Big Book, specifically page 70 (now page 58), and the danger of half-measures.
• 1:05:15 Earl's realization of a Higher Power through the healing of a patient's tissues.
• 1:15:30 Earl discusses the 5th Tradition and the primary purpose of carrying the message.