Into Action and the Way She Acted Her Way Into Right Living – Sharon B.

About This Speaker Tape

A 1957 Chevy, a bottle of Canadian Club, and the sudden, jarring arrival of puberty. For Sharon B., alcohol was the only thing that made her feel omnipotent in a world where she never quite fit in. She spent years as a "dysfunctional adult of a normal family," running from Iowa to New York and drifting through communes and carnivals, pulling shades over her feelings. Her wreckage included a stint in maximum security in Louisiana, a pet skunk named Crank, and abusive relationships where the only common ground was a shared addiction.

She describes her sobriety as a silver box that requires daily buffing to keep from tarnishing. After years of clinging to what her sponsor called "a turd," Sharon learned to act her way into right living. From praying to a Beacon’s moving van to navigating the "hallway" of grief after a divorce, she found a Higher Power in the margins. Today, she is a woman who wears nice underwear and works in a law firm, finally at peace in her childhood home.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Sharon B. opens with a joke about her underwear and the 12 Steps.
• 4:15 Childhood in Iowa and the feeling of being a 'dysfunctional adult' in a normal family.
• 7:30 Recounting the 'technicolor' years of acid, peace rallies, and disrupting courtrooms.
• 11:45 The organic farm in Wisconsin and the failure of the 'geographic cure'.
• 15:20 The carnival, the abusive relationship, and the jail time in Louisiana.
• 19:10 The 'turd' metaphor and the importance of letting go.
• 23:40 Laughter: Discussion of her unconventional Higher Power (Beacon's moving van).
• 27:15 The struggle with the Fourth Step inventory and the threat of a 'slip'.
• 31:00 The 'hallway' period of sobriety and the return of spiritual healing.
• 35:40 Detailed account of the Ninth Step: paying back her father in monthly envelopes.