More About Alcoholism as Relapse Prevention – James L.
About This Speaker Tape
Dillon, South Carolina, 1963. A boy watches his grandmother win a tug-of-war for his soul against his mother, only to later find her dead in a chair, coffee spilled on her lap. James L. grew up in the wreckage of "strange fruit" and Jersey City ghettos, filling a hole in his chest with whatever was left in a Budweiser or a mayonnaise jar of corn whiskey. He describes his relationship with alcohol as an old girlfriend—you can be mad at her, but you don't talk bad about her in his presence.
After years as a chronic relapser and a near-fatal car wreck where his wife told him he "should have died," James found a Higher Power through the grit of a California detox and a sponsor named Alton. He speaks of the "physical grip"—the salivating jaw and the "boom" in the body—that separates the alcoholic from the temperate drinker. For James, sobriety isn't a hallmark card; it's a practical program of action and a fellowship of zeros.
Discussion
Be the first to share your thoughts on this tape.