Recovery Is a Logical Design for Living – Tom I.

About This Speaker Tape

A maximum custody penitentiary in Michigan, age twenty-four, and the sudden, cold realization that a drunken blackout had cost two human beings their lives. Tom I. describes his early years as a runaway train, a blur of "pitiful, incomprehensible demoralization" and a sickening routine of jails, psych wards, and waking up married to women he didn't know. He lived in the armpit of Flint, selling his blood for five bucks a throw and feeding on others in a social food chain.

The turn came not from heroics, but from a rookie social worker and a speaker named Shy Walker, who had robbed a judge. In the crude, obscene environment of the prison, Tom found a "logical design for living." He discovered a group of drunks who did exactly what they said they would do, teaching him that the surgery of the eighth and ninth steps was the only way to stop dragging the wreckage of his past. He left the facility a free man in every way that mattered.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Tom I. opens with a joke about evacuating rooms and the 'seventh inning stretch' of the conference.
• 4:15 The wreckage: Tom describes the blackout that led to killing two people and his subsequent 15-year sentence.
• 12:30 Laughter: Tom recounts waking up in a car on fire and the 'pitiful, incomprehensible demoralization' described in the Big Book.
• 18:45 The turning point: A rookie social worker named Martin suggests he attend an AA meeting in the prison.
• 22:10 Meeting Shy W.: Tom describes the magnetic personality of the speaker who robbed a judge.
• 27:50 Trust and the Group: Tom discusses the 'Recovery Group' in the penitentiary and the integrity of the members.
• 31:15 Step Work: Tom breaks down the logic of the 12 Steps, specifically the 'surgery' of Steps 8 and 9.
• 38:20 The Miracle: Tom describes how his parole supervisor handed him a driver's license without a test.
• 43:10 Career Ascent: Tom details his journey from ex-con to rehab officer and eventually prison warden.
• 51:00 Family and Legacy: Tom speaks about his wife Fern and his children's professional successes.