Saving Yourself Through Intensity with Newcomers — Kelly B.

About This Speaker Tape

1982, the day before Thanksgiving. Kelly B. is staring at a payphone in a bar, bankrupt and broken, with no one left to call. She describes the "chuggalug" of 151 and Coca-Cola that started it all—a liquid massage that turned her into a "dancing fool" and eventually a "puddle" on the floor after the sheriffs delivered news of her husband's death. For twenty-two years, she lived in the wreckage, banging on doors at 2:30 a.m. to see the children she had lost.

The turning point came in a jail cell, locked in with a "crazy lady" only to realize she was staring at her own reflection. After finding a Higher Power and a gritty group called the Snake Pit, she was told the only way to save herself was to work newcomers with "intensity." From the Foley House—the first recovery home for women and children—to a stroke that nearly stole her voice, Kelly's life became a series of "yeses" to service. She eventually traded her condos and furniture for a chance to be a friend to her children.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Kelly introduces herself and asks the newcomers in the room to identify themselves
• 2:15 Description of her first drink in college and the immediate feeling of social acceptance
• 5:10 The news of her husband's death and the start of a 22-year drinking binge
• 9:20 A moment of clarity in jail where she recognizes her own reflection as the crazy lady
• 11:30 Calling the recovery hotline and attending her first meeting in 1982
• 15:45 Clancy's advice to throw herself into service to newcomers to save her own life
• 19:10 Establishing the Foley House for women and children in recovery
• 25:30 Reconnecting with her son and daughter after years of estrangement