Sponsorship as a Saving Grace for the Self-Obsessed – Nancy M.

About This Speaker Tape

1971, Newberry Park, California. A woman in a bulging orange polyester pantsuit stands in a parking lot, throwing up in front of thirty strangers. Nancy M. remembers the grit of those early days—the red, blotchy face, the hair dyed so often it snapped off, and the isolation of peeking through drapes at neighbors while locking her children in their bedrooms to drink cheap Spaniada wine on a mountain

. She describes a childhood of fear and mayonnaise jars filled with stolen beer from her father's keg. After a lifetime of being "too crazy Nancy" and doing anything for a scrap of attention, she found a different kind of safety.

From the wreckage of three marriages and a family defined by alcoholism, Nancy clings to the basics: the meat and potatoes of the program. She shares the paradox of a Viking crown and the Big Book at her wedding, and the spiritual weight of a friend who furnished her apartment while she was away. For Nancy, the only way to stay safe is to look for the newcomer who...

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Nancy M. opens with gratitude for the committee and the fellowship.
• 2:45 Laughter: The story of the Viking crown wedding at the Midnight Mission.
• 6:15 The story of Joanne furnishing Nancy's apartment as a spiritual experience.
• 10:30 Family history: Five alcoholic brothers and a father who died of the disease.
• 14:15 Childhood memories of hiding beer in mayonnaise jars.
• 20:00 The wreckage of early motherhood: locking children in rooms and drinking Spaniada wine.
• 26:30 The first meeting in 1971: The orange polyester pantsuit and throwing up in the parking lot.
• 32:00 The 'meat and potatoes' of the program: the importance of the basics and welcoming newcomers.
• 36:45 Helping her sister get sober: the overnight letter and the trip to Minneapolis.
• 45:00 The decision to let her sons live with their father and the 'Nom' and 'Pom' arrangement.
• 52:00 Closing reflections on a life that is 'good' regardless of outside judgments.