Sponsorship That Refused to Let Her Be a Parasite – 1953 – Alabam C.

About This Speaker Tape

Sedalia, Missouri, in a room where rats ran the halls and twelve men shared a single toilet. Alabam C. was a "maniacal" wreck, pulling IVs out of her arms and drinking two-fifths a day in bed because she couldn't walk to the kitchen. The prognosis was a heart attack or a wet brain. She recalls the gritty reality of her detox, where a sponsor named Walt sat in a reclining chair for five days and nights just to keep her from drifting into the void.

Alabam speaks of "lying by intimation" and the wreckage of a life spent in swanky hotels and chartered planes, acting like a "gold digger" while her husband gambled away their fortune. The turning point came in a dirty bathroom when she asked a Higher Power for sanity. Her recovery was forged in hard labor; Walt refused to let her be a parasite, forcing her to scrub floors for 76 cents an hour. She traded the Waldorf Astoria for a mop, learning that human dignity is found in work, not handouts.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 The doctor's prognosis: death by heart attack or 'wet brain'.
• 3:15 Laughter: Story about 'lying by intimation' and her mother's reaction.
• 6:20 Description of the rat-infested room in Sedalia where she got sober.
• 11:40 The spiritual awakening in the dirty bathroom and the prayer for sanity.
• 15:30 Humility: Transitioning from the Waldorf Astoria to scrubbing floors for 76 cents an hour.
• 20:10 Discussion on self-honesty and the 'halo' of the sponsor.
• 25:40 The story of her marriage to Jim J. and their shared service work.
• 30:15 Reflection on the importance of working for a living to avoid being a 'parasite' in recovery.