Step 3 Removed the Management of His Life From an Idiot – Sandy B.

About This Speaker Tape

East Coast Convention - 1976

Sandy B. traces the trajectory of a life lived as a 'pretender,' from a childhood in New England shaped by a terror of a punitive Higher Power and a drive to be a snob to a career as a Marine Corps pilot. He describes the physical agony of daily drinking—the spasms the dry heaves and the 'reverse insurance' of guaranteeing a rotten tomorrow—contrasted with the brief chemical peace of the first drink. After a seizure at Quantico lands him in a psychiatric ward Sandy B. is forced into the program. He dismantles the myth of the 'real man' who solves his own problems eventually trading his 'old ideas' for a new way of living. He emphasizes the necessity of not drinking as the baseline for survival which then creates the space to work the steps and end the isolation of the alcoholic.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Introduction by John; Sandy B. is welcomed to the stage.
• 3:15 Laughter: Sandy B. jokes about the 'secret' to the steps being 'when all else fails, don't drink.'
• 6:40 Sandy B. discusses the 'fatal nature of the illness' and his sponsor's blunt interpretation: 'Sandy B.'s gonna die.'
• 12:10 Childhood reflections on New England snobbery and the 'pretender' persona.
• 16:30 Description of the first drink in college and the immediate, temporary 'spiritual awakening' of social acceptance.
• 24:15 The physical progression of the disease: describing the 'hostage' feeling in his own body and the need to drink before 4:30.
• 31:00 The seizure at Quantico and the subsequent stay in the U.S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda.
• 36:20 The '12-step call' from Bill; the confrontation of pouring the drink down the sink.
• 42:10 Step 3: The 'miracle' of removing life management from the hands of an idiot.
• 47:50 A plug for Step 8 and the importance of the list in ending isolation.