Step 4 Took a Word Inventory and a Priest – Alabam C.

About This Speaker Tape

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A dirty toilet room in Independence Missouri became the unlikely site of Alabam C.'s spiritual awakening. After years of high-living as a gold mine company hostess and crashing through expensive New York hotels with a private nurse and doctor in tow Alabam C. hit a bottom that left her family refusing to let her enter their homes. She describes the wreckage of blackouts and the desperation of trying to trick police into committing a sick drunk to a hospital by pouring water into a burned hole in a sofa. Through the guidance of a sponsor named Walt who pushed her through a rigorous sometimes harsh inventory she found a way back. Her story moves from the grit of Skid Row detoxes to the joy of managing the North Hollywood group for two decades proving that even the 'sickest ones' can find a way to stay sane one day at a time.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Alabam C. opens with her identity as a 'grateful alcoholic' and her love for the 'sickest' members of the fellowship.
• 4:15 Recounts the chaos of her drinking in New York and the expensive hotels.
• 7:30 Describes the isolation of her apartment and the mental obsession to order a case of whiskey.
• 11:40 Details the 'crummy' detox center on Skid Row in Independence, Missouri.
• 14:20 Spiritual Awakening: Describes the moment in the dirty bathroom where she heard her Higher Power.
• 18:50 Discusses the rigorous inventory process and the 'word inventory' with Walt.
• 25:10 Shares a story about a 12-step call involving a knife and a man in a bed.
• 31:20 Reflects on the loss of her second husband and the choice not to drink from a bottle in the kitchen.
• 36:40 Discusses the importance of continuing to take inventories and the role of her sponsors.
• 42:10 Recounts her first AA meeting and the flickering 'We Care' sign.