Step 6 and the Quality of Willingness – David A.

About This Speaker Tape

Dallas, Texas. A man stands in a county jail with thirty cents in his pocket, wearing custom-made alligator shoes and a sweater with holes in the elbows. David A. spent years on three different skid rows, drinking Bay Rum and wine, surviving on blood bank money and the misplaced generosity of a loving family. He describes his early sobriety as a natural childbirth without anesthetic—it hurts like the Dickens, but you get a wide-awake baby.

He recounts the grit of his early recovery: washing coffee cups in a "silk stocking" group where he was kept in the kitchen to avoid embarrassing the high-society members. His sponsor pushed him into a brutal honesty, forcing him to admit his wrongs in a one-hole commode before facing a mirror. David speaks of the "quality of willingness" in Step 6, treating the 12 Steps as an archway to freedom. He warns that without this work, we are condemned to relive our past lives.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Don B. introduces David A. with a joke about hairless Chihuahuas.
• 5:15 David A. discusses starting to drink at age ten and living on three different skid rows.
• 12:40 The 'frozen buzzard' detox and the struggle of early sobriety.
• 18:20 Sponsorship and the rigorous demand to take a Fourth Step inventory.
• 22:10 Step 5: The experience of admitting wrongs in a locked bathroom stall.
• 28:40 The American Airlines flight and the non-scheduled stop in Amarillo, Texas.
• 35:10 Discussion of the 12 Traditions and the importance of unity.
• 42:15 Laughter: The story of the 'fixing drunks' and the woman who beat a guard with a sling pump.
• 50:30 The story of David's wife, Grace G., appearing on television using a fake name.
• 56:10 Closing thoughts on the 'friendly hand' and rebuilding broken lives.