Step 9 — Amends – Joe C. – 1998 – Session 32
About This Speaker Tape
Joe C. maps out the friction of Steps 8 and 9, beginning with a $20 bet from his sponsor to tackle the people he swore he’d never face. He sorts the wreckage into four lists—right now, later, maybe, and never—until the "nevers" finally crumble.
He advocates for amends made eyeball to eyeball, taking the bit in one's teeth to approach an enemy and sweep off his own side of the street. From the story of a Texas oil con artist who spent 29 years paying back stolen cash to feel eight feet tall, to the fallout of a mobile home incident, Joe focuses on the concrete cost of restitution. He contrasts the hollow peace of a '36 Chevrolet with the actual serenity provided by a Higher Power, noting that the first nine steps do for the mind what alcohol once did before it turned against him.
He concludes that sobriety isn't about maintenance, but growth; in his world, you either grow or you start dying.
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