Steps 1, 2 and 3 – Recovery Speakers — Workshop – Part 3 of 34 – 2012 – Polly P.

About This Speaker Tape

Recovery Speakers — Workshop - 2012

A Southern Baptist upbringing in the South provided a shield of prohibition but Polly P. describes a lifelong internal rage and a 'spiritual malady' that made her a child abuser and a neglectful mother. She recounts the wreckage of her drinking years—passing out on kitchen floors while her children stepped over her—and a near-fatal overdose in a Texas hotel room. Beside her Lon S. shares a parallel trajectory of 'geographical cures' through the Marine Corps from Japan to Australia and a bungee-cord suicide attempt that finally landed him in treatment. Both speakers emphasize the danger of 'stepping too slow,' arguing that the 12 Steps must be attacked quickly to prevent relapse. Their stories converge in Jacksonville Florida where they now share a home group after decades of sobriety having moved from a state of beastly isolation to one of mutual adopted family.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Polly P. introduces herself and her relationship with Lon S. and her son James.
• 8:15 Polly P. discusses the importance of working the 12 Steps quickly, referencing Dr. Bob.
• 15:40 Polly P. describes her 'spiritual malady' and the rage she felt before ever taking a drink.
• 21:10 Raw account of child abuse and neglect; Polly P. describes her sons finding her passed out on the sofa.
• 28:30 Polly P. recounts her near-death experience in a Texas hotel and her subsequent court-commitment to treatment.
• 34:10 Polly P. describes her surrender and her first sponsor, a former Catholic priest.
• 38:45 Lon S. begins his share, discussing his childhood and his parents' alcoholism.
• 48:20 Lon S. describes his 'geographical cures' and his time in the Marine Corps.
• 55:15 Lon S. recounts his bungee-cord suicide attempt in Japan.
• 1:05:10 Lon S. describes the insanity of his repeated arrests at 'The Strip' in Grand Prairie.
• 1:15:40 Lon S. discusses his first sponsor and the experience of praying the Third Step prayer with a group of men.
• 1:25:00 Closing reflections on the bond between Polly P. and Lon S. and final applause.