Steps 10, 11 and 12 – 12 Steps Over 4 Weeks – Lisa R – Full Workshop – AA Speaker – Part 4 of 2 – 2022 – Sandy B.

About This Speaker Tape

12 Steps Over 4 Weeks - Lisa R - Full Workshop - AA Speaker - 2022

A phone booth outside a diner serves as the early training ground for Lisa R. where she learned that she wasn't a victim of her day but a volunteer. She dismantles the idea of 'maintenance' in sobriety arguing that one is either moving toward a drink or away from it. Lisa R. details the gritty reality of the Tenth Step from the 'email bombs' she drafts but never sends to the struggle of not acting like a 'moron' in public to avoid scaring off newcomers. The narrative shifts from the twitchy caffeine-fueled anxiety of her early days to a grounded spiritual life that includes a lifelong bow with a prayer group at her church. She closes with a trip to a detox center—the same hospital where her brother died—where a promotion at work suddenly felt secondary to the simple profound fact that she wasn't wearing styrofoam slippers.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Sandy B. concludes her talk with a reflection on forgiveness and the slow transformation of the steps.
• 1:25 Lisa R. introduces herself and discusses the anxiety of speaking for a full hour for the first time.
• 4:10 Laughter: Lisa R. describes her early days calling her sponsor from a phone booth outside a diner.
• 7:45 Step 10: Lisa R. discusses the 'litmus test' of daily inventory and the danger of rationalization.
• 12:15 Lisa R. explains the necessity of sharing inventories with other alcoholics rather than just supportive spouses.
• 16:30 Lisa R. discusses 'mistakes I'm very likely to make' and the danger of the 'wandering eye'.
• 20:10 Step 11: Lisa R. recounts her struggle with meditation and the 'failed' sleep tape.
• 25:40 Step 12: Lisa R. discusses carrying the message and the importance of not sharing her specific Higher Power concept with newcomers.
• 30:15 Lisa R. describes the 'email bombs' and the discipline of the draft folder.
• 34:50 Lisa R. shares a poignant story about speaking at a detox center in the hospital where her brother died.