Steps 10 and 11 – Wilson House Big Book Workshop Retreat – Part 6 of 25 – 2023 – Jessica S.

About This Speaker Tape

Wilson House Big Book Workshop Retreat - 2023

A three-ring circus of a home life—complete with a son who cuts his own hair and a daughter dressed as Harry Potter—serves as the backdrop for Jess S.'s take on the maintenance steps. She rejects the idea of a yearly Fourth Step arguing instead for a real-time daily house cleaning to avoid sitting in a 'poopy diaper' of resentment. Jess describes the sudden terrifying return of a drinking obsession after 15 years of sobriety triggered by a school letter about her daughter's depression and how a frantic call to her sponsor and prayer pulled her back from the ledge. Between the chaos of being an interior architect and a mother of three she navigates the thin line between being a 'bossy lady' and staying in a fit spiritual condition ultimately viewing the steps not as a cure but as a daily reprieve that allows her to cohabitate with the rest of the world without burning the house down.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Set-aside prayer and introduction to Step 10.
• 3:15 Discussion on the daily application of Step 10 versus doing a Fourth Step annually.
• 7:40 The feeling of 'neutrality' and being able to be around alcohol without fear.
• 11:20 A crisis of obsession: Jess recounts a sudden urge to drink after 15 years of sobriety.
• 15:40 The 'bossy lady' persona and the struggle with selfishness and ego.
• 18:10 The story of her father telling her on his deathbed that she wasn't an alcoholic.
• 22:30 Step 11: The transition from nightly inventories to morning meditations due to motherhood.
• 26:10 Laughter: The 'three-ring circus' of her home life and the Harry Potter costume incident.
• 30:45 The metaphor of the farmer in the cyclone cellar and the need to rebuild the house.