Stevie B. on Controlled Drinking, Abnormal Drinkers, and the God-Sized Hole

About This Speaker Tape

East Coast Convention - 2024

Stevie B. maps out the mental gymnastics of the 'abnormal drinker,' focusing on the obsession with controlled drinking and the 'god-sized hole' that external trappings—gold chains steroids and expensive cars—cannot fill. He recounts a disastrous attempt to 'test' his sobriety in Minnesota after seven years which devolved into a bar fight where he imagined himself as Robert D. Stevie B. traces his path from homelessness and a restraining order to a halfway house called Liberty House where he describes the friction and eventual surrender involved in praying on his knees. He argues that while the Big Book is a vital tool the real recovery happens in the relationship with a Higher Power and the 'group of drunks,' emphasizing that sobriety is a byproduct of spiritual connection rather than a goal in itself.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Applause: Welcoming newcomers and Beatrice B.
• 3:15 Discussion of the 'great obsession' of the abnormal drinker and the desire to drink like normal people.
• 5:20 Laughter: Stevie B. describes the wreckage of his family and his parents' retirement.
• 8:10 The 'controlled drinking' story: Flying to Minnesota to test his sobriety.
• 11:30 The bar fight: Imagining himself as D. and throwing people over the bar.
• 14:40 The 'deer hunter of the Poconos' and the manipulation of his mother for money.
• 17:10 Step 2: The transition from homelessness to Liberty House halfway house.
• 19:50 Sponsorship: Jerry B. and the requirement to pray on his knees.
• 23:10 The Sprint store encounter: A Higher Power intervention via Drew.
• 26:30 The Third Step Prayer: Leading the room in the prayer.
• 29:10 Discussion of 'Higher Power as a group of drunks' and the concept of a Higher Power.
• 33:40 The story of the Dublin AA meeting and the power of forgiveness.