The Al-Anon Wife in the Devil Suit – Jack S.

About This Speaker Tape

Born and raised near the Kentucky Derby tracks at 4th and Central Jack S. spent his youth enamored by the fast lane of gamblers and big cars. He describes a slow descent into a 'cardboard jungle,' eventually living in a freezer box in a Louisville alley dodging finance company collectors and police nightsticks.

His turning point arrives in 1962 when his father and a recovered alcoholic named Jack D. drag him into a psychiatric ward. Through a series of clashes with doctors and a reluctant entry into AA Jack S. moves from a state of 'emotional dwarfism' to 25 years of sobriety

. He eventually transforms his wreckage into service establishing an alcohol and drug abuse program for the railroad where he worked proving that a man can move from a cardboard box to a professional life of utility.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Introduction of Jack S. and his 25 years of sobriety.
• 5:15 Jack S. describes growing up at 4th and Central near Churchill Downs.
• 12:40 Laughter: Story about the 'breeding ground of humility' in the back seat of a squad car.
• 18:20 Discussion of the 'cardboard jungle' and sleeping in freezer boxes.
• 25:10 The encounter with the finance company collector in the alley.
• 31:45 The turning point: Jack D. and his father bring him to the psychiatric hospital.
• 38:10 Jack S. describes his first AA meeting and the 'damned old woman' who welcomed him.
• 45:30 Discussion on the 'extra bone' and the necessity of getting honest to open the mind.
• 52:15 The 'triangular friendship' between the Higher Power, other people, and the self.
• 58:00 Closing story about the poisonous snake and the nature of the alcoholic.