The Difference Between Sharing Experiences and Imposing Opinions – 1968 – Lew F.

About This Speaker Tape

New Brunswick, a childhood of wreckage: a father who hung himself drunk in a greenery and a mother who supplied hotel guests with "food, lodging, and lovin'." Lew F. speaks with the grit of a man who once sang for glazed donuts at the Sally Ann Mission and drank gallons of rubbing alcohol because it was cheaper than the premium. He describes himself as an "impulsive, compulsive, repulsive" drunk who viewed the world through a telescope instead of a mirror.

To Lew, the Big Book is not a suggestion or a set of guidelines to be interpreted—which he defines as the "avoidance of truth"—but a manual for the maladjusted. He recounts the wreckage of his early sobriety, from a $200 truck that burnt five gallons of oil a day to a white Cadillac repossessed before the sticker was off the door. He warns against the "competitive storytelling" of the rooms, urging a reliance on a Higher Power and the exact, prompt nature of the steps.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Lew F. opens with a reflection on the meaning of 'grace' as an unearned favor.
• 2:15 Laughter: The story of the opera in Tuscaloosa and the danger of false pride.
• 5:10 Lew F. discusses his childhood trauma, mentioning his father's suicide and his mother's profession.
• 12:30 Lew F. describes the moment he smashed his mother in the face at 16 and ran away to Halifax.
• 18:45 Discussion of the Big Book and the danger of 'interpreting' the program rather than following it.
• 25:10 Lew F. recounts his 'drunk of all drunks' and being thrown out of the Rainier Hotel in Vancouver.
• 32:20 Mention of the 12 Steps: Lew F. discusses the 'exact' nature of the inventory and amends.
• 40:15 Lew F. shares his experience speaking at a national convention in South Africa and the impact of the fellowship in Soweto.
• 51:00 Lew F. reflects on the thin line between humility and senility and the necessity of facing reality.
• 58:30 Closing thoughts on forgiveness and the importance of walking with dignity.