The Genetic Disorder and the Threefold Disease of Alcoholism – Don N.

About This Speaker Tape

15th Great Plains Roundup -

A grocery store owner in northern Ontario once tried to outsmart his wife by pretending to help a brother stop drinking only to find himself trapped by the honesty of a small early AA group. Don N. describes a life of 'under-amplified' emotions—swinging from sheer ecstasy to deep depression like a 'toilet seat at a mixed party'—and a long history of being the last person to know he had a problem comparing alcoholism to body odor. He moves from a fierce agnostic rejection of religion and the Big Book to a quiet appreciation for the 'modern-day miracles' found in the design of a Boeing 747 or the anatomy of a radish. Through fifty years of sobriety he has shifted from a man terrified of failure to one who understands that the world only remembers the successful while the failures are forgotten allowing him to finally stop fearing the fall.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Opening jokes about sherry and port.
• 3:15 Discussion on the genetic nature of alcoholism and family history.
• 6:20 The 'body odor' analogy for maintaining sobriety through meetings.
• 9:45 The story of Hal F. and the first encounter with the Big Book.
• 14:10 The 'challenge' from his wife and the relapse in Kirkland Lake.
• 18:30 The 'trick' to get into a meeting to help a fictional brother.
• 22:15 First meeting experience: realizing the speakers were describing his own life.
• 27:40 Analysis of fear of failure using the Titanic and the Spirit of St. Louis.
• 32:10 The 'toilet seat' analogy for emotional instability.
• 36:50 Discussion on the 'modern-day miracles' of Boeing 747s and radishes.
• 41:20 The story of the woman and the pianist Paderewski; a change in attitude.
• 44:50 Closing prayer 'The Ways of the Lord' and final thoughts.