The Master Plan for Permanent Sobriety – Eddie E.

About This Speaker Tape

4 Street Tri Club - 1981

A renegade Southern Baptist who looks Jewish with a Catholic disease Eddie E. delivers a masterclass on the first two steps. He doesn't just talk about sobriety he distinguishes the 'program of recovery' from the 'fellowship,' warning that confusing the two can be fatal. He maps the descent from 'unusual interest' to 'total addiction,' recalling a time he was so far gone he tried to cook bacon and eggs on a stove without a pan and walked through Coral Gables naked. For Eddie the 12 Steps are a divinely inspired master plan for imperfect people. He argues that while the fellowship is a wonderful support the actual recovery happens in the rigorous application of the steps. He views sobriety not as a destination but as a destiny a journey that requires a profound personality change to move from the wilderness of unreality into a world of truth.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Eddie E. opens by outlining the 10-week step study structure.
• 7:45 Laughter: Eddie's joke about bald being beautiful and his history of doing everything except killing someone or falling in love with a man.
• 15:20 Discussion on the 'AA Way' and the necessity of the 12 Steps over mere meeting attendance.
• 22:10 Eddie describes the 'three-fold illness' (physiological, mental, spiritual) and the social problem of alcoholism.
• 31:40 Story about the 'half-piner' lifestyle and the 'rabbits' he used to steal or buy.
• 42:15 Detailed breakdown of Step 1: Powerlessness and Unmanageability.
• 55:10 Transition to Step 2: Coming to believe in a Higher Power.
• 1:05:30 The 'mustard seed of faith' and the process of gradual spiritual awakening.
• 1:18:20 Story about his sponsor, Bud P., using a 'crowbar' to open Eddie's mind to the concept of insanity.
• 1:25:10 Closing thoughts on Step 2 and the 'language of the heart.'