The Psychiatrist Who Said He Wasn’t Ready to Be an Alcoholic – Dick M.

About This Speaker Tape

1965, Washington D.C. A sidewalk cafe, a bottle of Remy Martin, and a proposal from a woman who was about to inherit twenty-six million dollars. Dick M. admits he had exactly the right number of drinks; one more and he would have married for money, one less and he never would have hit the bottom. He had spent thousands on psychiatrists and ministers, including one who told him he wasn't "ready" to be an alcoholic because he hadn't drunk for twenty long, hard years.

Dick describes a life of "burning hard coal," navigating a career in broadcasting while hiding a dependency on Librium and booze. He viewed AA as a leper colony for bums and has-beens until he finally walked into a room and felt, for the first time, that it was okay. He speaks of the "two-cup rule" and the necessity of the steps for "real alcoholics," balancing his life like a pie with his Higher Power at the center.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Dick M. discusses the growth of the Fox Hall group in Bellevue, Nebraska.
• 3:15 Recounts early drinking and blackouts starting at age 14.
• 6:20 The encounter with the psychiatrist who told him he wasn't ready to be an alcoholic.
• 10:10 The story of the $26 million inheritance and the 'right number of drinks' that saved him.
• 14:30 Dick M. describes his initial fear of AA as a 'leper colony' for bums.
• 18:15 Discussion on the 'psychic change' and the difference between thinking and acting into recovery.
• 22:40 Laughter: Discussion on the 'two-cup rule' and cleaning house.
• 26:10 Dick M. emphasizes the necessity of the 12 Steps for 'real alcoholics' to stay sober long-term.
• 30:00 Closing thoughts on the 'program of attraction' and leading by example.