The Ritual of 90 Meetings in 90 Days – Denise S.

About This Speaker Tape

A Brooklyn native Denise S. recalls a decades-long cycle of 'in and out' sobriety that began in 1986. She describes the wreckage of a lucrative 30-year business lost to insanity and the physical torture of delirium tremens.

The narrative centers on her 'Vinnie the Chin' phase—barricading herself in her apartment with robes slippers and cases of vodka acting as a robot to the bottle. After a near-fatal heart attack in a hospital triage she experienced a 'struck sober' moment triggered by an Eric C. album leading her to La Hacienda in Texas.

She speaks candidly about the devastation of her relationship with her children specifically an essay her daughter wrote about the necessity of walking away from her. Now a sponsor herself she reflects on the shift from intellectualizing the program to a total surrender of the will.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Denise S. opens with gratitude and a nod to her Brooklyn roots.
• 4:15 Laughter: Story about a Puerto Rican sponsor taking her to a Santeria psychic.
• 10:20 Description of the 'alcoholic torture' and delirium tremens.
• 13:45 The 'Vinnie the Chin' persona: isolation, robes, and cases of vodka.
• 17:10 Account of a near-fatal heart attack in the hospital triage.
• 20:30 The 'struck sober' moment triggered by Eric C.'s Blind Faith album.
• 23:15 Experience at La Hacienda Treatment Center and the Third Step Prayer.
• :26:40 Emotional reflection on her daughter's essay and the cost of her drinking.
• 30:10 Discussion on the loss of her business and the insanity of lying to clients.
• 32:45 Reflections on freedom and the role of sponsoring other women.