The Self-Pity He Replaced with Gratitude – Franklin W.

About This Speaker Tape

1956, a garage apartment, and a record of Sonny Boy Slim playing while Franklin W. wrote a suicide note on a yellow legal pad. He had hooked a plastic hose to the exhaust of a borrowed car, but a sudden thirst for a final spot of wine saved him—he passed out instead of dying. He describes his surrender not as a gentle transition, but as a "Red McGinnis surrender," comparing it to being beaten into the dirt by a 230-pound college bully.

Franklin speaks of the "wreckage" of a life where his daughter once pointed a finger in his face and told him he wasn't her daddy. He credits his sobriety to a sponsor named David, a "mean little devil" who refused to let him think for himself, insisting that a new alcoholic's mind is broken. Through a Higher Power and the grit of the Big Book, Franklin replaced the bondage of self with a simple mandate: trust the Higher Power, clean house, and help others.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Franklin W. opens with a humorous take on the group's meeting format and the 'mouthy' nature of the speaker.
• 5:15 Laughter: Franklin jokes about his wife Eloise W.'s 18-year long '10-day diet'.
• 10:20 Franklin discusses the 'lost art' of sponsorship and the influence of his sponsor, David G.
• 16:45 Detailed breakdown of the Big Book's 'musts' and the danger of a new alcoholic trying to do their own thinking.
• 22:10 The 'Red M.' story: a metaphor for total surrender based on a childhood encounter with a bully.
• 28:30 Franklin recounts his suicide attempt with a plastic hose and the 'miracle' of clarity on October 15, 1956.
• 35:15 Step-by-step guide to the Fourth Step, focusing on the three basic instincts and the deflation of ego.
• 42:00 Discussion of the Twelve Promises and the distinction between 'faith steps' and 'action steps'.
• 48:10 The 'Football Story': a narrative metaphor for the spiritual life, the soul, and the Ten Commandments.