The Simple Program for Complicated People – Katie P.

About This Speaker Tape

Face-down in the mashed potatoes at an eleven-year-old's Thanksgiving dinner, Katie P. first learned the art of the lie. She grew up in the shadow of a father whose habit left the gas and water shut off, yet she found her own way to the bottle, eventually living the "life of Riley" in West Virginia. Her wreckage included a marriage that lasted three months and a descent into a residential hotel where she drank rotgut and apricot brandy until fruit flies swarmed her in the office. Rock bottom arrived with DTs featuring a legless cat matted in axle grease and tiny barking bulldogs.

A Higher Power intervened in a hospital bed, placing a sober woman in the room next to her. After decades of sobriety, Katie P. moved to Florida, raising three daughters and later running a bail bonds business. She turned her office into a captive audience, using wallpapering jobs and bond papers to steer drunks toward a simple program for complicated people.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Katie P. opens by discussing her history with recovery gatherings in West Virginia and Florida.
• 4:15 Childhood memories of her father's drinking and the gas and water being shut off.
• 6:30 The Thanksgiving dinner incident and her first experience with lying about drinking.
• 12:10 Meeting a regal woman from AA and her initial skepticism about the woman's drinking history.
• 16:45 Laughter: The 'experts' at the Friday night meeting telling her she's too young to be an alcoholic.
• 22:30 The 'fruit fly' incident involving apricot brandy in the office.
• 26:15 Detailed description of her DTs, including the axle-grease cat and tiny bulldogs.
• 29:40 Spiritual awakening in the hospital and the serendipitous arrival of Regina R.
• 35:20 Discussing the loss of her husband to cancer and raising three daughters alone.
• 38:10 The tragedy of her daughter's death on her 49th AA anniversary.
• 44:15 Working as a bail bondswoman and using the Big Book to help prisoners get sober.
• 51:00 Closing thoughts on 56 years of sobriety and the importance of attending meetings.