The Sliding Definitions of a Progressive Disease – Kent C.

About This Speaker Tape

Sandusky, Ohio. A 22-year-old puts fifty cents on a wine in a downtown alley just to stop the shaking. Kent C. didn't enter the rooms with "pixie dust" or etiquette; he arrived as a "street guy" with a skill set based on watching and listening. He describes the "sliding definitions" of his disease—how he lowered the bar of what an alcoholic was until the only thing left was the image of a man sleeping under a cardboard box.

Kent warns that merely attending meetings is not treatment; "sending a chicken coupe ain't going to make you no chicken." He distinguishes between those who linger on the edge of the bed and those who get in the middle. For Kent, recovery meant moving from the bondage of self—a desperate addiction to acceptance—to a Higher Power. He traces the 12 steps back to the hickory stick of his childhood, realizing the principles were ancient and the only way out of the "sick house."

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Opening prayer and reflection on the simplicity of recovery.
• 5:15 Kent describes the 'Group One' and 'Group Two' types of people he observed when first entering the rooms.
• 10:40 Discussion on the necessity of a sponsor and the definition of 'being sponsorable.'
• 16:20 Laughter: The story of Otis from the Andy Griffith show and the 'brown paper sack' definition of an alcoholic.
• 22:10 Kent breaks down the 12 Steps through the lens of the spiritual principles he was taught by his parents as a child.
• 31:45 The tragedy of his brother's death in 1972 and the subsequent 'bondage of self.'
• 42:10 The 'hot stove' analogy and the cycle of consequences drinking.
• 51:30 Account of his time in the state penitentiary and the moment his mother gave him to a Higher Power.
• 58:15 The 'moment of clarity' and the decision to seek treatment in Xenia, Ohio.
• 1:05:20 The emotional account of making direct amends to his mother before she passed away.
• 1:12:40 Final thoughts on 'unbearable sobriety' and the necessity of a spiritual awakening.