The Spiritual Sickness of a Progressive Disease He Couldn’t Outrun – Andy C.

About This Speaker Tape

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A childhood spent bouncing off walls and breaking windows with a hammer leads Andy C. into a lifelong habit of playing roles to hide a hollow center. He describes a 'drinking career' marked by geographical cures that took him from California to Vermont and eventually to a beach in St. Thomas with a stranger and no return ticket. After a brush with suicide and a stint in a psych ward he finds the 'spiritual key' in the steps only to lose it years later in Missouri when he convinced himself marijuana wasn't his drug of choice. He returns to sobriety on his six-year anniversary forced to take a white chip as a lesson in humility. Now grounded in St. Petersburg he views his life as a mayonnaise jar filled with the 'golf balls' of family and faith having finally stopped trying to drive the bus and started listening.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Andy C. introduces himself and his home group in St. Petersburg.
• 2:30 Discussion on 'terminal uniqueness' and the danger of wandering off spiritually.
• 5:15 Childhood memories of hyperactivity and being prescribed phenobarbital.
• 8:40 The first experience with 'slow gin fizz' and the belief that his guts were bleeding.
• 12:10 The 'geographical cure' cycle and waking up in St. Thomas.
• 16:45 The 'trash bag' metaphor for emotional suppression and dry drunk behavior.
• 20:10 The 'banana peel' comment from an old-timer and the subsequent relapse.
• 24:30 The psych ward experience and the struggle with prescription pills.
• 28:15 His father's role in his recovery and the impact of Al-Anon.
• 32:00 The relapse in Missouri and the 'white chip' anniversary lesson.
• 36:50 Moving to Florida and finding the Monday Night Speakers meeting.
• 40:10 The mayonnaise jar metaphor for prioritizing family and Higher Power.