The Third Step Prayer and the Relief That Follows – Tom M.

About This Speaker Tape

A childhood in Gwinnett County Georgia where everyone knew everyone's business set the stage for a life of 'rambunctious' behavior and early drinking. Tom M. describes a trajectory of addiction that moved from alcohol to 'side dishes' and a near-fatal car wreck in Texas that left him in traction for a month.

After a stint in a rubber room at a treatment center he found a way out through the a spiritual awakening that felt like 'lighting up like a Christmas tree.' Despite decades of sobriety he recounts a recent collapse where he lost his four-bedroom house and nearly took his own life only to find that relationships are priceless while things are replaceable. He now runs a small business trusting a Higher Power that provides rent money via unknown callers and parts that arrive by mistake living by the philosophy that the only true miracle is sixty people in a room who aren't drunk.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Third Step Prayer: Tom opens with the prayer and a welcome to newcomers.
• 3:15 Laughter: The Dr. Bob rectal thermometer joke.
• 7:20 The Texas car wreck and the 'singleness of purpose' in AA.
• 11:40 Discussion of Step 1 and the 'Zoo' bar experience.
• 15:10 The 'Christmas tree' experience: Working the steps quickly with a sponsee in a bathroom.
• 19:30 The 'rubber room' and the first encounter with a serene AA member in treatment.
• 24:10 The 'Broken Toys' poem and the concept of the 'pen light' vs. floodlights.
• 28:45 Step 10: The story of the scratched black Audi hood and the guilt of not making amends quickly.