The Truth Comes When Someone Hits You With a Two-By-Four 🤣 – Russell S.

About This Speaker Tape

Russell S., sober since January 1981, frames sobriety not as merely avoiding a drink, but as a deep spiritual overhaul. He argues that the real poison is the internal 'crap'—the fear, the self-talk—that precedes the drink. He details how the program demands confronting painful truths, noting that growth often comes from being 'slapped on the ass.' The core message pivots on the difference between temporary happiness and lasting joy, suggesting that true change requires a willingness to surrender everything—friends, romance, even resentment—to a Higher Power.

The final push is that genuine transformation requires faith, not just a desire to avoid trouble.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Introduction and stating sobriety date (Jan 25, 1981).
• 0:35 Discussing the desire for 'something more' than just not drinking.
• 1:45 Stating that achieving sobriety requires going through 'the suffering' (referencing Step 7).
• 3:10 Identifying the root problem as 'fear,' rather than anger or disappointment.
• 5:30 Discussing the difference between happiness and joy, linking joy to the twelfth step.
• 7:45 The anecdote about the 'recovered alcoholic' comment, showing how he took everything personally and felt inferior.
• 11:00 Reading from the Big Book, emphasizing that the program requires surrender and that the fellowship's focus shouldn't overshadow the core principles.
• 14:00 The definition of a man: being willing and honest enough to try repeatedly to work Step Six on all faults.