Told the Cops on DUI Number Seven: I’m Too Drunk to Do Your Test 🤦 – Lisa K.

About This Speaker Tape

Lisa shares her story of growing up in a home where her parents fought constantly, starting when she was eight years old. She describes the hypervigilance of never knowing when the next blowup would come and her attempts to control the atmosphere by being entertaining or distracting. Her parents stayed together until she was 21, enduring years of chaos "for the kids." She was a self-described daddy's girl whose father gave her everything, which later enabled her drinking by bailing her out of trouble repeatedly.

At 13, Lisa had her first drink — a glass of her mother's Chardonnay shared with a friend — and immediately loved the relief it brought. The constant tension she carried in her body dissolved, and from that night forward she drank to get drunk every single time. By 19 she had her first DUI in Doraville, Georgia, and her only concern was that they took her jewelry. Over the next several years she racked up seven DUIs total, becoming a habitual offender. She did jail time, house arrest, and roadside trash pickup in a safety vest while married with two kids — yet no consequence penetrated her denial.

In 2010 she was court-ordered to AA and heard about controlled drinking and the phenomenon of craving from the Doctor's Opinion, but left after completing her required meetings. She tested the controlled-drinking theory with a six-pack and proved to herself she couldn't stop. She attempted suicide four times, twice nearly succeeding. DUI number seven came on January 10, 2012, when her husband called the cops after she hit his truck in their own driveway. She screamed obscenities at him in front of the neighbors while being handcuffed in the cul-de-sac.

Her husband filed for divorce, her children were terrified, and Lisa hit an absolute bottom. She screamed "Help me Higher Power" — the most sincere prayer she had ever said — and that became her turning point. She came back to AA, worked the steps, rebuilt trust with her children, and found a home group and a prayer life. With a sobriety date of April 8, 2012, she is approaching 13 years sober and describes the experience of watching Higher Power line things up in hindsight as the gift of her recovery.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Lisa introduces herself, sobriety date April 8, 2012, about to celebrate 13 years
• 2:00 Childhood chaos begins at age 8 — parents fighting, mother throwing things, Lisa trying to control the atmosphere
• 7:00 First drink at 13 — glass of mom's Chardonnay with her friend Lisa, passed out, felt relief from constant tension for the first time
• 11:00 First DUI at 19 in Doraville — only upset they took her jewelry, dad bails her out and takes her to Waffle House
• 15:00 Seven DUIs total over five years, habitual offender status, jail time, house arrest, roadside trash pickup in a safety vest
• 19:00 Court-ordered to AA in 2010 — hears about controlled drinking and the phenomenon of craving but leaves after completing requirements
• 23:00 Tests controlled drinking with a six-pack, proves she cannot stop — four suicide attempts, two nearly fatal
• 28:00 DUI number 7 on January 10, 2012 — husband calls cops after she hits his truck, handcuffed in the cul-de-sac screaming obscenities
• 35:00 Husband files for divorce, children terrified — Lisa screams Help me Higher Power in the most sincere prayer of her life
• 40:00 Recovery life today — home group, prayer life, amends, 13 years sober, reads from the Big Book about the dark past being the greatest possession