What He Learned in More About Alcoholism About the Solution – Mike C.

About This Speaker Tape

Minneapolis, 1965. A six-year-old boy slips into a living room chair to steal a sip of bourbon with a cherry in it. For Mike C., the "kick" was an immediate escape from being the neighborhood pest who spent his childhood getting shoveled into snowbanks. He spent decades as a professional drinker and "kegger caterer," eventually descending into a haze of cocaine, stolen credit cards, and a garage full of pizza boxes. He describes his spiritual state as a wooden door with cracks in it; he could see the light of a Higher Power on the other side, but he was a "low-life piece of crap" who spent years pushing against the door until he finally learned to pull.

After years of "AA jail"—picking up white chips and attending meetings without working the steps—Mike found a loophole through the Big Book. He moved past the "white light" euphoria of early sobriety to confront the mental obsession and physical allergy of alcoholism. Today, he focuses on the "control delete" of the steps to stay co...

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Mike C. opens with the concept of 'contempt prior to investigation'.
• 2:15 Childhood memories of sipping bourbon at age six and the 'kick' it gave him.
• 6:30 Description of a suicide attempt in his mother's garage listening to Cat S.
• 11:10 The 'phenomenon of craving' and the failure of the rubber band method.
• 15:40 Admission of stealing $12,000 from his parents while they were in Europe.
• 21:00 The 'white light' spiritual experience in Hazleton rehab.
• 23:45 Laughter: The bizarre 5th Step conversation about pigs.
• 31:20 The realization that 'dry' sobriety for 15 years was not enough to save him.
• 38:15 Ross introduces him to the Big Book and the 'Doctor's Opinion'.
• 46:30 Discussion on the importance of sponsoring others to maintain a fit spiritual condition.
• 52:10 Detailed reading of the 9th Step Promises.
• 55:00 Closing thoughts on the Oxford Group's 'Four Absolutes'.