Why He Recommends the Alateen Book to Newcomers – Don N.

About This Speaker Tape

Pursuing Principles - 1986

Don N. maps out a life once defined by a chaotic cocktail of mental labels—anxious psychotic and manic depressive—and a home that was merely a house not a home. He describes his early days as a 'total failure in every department of living,' finessed into the rooms at age 26. Don dismantles the idea of a 'drinking problem,' arguing instead that he had a 'living problem.' He uses the gritty analogy of body odor to describe the denial of alcoholism and compares the maintenance of sobriety to the daily necessity of bathing. Through the 12 Steps Don traces his shift from a rampant agnostic who viewed religion as 'bologna' to a man who finds miracles in the simple anatomy of a radish. He concludes by emphasizing that while he wasn't responsible for his disease he is entirely responsible for his recovery a process he views as a modern-day miracle.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Laughter: Don tells the 'sherry vs. port' joke.
• 3:15 Don describes his early life as a total failure and the state of his home and family.
• 7:30 Don discusses the definition of criticism as a tribute mediocrity pays to success.
• 12:15 Don breaks down the various psychiatric labels he identified with prior to recovery.
• 17:40 The 'Body Odor' analogy for alcoholism and the necessity of regular meetings.
• 22:10 Don discusses the 'biochemical genetic disorder' and the hereditary nature of the disease.
• 28:30 Step 2 and the struggle of an agnostic to understand being 'restored' to sanity.
• 32:10 Step 4: The trick to starting a moral inventory by listing people you loathe.
• 36:45 The 'miracle of the radish' and finding a Higher Power in nature.
• 42:10 Don reflects on his open-heart surgery and his refusal to succumb to post-op depression.
• 45:00 Applause: Don closes with a quote from Bill W. regarding the 'cathedral' of service.