Why the Big Book Is the Only Instruction Manual – Tom I.

About This Speaker Tape

12 steps and service - 2002

A veteran of the rooms with 45 years of sobriety Tom I. dissects the mechanics of sponsorship stripping away the 'ritual' to reveal a gritty practical mentorship. He describes a sponsorship line that stretches back decades emphasizing a relationship based on strict agreements mutual respect and a refusal to be 'frivolous' with a lifeline. Tom shares the wreckage of sponsoring a 'dry' alcoholic for nine years who loved the talking but hated the changing and the hard line he draws against those who 'jump' newcomers. The conversation shifts into the dangerous territory of psychiatric medication where Tom warns against the 'deadening' effect of certain antidepressants on spiritual work while acknowledging the life-saving necessity of others. From the halls of a maximum-security prison to the chaos of a hospital ER Tom argues that recovery is found in the raw unvarnished truth and the courage to be a spokesman for those without a voice.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Tom I. opens the discussion on effective sponsorship and the troubling rise of medication in recovery.
• 4:15 Tom describes his 45-year sponsorship line and his criteria for a senior sponsor active in all legacies.
• 8:30 The 'unannounced' rule: Tom's specific boundaries and expectations for the sponsorship relationship.
• 14:20 Laughter: Tom tells the story of the 'dry' alcoholic who spent nine years in the Fifth Step but avoided the Sixth and Seventh.
• 22:10 Don discusses the 'ritual' of sponsorship and the danger of teaching lingo instead of recovery.
• 31:45 Tom describes the 'spiritual place' of his workroom and the lesson he learned from his mouthy teenage daughter.
• 42:10 Step 9: Tom discusses the willingness to look someone in the eye and balance the books.
• 51:15 Tom's views on General Service and the importance of the fellowship surviving through constant talking.
• 1:02:30 A story of courage: Tom's sponsor risking 'The Hole' in prison to protect the study school.
• 1:15:40 The 'medication' debate: Tom's concerns about Prozac and the 'deadening' of feelings during step work.
• 1:25:10 A story about a girl with 102 personalities and her journey through medication and Higher Power.
• 1:38:20 Tom recounts a hospital ER crisis and the realization that he is not a drug addict when the morphine fails to work.