Why the Ninth Step Ends the Hatred – Sandy B.

About This Speaker Tape

East Coast Convention - 2019

Sandy B. maps out the grueling middle stretch of the steps specifically the transition from the willingness of Step 6 to the humility of Step 7. He uses a vivid gritty analogy of the 'invisible boat' to describe the difference between the temporary safety of treatment centers and the lifelong labor of rowing through the program. Sandy B. dismantles the idea of 'spiritual concepts' as a substitute for action arguing that sobriety is found in the crass concrete work of cleaning a 'cesspool' of character defects. He traces his own wreckage through a fractured relationship with his father and a scandalous expulsion from the University of Wisconsin showing how the ninth step isn't about a miracle but about the slow painstaking process of rejoining the human race. He concludes with a reflection on the irony of his journey from a 'rotten drunken puke' to being named Alumnus of the Year.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Sandy B. discusses the difficulty of Step 6 and the 'dividing point' where many people stop.
• 3:15 The 'Invisible Boat' analogy: comparing treatment centers to the manual labor of AA.
• 7:40 Laughter: Discussion on the 'crass stuff' of action versus purely spiritual concepts.
• 11:20 Sandy B. explains the difference between humility and humiliation.
• 15:10 The 'cesspool' metaphor for cleaning up character defects.
• 18:45 Step 8 and 9: The process of forgiving others to clear the way for amends.
• 23:10 Story about the 'son of a bitch' response from a former business associate during an amend.
• 27:30 The story of his expulsion from the University of Wisconsin and the 'gory scene'.
• 32:15 The journey from expulsion to becoming Alumnus of the Year.
• 36:40 Closing thoughts on the 'new freedom' and the story of his missing front teeth.