Sober 35 years since 3/27/1984, funny and insightful, Barbara came into her first AA meeting in the psych ward because it was the only place where they served real coffee.
The group that brought those meetings into the facility showed her enthusiasm and love that hooked her right away.
One guy there with 30 days said he started to have flashes of self-esteem.
"Self-esteem? And I thought, 'Is that what this is about?' I thought it was just a bunch of people who got together and held onto each other for dear life so they wouldn't drink...I didn't know this was about all the things that were really wrong with me,"
"I just wanted to be with you more than anything else in the world."
She has not had a drink since.
She did not get along with women so she got the least feminine woman she could find - butch with chains - who told her:
"The only thing you can take back from the future is the fear."
"All the time I was looking for approval, I thought that was love. And love and approval are not the same thing, In point of fact ... When my parents were giving me all that disapproval, it was because they loved me."
(57 min) (9.9 MB) (id#2527)