Sober 49 years since 2/2/1957, Tom has one of the most remarkable stories in AA.
He went from inmate, on a charge of vehicular homicide in a blackout, to warden for over 30 years.
I had a chance to sit and chat with Tom one on one for 45 minutes about a serious issue with a sponsee.
I think some of his wisdom still flows through me today.
I do not know the exact date of this workshop but am fairly certain of the location.
NOTE: The last track was so short I decided to add a bonus.
Emotional Sobriety Workshop - 2011 - Marietta, GA
Tom I died September 2nd, 2022.
Finale of the Steps Workshop plus:
Sober 54 years since 2/2/1957, Tom says,
"I am not the greatest hero of emotional sobriety in the world."
From that he begins to share what he feels are the dangers of doing "sobriety and beyond" or something other than what is in the basic literature.
Bill W did not write a great deal about Emotional Sobriety. There was one letter he wrote that was published in the January 1958 Grapevine. It can now be found on page 236 of The Language of the Heart. It kind of caught on from there.
He then quotes from the Forward to the "12 and 12 ",
"A.A.'s Twelve Steps are a group of principles, spiritual in their nature, which, if practiced as a way of life, can expel the obsession to drink and enable the sufferer to become happily and usefully whole."
That pretty well states it all. He shares from his vast experience what he has seen and what has led him to be cautious.
Tom met Bill W. briefly in Toronto in 1965 where Bill and 30 other members shared intimatiely on the Traditions.
He made this Workshop very interactive.
(1 hr 18 min) (13.4 MB) (id#2508)