Sober 23 years since 12/7/1993 and passionate about AA, Jack grew up in Phoenix, AZ.
He spent his early years trying to find a way to control his mother's drinking. He never wanted to be like her but found what alcohol could do for him at 11 years old. His grades went to hell though told he had "potential". He also did "a mountain of drugs" in his life but identifies as an alcoholic in AA meetings.
They lived in the back of the family camera film processing store in bunk beds with a hot plate and fabricated shower. When Jack was 18 they found his mother on the bathroom floor with a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the chest. He gave her CPR enough to keep her alive til the paramedics arrived. He was calm until they took her away and then he lost it.
She died on the way to the hospital. He decided then he wanted nothing to do with God.
For 13 years he did many geographics to get away from the alcohol and drugs but after a few weeks was right back. His mom told him, "If you lie down with dogs you are going to get fleas." Later he discovered he was the dog with the fleas.
He seriously considered suicide and then he understood how his mother could have seen that as an answer.
At age 32 or so, he came into AA with all his belongings in a garbage bag, no driver's license but a conscience and a willingness to do whatever it took to recover.
(53 min) (12.2 MB) (id#1058)
