San Quentin’s former warden tells how Prison Groups offer alcoholic inmates a means for recovery from the disease that is often directly responsible for criminal records ONE OF the hundreds of alcoholic inmates who appear before the California Adult Authority (Parole Board), for fixing of sentence and possible parole consideration, said to me: “I couldContinue reading “I Didn’t Want to Want to … Grapevine Article June 1960 By Warden Clinton Duffy”
Category Archives: Hopelessness
What We Magnify Grows – Touchstone Reflection June 13th
You must fight off a “bad luck” way of thinking as if you were dealing with an invasion of hostile forces—for that is precisely what you are dealing with.—Maxwell Maltz Life is an ongoing experience with two opposing forces. One force is constantly building up, and the other is constantly tearing down. We have successesContinue reading “What We Magnify Grows – Touchstone Reflection June 13th”
Own Your Reality – Off Balance On Purpose By Dan Thurman
Dan Thurman has written an excellent book entitled ‘Off Balance On Purpose’. I believe his chapter on ‘Own Your Reality’ has some very useful complements and pragmatic wisdom to help us to a more accurate and meaningful self examination that has no ceiling and the reality that more can always be revealed. I see muchContinue reading “Own Your Reality – Off Balance On Purpose By Dan Thurman”
Unlikely Teachers – Grapevine Article April 1990 By Kit K.
“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” How I hated to hear those words at meetings. They implied humility and a willingness to listen to whatever stranger happened to sit next to me or approach me on the street. Yet during five years of sobriety, many teachers have appeared in my life. Some wereContinue reading “Unlikely Teachers – Grapevine Article April 1990 By Kit K.”
Lost And Found – Grapevine Article June 2024 By Anonymous
She thought she’d find a guy in the coffee shop. Instead, she found something even better Grapevine has played a momentous role in my sobriety. The first time I encountered Grapevine was about two years before I got sober in May of 2010. There’s a local coffee shop downtown where I live. I would goContinue reading “Lost And Found – Grapevine Article June 2024 By Anonymous”
Bright Promise – Grapevine Article July 1956 By Anonymous
THREE years ago an official prognosis for rehabilitation in my case would have read “hopeless.” An alcoholic who could not hold a job, divorced, estranged from my parents, I came and went through prison gates like an official–except that I remained behind the walls a longer period of time. After my fourth conviction I wasContinue reading “Bright Promise – Grapevine Article July 1956 By Anonymous”
The Key To Step 1 – Recovery 2.0 By Tommy Rosen
The 1st Step is the most important one of all, and for so many, this is where the internal struggle begins. Admitting one’s powerlessness is hard enough on the ego, but it also hits on a deep fear that most people hold: the fear of change. One senses that “the party is over.” By reallyContinue reading “The Key To Step 1 – Recovery 2.0 By Tommy Rosen”
It’s What We Do – Grapevine Article May 2024 By Alex M
What all does AA give us? A member in Kentucky attempts to answer A newcomer recently asked me what AA taught me. I thought, how on earth can I possibly summarize my time in the Fellowship? First off, it taught me how to be a decent person and how to live a life inconceivablyContinue reading “It’s What We Do – Grapevine Article May 2024 By Alex M”
The Wily Ego – Grapevine Article December 1962 By Harry M. Tiebout,M.D.
The capacity of the Ego to bypass experience is astounding and would be humorous were it not so tragic in its consequences. Cutting the individual down to size and making the results last is a task never completely accomplished. The possibility of a return of his infantile Ego must be faced by every alcoholic. IfContinue reading “The Wily Ego – Grapevine Article December 1962 By Harry M. Tiebout,M.D.”
The “Slipper” Needs Understanding – As Bill Sees It #99
Slips can often be charged to rebellion; some of us are more rebellious than others. Slips may be due to the illusion that one can be ‘cured’ of alcoholism. Slips can also be charged to carelessness and complacency. Many of us fail to ride out these periods sober. Things go fine for two or threeContinue reading “The “Slipper” Needs Understanding – As Bill Sees It #99”