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Author’s Note: Look up “Forgiveness And Healing” By Sandy B. and “Surrender” By Bob D. On Youtube

Anonymous Legends Who Spoke Loudly

One of the twelve sacred traditions of the Alcoholics Anonymous program is “Principles Before Personalities” meaning that we don’t admire or “follow” people by placing them on a pedestal, yet another tradition in the program that is unofficial are “speaker tapes”-recordings where individuals in the program tell their stories of their lives before they found the program of alcoholics anonymous, what it was like being a newcomer and the transformation they underwent as a result of following twelve courageous steps of action. These speaker tapes are recorded and then sold at A.A conventions and conferences. Of course the media that these recordings are sold on are no longer on “tapes” as you might imagine, but instead in the format of audio CD recordings and sometimes online on Youtube.

Yet despite having a tradition of “Principles Over Personalities”, there’s no denying the fact that a rare few members won over so many hearts with their courage, wisdom and insight to the point where years and decades after their deaths, their names are still mentioned and whispered in meetings and their words occasionally recited like gospel. These few stand out above the rest and their recordings can be found on Youtube, of which I’ve linked two examples above. Sandy “Richard” B., a former U.S Marine tells his stories of Recovery with such warmth and gentle charisma that when you find out he’s already been gone for over a decade after hearing him speak, you start to mourn him like an old friend you used to know who passed away.

I often find myself crying when revisiting some of his tapes. Sandy and others like him such as Bob D. or Father Joseph Martin who was a Catholic Priest in recovery (famous for his “Chalk Talk” lectures) became well known in recovery communities. They each had a distinct personality and way with words that could really move you. Joe & Charlie and Chuck Chaimberlan (hope I’m spelling that right) are other names people bring up for their unique contributions to the world of recovering addicts and alcoholics. One of my previous sponsors even had me listen to a Joe & Charlie segment on Youtube as part of my stepwork. “Stepwork” being the process of going through the twelve steps.

More Than Just A Tape

These inspiring figures have a level of depth, self-awareness and their pasts and shortcomings that is truly remarkable. For some reason their lectures never stuck with me, just the feeling that I got from listening to them speak. I don’t rememeber who said it but someone once observed “People may not remember what you said, but they’ll always remember how you made them feel” and that’s the perfect explanation of the impact these audio recordings have had on me. They are often a two hour long or more commitment so it’s easy to put them on as background noise, but these recordings are very special. In fact, I would recommend to anyone listening to them to try it out distraction free when listening for the first time. Keep your ears open, if you’re anything like me and struggle to remember what you hear just remember; a mind is an easy thing to change, they change all of the time but once you change a heart that’s not something that can easily be undone. One of these days I will revisit this topic because it deserves far more justice than I’ve given it here. Unfortunately the links here on beehiiv haven’t worked very well so I’ve had to give the titles of the videos instead.

Not Authority Figures

Even these men themselves, were they alive today would tell you that they are not to be elevated above anyone else in terms of status and that they are not an authority on the steps or how to work them, yet when I speak about this subject I am too emotionally involved to be able to do that very well so I find myself slipping into idol worship somewhat when discussing these men. Perhaps this makes me unfit to discuss the topic but regardless I feel that I will break this rule as the program itself has been only marginally effective for me. It’s generally been the people in the program that I’ve found the most value in, not necessarily the steps themselves or even the traditions. My hope in expsoing you to these speakers is that whether or not you are an addict, you are inspired by what you hear!