Sharing the Language of the Street: Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Step Speaker

Summary

Storytelling at its best!

Chuck's presentation at the 2008 New Hampshire AA convention in North Conway brought the audience from shock to tears, with lots of laughs, too, as he described "hitting bottom," followed by a seemingly impossible plan of action with Alcoholics Anonymous. With the help of many friends, his journey was one of success in the face of great difficulty and his storytelling skills are well sharpened. Chuck's wife, Beth, is well regarded in the speaking circuit, as well, as author of one of the stories in the front of the "Big Book," AA's basic text.

At 307 pounds, with no teeth, he didn't bathe and had long hair and a long stringy beard; Chuck hit his bottom. Having stopped school at 6th grade, he couldn't read or write, and says he couldn't even sleep ...

That was until two girls, 10 and 12 years-old, daughters of the people helping him get sober, would put makeup on him while he slept! Chuck says "I'd come to, sharing the 'language of the street' with those two beautiful children!" The two girls made it their mission to teach him how to read.

Mark Urso traveled throughout North America making AA and Al-anon convention recordings, which are presented with written permission from the speakers. While some of the inevitable costs were recouped selling compact discs at the conventions, your support helps these recordings find a home where they can be continuously available. The recordings are produced well, clear and easy to enjoy, and have not been intermingled with the thousands of recordings available for free, for fear of their being lost and their relatively high quality not fully appreciated. They are exclusively from ReXark.