1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,440 Hey everybody. My name is Jay Westbrook. I'm an alcoholic sober today by God's mercy and 2 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:10,960 practice of the principles of alcoholics and animus. So grateful to be here. Thank you all 3 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:18,080 for having me come talk to you tonight and just statistics. I'm in my first sobriety. I got sober 4 00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:25,200 December 2nd, 1988. So assuming I go to bed sober tonight, that's 33 years, seven months and eight 5 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:32,320 days. And so grateful for it. I ran on burning building with my ass on fire and so far I haven't 6 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:37,680 run back in. It doesn't mean I won't, but so far I haven't and I'm grateful for that. I have 7 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:43,600 a sponsor. Her name is Kathy Neches. She knows she's my sponsor. I have a grand sponsor, Peggy 8 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:50,640 King. She knows she's my grand sponsor. I have sponsees that have sponsees and my home group 9 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:56,320 is the Daily Reprieve meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous here in Tupelo, Mississippi. We meet 10 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:01,440 seven mornings a week. And because of the time difference, I'm on Central Time. My other home 11 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:08,720 group is Zoon Log Cabin, 730 a.m. Monday through Friday. I host that room every day. I've lived a 12 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:13,840 lifetime in Los Angeles and moved here to Mississippi three months ago, right at the end 13 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:20,720 of March. And, you know, love absolutely loved Los Angeles. And then the music changed and I just 14 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:27,440 couldn't dance to it anymore. And Tupelo has everything that I was looking for. And I'm so 15 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:33,920 grateful to be here. I also go to a meeting in Bend, Oregon, Monday evenings on Zoom and Friday 16 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:40,320 evenings. I go to this little meeting in Yellowknife of the Northwest Territories in Canada, 17 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:46,960 240 miles from the Arctic Circle. And man, that's that's really interesting. You know, 18 00:01:46,960 --> 00:01:53,200 little community up there, a lot of indigenous people. And through the winter, it's typical, 19 00:01:53,200 --> 00:02:01,520 you know, average 37, 39, 41 below zero. And they're just like these happy people, I guess, 20 00:02:01,520 --> 00:02:06,880 just being alive in that kind of weather. You know, hard place to be an alcoholic if you all 21 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:12,640 pass out on the way home, you know, fall down and pass out, you die just very quickly in that 22 00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:18,560 kind of weather. So that's I love going to that meeting. And so that's me. And then I speak a 23 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:24,480 bunch around around the world on Zoom, speaking in London tomorrow. So here's what I want to say. 24 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:31,120 I want to talk about my favorite topic. That would be me. But before I do, let me say the important 25 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:36,960 stuff. And that's just welcome to Alcoholics Anonymous, we have a solution for your alcoholism. 26 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:43,440 If you're female or male, black and white, gay or straight, young or old, old timer, newcomer, 27 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:50,560 returnee, welcome to Alcoholics Anonymous, we have a solution for your alcoholism. If you're educated 28 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:57,520 or illiterate, sheltered or homeless, Republican or Democrat, tattooed or still an empty easel, 29 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:02,640 welcome to Alcoholics Anonymous, we have a solution for your alcoholism. And if you all 30 00:03:02,640 --> 00:03:08,000 are anything like me, and you got up into these rooms going, Oh, my God, I can't believe it's 31 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:14,000 come to this. And I'm with a group of losers like you, or you're anything like me and simultaneously 32 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:20,320 felt Oh, my God, I can't believe a group of people like you would let a piece of shit like me even 33 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:26,800 stand in the doorway, let alone sit next to you, let alone have you remember my name. Welcome to 34 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:33,040 Alcoholics Anonymous, we have a solution for your alcoholism. And if you all are anything like me, 35 00:03:33,040 --> 00:03:38,800 and you got up into these rooms with some issues, we don't have the solution for issues. But I 36 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:44,800 promise you that whatever your solution might be, it'll work better if you're clean and sober. And I 37 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:52,320 got here with issues. I'm a high school dropout with a master's degree. I went to 16 schools in 38 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:58,560 11 years and never did one year at one school. I was always the new kid came in the middle of the 39 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:07,120 year didn't make friends, isolated myself, but was also excluded by, you know, everyone who already 40 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:12,480 knew each other and I was new and they weren't interested. I'm also I come from a New York 41 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:18,400 communist atheist theatrical family, and I'm not sure what issues it gave me, but I know it gave 42 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:24,720 me some. And I think it's really important to say I'm an incest survivor of horrendous, horrendous 43 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:30,960 torture and incest from age three on. My parents gave me away when I was three and they wanted to 44 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:36,240 focus on a career and I think they thought they were giving me to a good family. They weren't. I 45 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:41,680 was three years old, terrified of the dark and this family locked me in a pitch black closet for 46 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:48,240 the next three years. And I lived, toileted, ate, slept, existed in that closet, pulled out once a 47 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:55,680 day to be washed, ritualistically tortured and raped. And I lost my sanity and safety and 48 00:04:55,680 --> 00:05:02,800 security, my trust, my innocence, and was filled with absolute hate and rage that was unsafe to 49 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:09,840 turn on my perpetrators. So I turned it on me. And that's a habit that lasted for many decades, 50 00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:16,800 hurting myself with my wounds, turning my legitimate anger and hate of my perpetrators 51 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:22,800 on myself. And when I finally got out of that situation and was reunited with my parents, 52 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:29,520 I was, I was just broken and periodically re-victimized. And then we moved to California. 53 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:36,400 I think I was 15 and the next year I found alcohol and drugs and God, I was so grateful. They were a 54 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:41,920 solution. They were not a problem. They kept me on the planet. They kept me from suiciding. 55 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:48,880 They let me stay in my skin, but over time, they certainly made me stupid. And that stupidity led 56 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:54,160 to bad decision-making and that decision-making put me in front of a power greater than myself, 57 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:59,040 Judge William Ritzy. And in my first ever encounter with the criminal justice system, 58 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:05,200 he slammed that gavel down and sentenced me to double five to life in the penitentiary. And man, 59 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:12,080 I did not, did not want to go because I had this absolutely stunningly beautiful wife at home who 60 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:18,320 was kinder than she was beautiful. And she was like movie star, beautiful, just like insane, 61 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:24,640 you know, the kind of beautiful where people would look at her and they'd look at me and they'd look 62 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:30,640 at her and they'd look at me and just shake their head and go, Oh my God, you know, he must be so 63 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:36,720 rich or so hung and I'm a hospice. So I'm a clinical hospice nurse, so you go figure. 64 00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:44,160 And anyway, I was so green. This was my first encounter with the criminal justice system. I 65 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:50,000 didn't know there was a difference between jail and prison. Had no idea. So I had no fear and off 66 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:55,920 I went to the penitentiary. And that first night coming up from the chow hall five hours after I 67 00:06:55,920 --> 00:07:01,360 checked in I was gang beaten and gang raped for the first time. And it happened throughout my 68 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:10,320 incarceration. And when I got out of that pen I was filled with bitterness and rage and blame 69 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:18,400 and cowardice and irresponsibility and a massive PTSD and massive shame. So not a vision for you. 70 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:22,800 And went right back to the lifestyle. And I'm going to back up for a minute because I think 71 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:26,720 there's something really important because I don't want to mislead you. I will tell you that 72 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:33,680 that beautifully, stunningly beautiful and kind wife Nancy that I had grew up in a loving, stable, 73 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:41,200 supportive, non-abusive home in Wichita, Kansas. She lived in one house her entire life. She went 74 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:47,520 to grade school, kindergarten grade school, junior high, high school with the same group of kids. 75 00:07:47,520 --> 00:07:54,400 They had community. They stayed friends their entire lives. And she ended up with the same 76 00:07:54,400 --> 00:08:00,720 disease, alcoholism and drug addiction that I have and the same solution, the 12 steps and the 12 77 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:06,640 traditions. So I don't want to mislead anyone and make you think that I'm saying that my incest and 78 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:12,800 torture caused my alcoholism because they didn't. And to say otherwise would be unfair to all of 79 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:19,280 those incest survivors who never picked up a drug, never picked up a drink, and certainly never used 80 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:25,760 that experience to excuse bad behavior, which is exactly what I did because of my alcohol. 81 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:35,520 And there was a time when the alcoholism and the drug addiction were not bad. I remember I worked 82 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:42,800 at the Troubadour from 1965 to 1972. It was the golden years at the Troubadour when people who 83 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:48,400 went on to play stadiums, people who did play stadiums around the world came to LA and played 84 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:56,320 that little 400 seat venue. And it was an amazing time to be there. And I came home from work one 85 00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:02,800 night and I had bought cocaine for the first time. And our rent on Fuller Avenue right across from 86 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:08,080 Plummer Park, our rent was a hundred dollars a month. And I spent a hundred dollars on a 87 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:13,600 gram of cocaine. And I put it on this little desk and I was putting it on, I put it on a plate and 88 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:19,120 I was chopping lines. And Nancy, like she did every night, brought me a cup of coffee. And as 89 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:24,640 she turned, her elbow hit the coffee and that coffee hit the cocaine and washed it off onto 90 00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:30,960 the floor. And she burst out crying. And I jumped up and grabbed her and hugged her and said, honey, 91 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:38,640 it's okay. It's just cocaine, you know. And we went from that to hope to die, drug addicts and 92 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:44,400 alcoholics, you know, until we got to these rooms. And these are the rooms that got the drink out of 93 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:50,560 my hand and the joint, the drink, the drink out of my hand and the joint out of my mouth and then 94 00:09:50,560 --> 00:09:55,920 the needle out of my arm that took my ass from base to grace. And for that, I'll be forever 95 00:09:55,920 --> 00:10:02,240 grateful. So, you know, we did it, Nancy and I did it till the wheels fell off. I did very 96 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:07,680 well in school in spite of the fact that I was getting loaded. I got a lot of letters to my name. 97 00:10:07,680 --> 00:10:14,480 And at the end, you know, we lived in this lovely apartment across from Plummer Park. I drove a nice 98 00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:21,280 car. I had this stunningly beautiful wife. I had a business card that said associate director of 99 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:27,040 medical research at a children's hospital here in Los Angeles, you know, and I couldn't look you in 100 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:33,280 the eye, but I could hand you that business card and I hated my job. Nancy and I never had children 101 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:37,760 because we didn't like children. Thank God we didn't have them. There are people who don't 102 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:43,040 like children and they go ahead and have them. Oh my God, I don't understand that. We didn't like 103 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:48,560 them. We didn't have them. And where am I working? At a children's hospital. That's alcoholism. And 104 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:54,240 I've got three guns on cock and lock because I'm thinking, right, you turn your back on a five year 105 00:10:54,240 --> 00:11:00,720 old with leukemia. You don't know what that kid might do. Out of my mind, paranoid, insane. And 106 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:07,600 how they didn't know and have me arrested or at least fired is beyond me. Associate director of 107 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:15,200 medical research. And I just couldn't do it one more day. I was so lonely and baffled and 108 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:22,800 frustrated and confused and desperate and cornered and, and could not make it work. 109 00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:29,200 It just, I tried so hard and, and Nancy and I couldn't make the relationship work. We loved 110 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:37,200 each other so much. The feelings of love were so deep and so intense, but they were not matched by 111 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:43,600 behavior. And we just didn't like the goddamn breaks were out and we didn't have an instruction 112 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:50,960 manual and we didn't know how to fix it. And massive unhappiness in every, every aspect of 113 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:57,040 my life. And I just decided I got to die. I can't do this anymore. And thank God I'm an alcoholic. 114 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:01,920 I just stuck one of those guns in my mouth, pulled the trigger and y'all have a different speaker 115 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:07,840 tonight. But because I'm an alcoholic, meaning I'm grandiose and arrogant and traumatic, 116 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:15,120 you know, I decided to stage, to kill myself, but stage it so that it looked like an accident 117 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:20,240 and I'd be out of my misery, but Nancy had had money from the insurance policies and the 118 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:26,320 accident insurance, accidental death insurance policies. And I set it up and it had to be, 119 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:31,920 you know, on this day at this time, and the thing was staged. And, and I'm sitting there that 120 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:38,160 afternoon and I'm snorting cocaine and I'm drinking Jack Daniels and a public service announcement 121 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:45,680 comes on the TV and it's this curly haired guy in a suit. And excuse me for not LA casual. I'm 122 00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:51,360 almost always in a suit and dye. And it's this guy and he's got curly hair and he steps into a 123 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:56,880 bathroom stall. And I don't know how much time y'all spend in bathroom stalls, but I spent an 124 00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:03,040 inordinate amount of time in bathroom stalls. And, uh, and he steps in there and he opens the vial 125 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:07,840 and he does a little one-on-one and as he's closing the vial, it falls and it rolls behind 126 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:14,720 the toilet. He gets down to grab it and his cheek is touching the public toilet seat and they freeze 127 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:20,080 frame. And the voiceover said, welcome to the glamorous world of cocaine. If you have a problem, 128 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:25,840 call this number. And a hundred times or 99 times, I'd seen that public service announcement and 129 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:31,360 thrown the finger. And that day I picked up the phone, burst into tears, picked up the phone and 130 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:36,320 called. And a guy on the other end of the line said, cocaine anonymous. This is Dean Katz. Can 131 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:41,840 I help you? Dean is still sober. And, uh, he talked to me for 90 minutes and then he said, 132 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:47,280 it's time to go to a meeting, you know, and thank God it was cocaine anonymous. Cause I had been AA 133 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:51,680 and they said, we got a meeting over here in a church. I wouldn't have gone. Y'all would have 134 00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:56,080 had a different speaker tonight, but it was cocaine anonymous. And they said, we got a 135 00:13:56,080 --> 00:14:01,440 meeting in a bar on the sunset strip. It's called Carlos and Charlie's. And I'd been in that bar 136 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:06,240 before I'd gotten loaded in that bar and I felt safe going. And then I went down and I got on my 137 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:12,400 motorcycle and before I could get the find, which of those holes to put the key in the bike. And I 138 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:18,000 just fell over and I let it lay and I got a cab up to Carlos and Charlie's and went in. And, um, 139 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:23,200 and in that meeting, I felt the breath of a God in whom I did not believe blowing on me with a 140 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:28,640 gentleness that I did not deserve. And then I had not, and I've been sober ever since. And they said 141 00:14:28,640 --> 00:14:33,200 to me that night, um, you know, honey, you're, you're, you're sicker than most. And I went, 142 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:40,080 Oh my God, thank you. They said it wasn't a compliment observation. It was not a compliment 143 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:44,400 you would pro you're really sick. You would probably benefit from morning meetings where 144 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:50,240 cocaine addicts, we don't do anything in the morning, go to log cabin. It's an AA meeting 145 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:56,400 on Robertson, but you can talk about drugs. And in my third day sober Monday, December 5th, 146 00:14:56,400 --> 00:15:02,400 1988, I walked in log cabin for the first time, you know, and a guy was in a pink shirt, 147 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:07,760 greeted me at the top of the steps. And he said, hi, honey, welcome to alcoholics anonymous. You 148 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:13,360 know, if you leave your fantasies at the door, all of your dreams can come true in AA. If you're 149 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:21,120 willing to work for them. I mean, my mouth gaped open and it was like, I didn't even realize there 150 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:26,080 was a difference between fantasies and dreams. And today I've lived that difference. You know, 151 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:32,640 and I told you that I hated my job. I don't like children. I don't particularly little children in 152 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:39,440 the hospital that was a children's hospital, you know? And, and so kept hearing, leave your 153 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:44,480 fantasies at the door and all of your dreams can come true if you're willing to work for them. 154 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:49,840 And that meeting ended. And I got in my car and I drove into the hospital and quit my job, 155 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:56,400 you know, and I drove downtown to LA County, USC Medical Center. And, and I got a job as a 156 00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:03,520 cancer nurse. And that hospital serves the poorest of the poor. And there's very little early 157 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:09,120 detection and so many people die. And that was my dream to work with the dying. And I did that 158 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:15,040 for a year and got recruited to the pain management service and did that for a year and then made the 159 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:20,960 leap to hospice. And that's where I've been ever since. I've spent 31 years as a bedside hospice 160 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:27,280 nurse. I go from one dying person's house to another. I do the pain management with the dying. 161 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:33,440 I do the grief work with the dying and their families. And the third, the third step talks 162 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:39,520 about making a decision to turn will and life over to the care of God, meaning our thinking 163 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:44,880 and our behavior. I guess the shorthand for that is I'm going to do God's work. I'm not going to 164 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:50,400 do God's job. I'm going to do God's work. And, and I'd like to think that that's what I've gotten to 165 00:16:50,400 --> 00:16:57,360 do in, in being privileged to work with the dying and the grieving. And, and what happened was that 166 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:04,640 the place where life and death meet is filled with God. That's not an opinion or a hypothesis 167 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:12,400 or a theory. The place where life and death meet is filled with God undeniably. That's my experience. 168 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:19,920 And that's where I found my God. That's where I found my God. I was seeking, but I had not found 169 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:26,160 God until I started doing that hospice work. And then I just had to figure out how does that God 170 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:32,800 that you cannot deny work with this horrendous history that I have. And that was a struggle to 171 00:17:32,800 --> 00:17:38,000 make that work. And here's where I got to, and this is just me. And there's a, there's this 172 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:45,040 loving God who designed it, who created it and put it in motion and gave us free will. And that loving 173 00:17:45,040 --> 00:17:52,880 God never leads, never leaves my side, co journeys with me always and co suffers with me, but does 174 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:59,680 not intervene. He is a non intervening God, but he co suffers with me. He watched me being raped 175 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:06,320 at three and four and five and six years old and wept at my suffering and looked at my rapist and 176 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:12,800 went to their suffering that they'd moved so far from his grace, but did not intervene because he 177 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:18,080 made them with everything they needed for redemption and made me with everything I needed 178 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:22,800 for resilience. And I don't know if they reached for it, but I know that I did first through drug 179 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:29,440 and alcohol. And when that didn't work, then, then through the amazing fellowship and the transformative 180 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:36,160 12 steps and 12 traditions of alcoholics anonymous, you know, and I'm so grateful that God was so 181 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:42,400 patient with me and so forgiving with me. And I want to pick up pieces of the story that I may 182 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:47,920 have left out. I got to tell you that I'm so grateful to have gotten here with the seconds 183 00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:53,840 and inches where willingness and clarity because here's the deal. If you have the willingness, 184 00:18:53,840 --> 00:19:01,360 but you lack the clarity about the problem, you could end up in church or yoga or therapy 185 00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:07,200 or wilderness camp, all of which are good thing, but they don't treat alcoholism. And if on the 186 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:13,200 other hand, you got the clarity, but you lack the willingness, then you could be one of those people 187 00:19:13,200 --> 00:19:22,320 who 15 years down the road has a drawer at home with 791 newcomer chips, two 30 day chips, one 188 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:29,200 60 day chip. And in 15 years, you've never seen a 90 day chip. And I got to tell you, that's a hard 189 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:36,160 way to do alcoholics anonymous, and it takes away the opportunity for all of the gifts that this 190 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:42,080 program has to offer. You know, this is a giving program they say, and I think that's true except 191 00:19:42,080 --> 00:19:46,880 in the beginning. And in the beginning, it's not a giving program. It's a getting program, you know, 192 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:53,280 and the eight basics that you got to get are sober date and a home group and a seat and a posse and a 193 00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:59,680 book and a sponsor and a commitment and a God. And if you get those eight things, you can't go wrong, 194 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:05,840 you know, and then you use those eight things. And as you go along, it switches from a getting 195 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:12,240 program to a giving and you start giving those things to people and our lives get immeasurably 196 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:18,640 better. I was sitting here doodling a couple weeks ago and kind of drawing out what I thought was a 197 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:28,480 cute pretend business card. And I had seen I drove a friend up to the airport from Tupelo to Memphis. 198 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:34,800 And as you go along, what's it called Winchester, Westchester Avenue, you turn off the highway to 199 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:42,800 head to the airport. It says Westbrook auto body shop. And that's my last name. Oh, that's cute. 200 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:49,920 So I was sketching like an auto repair car. I don't know why, you know, I'm a nurse. But 201 00:20:49,920 --> 00:21:00,240 what I did was double hyphen, a re hyphen pair shop, the double a repair shop thinking that's 202 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:04,800 a and I thought that was pretty cute. And then I started thinking about it. And I went, No, 203 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:11,280 it's not cute. It's profound. Double A is Alcoholics Anonymous and really means again, 204 00:21:11,280 --> 00:21:19,600 re means again, and pair, P I R means to connect or to bond. And that's what's happened to me in 205 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:26,400 Alcoholics Anonymous, I have been repaired, I have been reconnected, rebonded with a God 206 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:32,240 and with myself and with other people and with purpose and with principles, I got to tell you, 207 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:38,240 I am blessed and overpaid, without a doubt, you know, and I'd like to tell you that Nancy got 208 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:45,440 sober. You know, she saw me do this, and she was completely disinterested, had no interest in 209 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:51,520 sobriety. So I got her a big book. And it was third edition, which is a, you know, has a more 210 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:58,800 porous cover. And she used it as a coaster for her Crystal Rocks glasses filled with bourbon or 211 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:05,120 tequila. And, and I don't know, I was maybe seven weeks into my sobriety. And I was headed out to a 212 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:10,720 meeting. And she goes, Oh, my God, you're going to one of those things again tonight. I said, honey, 213 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:17,200 AA every morning, CA every night. Yes. But I've told you before, you don't have to be sober to 214 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:22,640 come. And it was like, she heard it for the first time. And she went, what? Well, could you wait a 215 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:28,160 minute? And she ran in the other room. And I heard the sound of one ice cube dropping into a glass 216 00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:34,720 and then her pouring her liquor. And I heard, and she did a couple of lines and, and she came out 217 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:40,320 with a smile on her face and she said, well, let's go. And I said, all right. And off we went and 218 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:45,200 people would hug her and their head would pull back the alcohol coming out of her pores, you 219 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:49,840 know, and they just say, honey, we love you keep coming back. And she'd say, I'm just here to 220 00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:55,680 support Jay. I'm just here because I'm lonely. And what happened in my first 90 days, she caught 221 00:22:55,680 --> 00:23:01,360 alcoholism through her ears. And on my 90th day, she stood up and said, my name is Nancy Morgan 222 00:23:01,360 --> 00:23:06,240 West. I'm a cocaine addict and an alcoholic. And she stayed sober the rest of her life, 223 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:13,120 another 23 and a half years. And she died 11 weeks to the day after our 42nd wedding anniversary in 224 00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:20,080 my arms in our home on hospice with pancreatic cancer. And she died a sober one, you know, and 225 00:23:20,080 --> 00:23:25,840 people say to me, man, don't you hate God for taking your wife? And I say, absolutely not. I 226 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:30,960 don't think God took my wife. I think the pancreatic cancer took her life and God was there 227 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:37,120 to receive it. And I wasn't sure I could stay sober through her death, but I got real clear that 228 00:23:37,120 --> 00:23:43,360 I was willing to disrespect the program that gave Nancy so much, that gave Jay so much, and that 229 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:50,720 gave Jancy so much. We were that AA couple and we were Robertson Boulevard strong. I was the 230 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:56,800 steward of log cabin for 18 years. Nancy was on the board of directors of the West Hollywood 231 00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:03,600 Recovery Center from the from the day they opened and until that last couple months when she just 232 00:24:03,600 --> 00:24:08,560 couldn't - couple months before death when she couldn't do it. And so I just reframed my pain, 233 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:14,640 a small price to pay for a lifelong love affair, small price to pay. And I took my wedding ring off 234 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:20,960 and took my ring and Nancy's to JR, a custom jeweler in there, a private custom jeweler in 235 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:26,640 Beverly Hills. And I said, here are the rings, melt them together and make me a new one. And 236 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:32,400 that's what I wear today. You know, it's thicker and wider. It's a combination of our two rings. 237 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:37,760 So you kind of have Jancy speaking tonight. I'm so glad about that. I want to tell you that it's 238 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:43,680 pretty amazing that we did everything we were supposed to. We got commitments, we got the posse, 239 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:51,440 we went to meetings, we were of service, we took commitments, we got sponsors, we worked steps, 240 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:57,520 we did all that. A little hesitant about reading the book, you know, and I'm like this arrogant 241 00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:03,280 dick. And I said to my sponsor, well, why should I read the book? I mean, I'm going to meetings 242 00:25:03,280 --> 00:25:09,600 in Beverly Hills and Brentwood and Pacific Palisades and the boo, because it's too hard to 243 00:25:09,600 --> 00:25:17,360 say Mala. And I'm hearing these speakers that are powerful and moving and poignant. Why should I 244 00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:23,920 read that antiquated book? And my sponsor said, because those moving, powerful, poignant speakers 245 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:29,280 will have shit coming out of their mouth. It's well intended, but 180 degrees. And what the big 246 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:34,880 book of Alcoholics Anonymous says, and if you haven't read the book, then you're like a dead 247 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:40,800 dry leaf on a windy day, blown back and forth across the street by the opinion of the last 248 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:45,760 speaker you heard. And if they're entertaining, you may be more likely to believe to read the 249 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:51,360 book, you know, because here's the deal. They say, don't go to a treatment center. Oh my God, 250 00:25:51,360 --> 00:25:58,720 you're buying yourself a $50,000 big book. What a waste of money. But the book says on page XXVI, 251 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:05,360 in the doctor's opinion, we favor hospitalization for the alcoholic who is jittery or befouled. And 252 00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:13,120 they say the road gets narrow, but the book says on page 55 and 75, that we're on a broad highway. 253 00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:18,240 And they say the women stick with the women and the men stick with the men. But nowhere in the 254 00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:24,000 book does it say that. And it's clear that all of the early women had male sponsors. And I've had 255 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:31,520 male sponsors six of my 33 and a half years, and female sponsors 27 and a half of those years, 256 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:37,040 you know, and Nancy and I have both sponsored gay men and straight men and gay women and straight 257 00:26:37,040 --> 00:26:43,280 women from the get go without regard for sexual orientation or gender. It's just about one 258 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:49,440 alcoholic carrying a message of depth and weight of hope and transformation. Got it. Thank you to 259 00:26:49,440 --> 00:26:55,840 its suffering alcoholic, you know, and they say you can't date in your first year. But on page 69, 260 00:26:55,840 --> 00:27:01,680 the big book says we don't want to be the arbiter of anyone's sexual conduct, dot, dot, dot, 261 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:08,000 we put each relationship to this simple test is it selfish, you know, and they say you're not sober 262 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:14,080 if you're taking psych meds or pain meds. But on page 133, and I'm paraphrasing the book says God 263 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:20,000 has wrought miracles in our physical and mental health. However, he's also gifted us with wonderful 264 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:25,200 practitioners, including the doctor, the psychologist, psychiatrist, who can be 265 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:31,600 indispensable to the alcoholic. So obviously, I've read the book, and I just didn't want to be one of 266 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:37,040 those guys running around telling everyone what they can't do and what they should do. And oh my 267 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:44,400 God, and just being as wrong as could be, you know, so read the book. And everything kind of goes full 268 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:50,560 circle. It's very interesting. So I am a high school dropout. I'm a high school dropout who 269 00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:57,280 has taught and guest lecturer at Harvard Medical School, USC School of Medicine, UCLA School of 270 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:04,960 Medicine, at Yale School of Nursing, UCLA School of Nursing, and every registered nurse program, 271 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:10,880 at least 10 of them in the Los Angeles area. One of my next colleagues who's been invited back 272 00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:17,200 to the prisons, the California Department of Corrections has had me come back to do five-hour 273 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:23,600 training for staff and inmate volunteers of the hospice on being with dying. The largest maximum 274 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:29,920 security prison in the United States is Angola State Penitentiary right outside of Baton Rouge, 275 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:38,080 Louisiana. And that's the prison I go to more than any other in my space. 89% of the men there 276 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:46,560 will die there because it's Louisiana, and they have sentences like 311 years to life, 244 years 277 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:55,600 to life, you know, but the number that gets me is that 92% of the men at Angola State Penitentiary, 278 00:28:55,600 --> 00:29:02,640 the largest maximum security prison in the United States, 92% of the men there were under the 279 00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:07,840 influence when they committed the crime that put them there. So in the big book of Alcoholics 280 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:13,520 Anonymous says that we either get sober or we face jails, institutions of death. It's not being 281 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:20,240 dramatic, you know, it's just being factual. And they also have an active death chamber at Angola 282 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:25,600 State Penitentiary, and I've stood in that death chamber with the warden. I mean, you can feel the 283 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:32,240 energy and it's very interesting. Sometimes my mouth just runs without thinking before I open it. 284 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:38,000 I don't know, six, seven visits back, I'm in that death chamber with Beryl Kane. He's the warden, 285 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:43,680 Beryl Kane, sweet man, good old southern boy with a good old southern name. And I turned to him and 286 00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:48,880 I said, "Beryl, the last three guys executed in this room, what'd they do?" And I had absolutely 287 00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:54,320 no reason to ask that question and no reason to get that information, but I asked, and he looked 288 00:29:54,320 --> 00:29:59,680 me dead in the eye. And he didn't know, but I knew that had I committed the crimes that I got away 289 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:05,760 with in California, had I done them in Louisiana and been caught, tried, convicted and sentenced, 290 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:10,800 I could have been in that death chamber under very different circumstances and y'all would have had 291 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:16,320 a different speaker than I. But he looked me in the eye and he said, "Jay, while I'm not unwilling 292 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:21,600 to carry out the court mandated consequences of the prisoner's behavior, I will tell you that 293 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:26,800 every man who's executed in this room, I hold his hand, I tell him he's loved and he's not alone." 294 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:33,120 And it's like that warden lives what any of you who have ever heard me speak have heard me say, 295 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:39,520 and that is that God has no grandkids, only kids, and God doesn't make junk. And yes, that is true 296 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:44,960 for every single one of you here tonight. And it's true for me. And no matter how many times 297 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:51,200 I went out into the world and tried to behave in a way that would validate the lie that when God 298 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:57,920 made me, he made junk. The truth is that it's a lie, that God has no grandkids, only kids, 299 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:03,280 and God doesn't make junk. So here's the deal. I'll close by telling you I'm country and that's 300 00:31:03,280 --> 00:31:09,840 how I always closed my pitch when I lived in LA. Drove a big black Dodge Ram pickup truck for 27 301 00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:17,360 years, wear Lucasi cowboy boots, have a big cowboys of faith belt buckle, say y'all, 302 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:24,240 listen to 105.1 country music. My favorite kind of music is country music. My favorite group is 303 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:31,120 rascal flats. My favorite song is God bless the broken road. And all I can say is God bless the 304 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:37,040 broken road that led me straight to Nancy Morgan Westbrook. And God bless the broken road that led 305 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:42,960 me straight to Alcoholics Anonymous and God bless the broken road that led me straight to God. My 306 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:50,080 name is Jay Westbrook and I'm an alcoholic. Thank you. It's my story. I mean, I tell it, 307 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:56,320 but my job, the one I love doing is my walkthrough on applying the 12th through difference to 308 00:31:56,320 --> 00:32:13,920 romantic relation. Monday through Friday, 730 AM. No, that's LA time. Monday through Friday, 309 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:30,400 730 AM. The ID is 844-258-7346. And the, and the password is log cabin, one word with an uppercase 310 00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:38,240 L and an uppercase C has to have one word log cabin. And, and we'd love to have you, 311 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:43,680 it's usually about 90 people every morning from all over the country, all over the world. 312 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:51,200 Different secretary, but it's always a one hour, 20 minute speaker and sharing. Yeah, absolutely. 313 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:56,800 Hopefully to see you there. Yeah. You too. Good night. Thank you, Tracy. Yeah. It gets real good. 314 00:32:56,800 --> 00:33:05,680 Feeling changes. Yeah. Francine ward talks about you want self-esteem do a steamable act and you 315 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:12,080 get self-esteem. Yeah. Not from affirmations, not from the label in your clothes or the car you 316 00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:18,640 drive or the zip code you live in, but self-esteem comes from doing a steamable act and she's 40 some 317 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:25,680 years sober and just amazing and love that woman. So, yeah, absolutely. Abraham, you good? Yeah, 318 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:31,520 truly my pleasure. Yeah. Okay. I'm going to skedaddle here y'all. Everyone stay sober, 319 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:43,200 get a great weekend and we'll see you on campus.