A Crack in the Window of Grace [Season 10, Episode 19]

A Crack in the Window of Grace [Season 10, Episode 19]

How do individuals turn their lives around after addiction? This AA Grapevine Half-Hour Variety Hour episode centres on Leslie S.

from Atlanta, whose long-term sobriety began with what she calls “the gift of the crack in the window and the door of grace.” You’ll hear her describe a final motel binge that suddenly stopped working: “It was like drinking sweet tea.” When the alcohol and drugs didn’t give her the effect she chased, a quiet inner nudge said, “Go home.” A hospital stay followed, and a doctor unexpectedly handed her an AA meeting book.

That simple act opened a new path. Leslie shares how walking into AA brought her back from isolation. People smiled when she arrived, and at her second meeting “they remembered my name.” That warmth, plus a book and phone numbers, kept her coming back. Over time she moved from desperate newcomer to sponsor, mentor and what she jokingly calls a “spiritual navigator” for women who struggle with trust and fear. A big theme is fear and distorted thinking in sobriety.

Leslie talks about fear as a natural instinct that’s become “twisted and warped” by alcoholism, leaving her afraid “when there’s nothing to be afraid of.” Her practical tool? Treat scary thoughts like an unwanted profile on a phone app: “So swipe to the left, baby,” then come back to simple actions like brushing teeth and starting the day. The Ask It Basket segment adds extra value for anyone working the programme.

Danny asks about a wording quirk in Tradition Two, while Bea writes in about feeling like staying sober is “swimming upstream in a hurricane.” Don, Alice and Leslie answer with experience-based suggestions: more meetings, more prayer, more service, and even a “thought buddy” to defuse obsessive thinking. If you’re tired, scared, or just curious how long-time AA members keep going, this one might leave you asking: what small crack of grace could I walk through today?