Big Book Study: Steps 8 and 9 Recovering your Spirit (Part 7 of 15)Big Book Study: Steps 8 and 9 Recovering your Spirit (Part 7 of 15)
Sober Cast: An (unofficial) Alcoholics Anonymous Podcast AA
Karen C. shares how working AA Steps 8 and 9 transformed her relationships, eased long-held resentments and helped her recover a sense of spirit and freedom. The talk focuses on sponsorship, family amends and learning to act without trying to control the outcome.
39:01•30 Sept 2026
Steps 8 & 9: Karen C. on Recovering Your Spirit and Making Amends
Episode Overview
- Steps 8 and 9 can bring a deep sense of freedom from shame, guilt and remorse when approached honestly and thoroughly.
- Sponsorship is crucial for identifying true harms, challenging self-justification and preparing grounded, non-grandiose amends.
- The focus is on being willing to take action and make things right, rather than controlling how others respond.
- Resentments and secrets can be dangerous even in long-term sobriety, making direct amends and openness essential.
- Consistent amends work helps build integrity, trustworthiness and a life centred on service rather than self.
“I'm not in charge of the outcome. I'm just in charge of the action.”
What makes a recovery story truly inspiring? In this AA speaker meeting, Karen C. shares how working Steps 8 and 9 of the Big Book helped her "recover [her] spirit" and move from fear, resentment and secrecy into freedom and genuine connection. Speaking to fellow alcoholics, Karen talks honestly about the terror of facing amends, especially with family.
She admits, "I didn't know if I was going to be able to find that courage to face you about me," and describes how her sponsor guided her through writing lists, practising scripts and spotting arrogance, grandiosity and self-pity in her plans to make things right. You’ll hear vivid stories about amends to her aunts after her mother's death, to her father who had left the family, and even to the woman who looked after her mum in active addiction.
Each story shows how the Big Book’s direction and sponsorship helped her shift from "maximum service to self" to being "of maximum service to God and to other people" – even when the other person’s reaction was far from warm. Karen talks about the emotional payoff of this work: being able to answer the phone without panic, standing at her mother’s graveside feeling truly at peace, and no longer living under the weight of "shame, guilt and remorse".
She keeps it practical too, stressing that she is "not in charge of the outcome" but "in charge of the action", and that resentments and secrets nearly killed her even with long-term sobriety. This episode is aimed at people in AA who are sober but stuck, fearful about amends or wrestling with old family wounds. Karen’s mix of humour, honesty and Big Book grounding makes the heavy stuff feel possible.
If you’re hesitating over Steps 8 and 9, could this be the nudge you’ve been waiting for?
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