We are all invited to share on Step 9. The steps are our blueprint for living sober lives.
*** Step 9 ***
“Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.”
I have yet to “officially” complete Step 9 with my sponsor; that being said, I have begun making the amends that my heart and my HP tell me I need to make – my sisters, my friends back in Florida, even my ex-husband (to a certain extent). They have not been the long, emotional amends that I need to give them and they deserve to hear.
How does someone that did what she thinks is almost irreparable damage say she’s sorry? Very thoughtfully and kindly, that’s how. The one person that I feel needs to hear my amends the most will have to wait until he’s older – my son is only 9. I write in a journal to him – the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly. When I feel that the words he needs to hear can be understood in the way they need to be, I will bare my heart and soul to my beloved son.
This step is listed in Chapter 5, How it Works, from the book, Alcoholics Anonymous (affectionately known as the Big Book) (see p. 59). There’s much more in Chapter 6 (Into Action), starting in the middle of page 76. There’s even more about it in the book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
*** Where to get the books, Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions ***
You can find these books at many f2f AA meetings; you can order them online from many places. And they are available from the AA General Service office, to read online, in English, French, and Spanish. See www.aa.org.