Unzipping the Steps

A man who had begun drinking again after a long period of sobriety spoke in a meeting about how he "had worked the Steps in reverse." First he quit doing service (Step Twelve), then he let go of his spiritual life (Step Eleven), then he quit taking a daily inventory (Step Ten), making amends (Steps Nine and Eight), asking for help on character flaws (Steps Seven and Six), sharing his difficulties with his sponsor and others (Step Five), using the tool of writing (Step Four), turning his life over to a Higher Power (Step Three), believing in a power other than himself (Step Two), not dealing with unmanageability in his life (Step One-B), and there he was, drink in hand, because he forgot he was powerless over alcohol (Step One-A). Only this last Step on the staircase to a slip deals with the actual ingestion of alcohol. The other eleven plus are tools for transforming or at least keeping the alcoholic mind in check.