Richard "Sandy" Beach graduated from Yale University in 1954 and joined the U.S. Marine Corps at the tail end of the Korean War. He began a career as a jet fighter pilot - - a career that was ultimately shattered by 14 years of chronic alcoholism. In his struggle for sobriety, he experienced malnutrition, delirium tremens, and a six-month stay in a locked psychiatric ward. In 1964, he was shown a spiritual path to recovery and has gained his insights and perspective from 50 years on the path of the Twelve Steps. For more than 45 years, he has been delivering spiritual lectures and workshops across America as well as in a number of foreign countries. After completing a 20-year career as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., he has retired to Tampa, Fl., where he has begun once again to put his spiritual thoughts on paper. Of his life, Sandy says, "I know that I have never seen Heaven, but I have seen hell and made it back. And now this seems like Heaven."