I lost my son John Nova last May and my former wife, and mother of my daughter, Jean Person Lomax in the last 10 months. Don’t you be next!
Alcoholics Anonymous
William Smith (“Bill”) NY, NY
Robert H. Wilson (“Dr. Bob.”) Akron, Ohio May 12, 1935
Some people can control their alcohol consumption, some cannot. They simply find themselves unable to stop: thousands, nay millions of people have ruined their own lives – and the lives of others – due to this problem. Wiliam Smith of New York City and Dr. Robert H. Wilson of Akron, Ohio, were two such men but they decided they would fight back and, by declaring their own powerlessness and tapping into a spiritual plane, these two men have empowered millions and built one of the world’s greatest rehabilitation programs.
The two men planted the seeds for the global movement which became Alcoholics Anonymous in Henrietta Seiberling’s gatehouse in Akron, during May and June, 1935. “Bill” and “Dr. Bob”, both considered “hopeless” drunks, learned that the key to maintaining their own sobriety lay in helping others battle the same problem. The movement began slowly – there were only a handful of members a year later, despite Bill returning to his Manhattan home and beginning a group there and Dr. Bob’s establishment of a small group in Akron.
The members of the two groups decided a book
outlining their program and illustrating how various members found sobriety would be beneficial. Drafts began travelling between the Ohio and New York City groups. Though “Bill W.” is credited as being the writer of the “Big Book”, as it came to be known, he both built upon existing literature and enlisted many collaborators, especially in the section which discusses the experiences of various members. As many as a hundred people may well have contributed to the writing and the book went through many drafts before it was completed in 1939, sub-titled, The Story of how One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism.
That “Big Book” has now sold over 30 million copies worldwide, is regarded as the Bible for alcoholics and is now available in 67 languages. The “12 Step” program which forms the core of the AA teachings, has been adopted and applied to numerous other problems, including battles against drug, sex and tobacco addictions, obesity, gambling, shopping, even the objects in their own homes and offices (Clutterers Anonymous)!
Today more than two million men and women claim AA membership in over 110,000 organized groups. AA takes no political stance and endorses no outside products, its sole function is to help men and women attain – and maintain -- sobriety. The group does not engage in medical research or treatment or even education, they do not accept outside financial aid nor do they affiliate with any other organization. They are a narrowly-focused group but one which has an extraordinary track record of helping millions upon millions of people the world over to keep their demons at bay.
It’s not a program, alas, for everyone. Some people cannot take the 12 Steps, even that first one (“We admit we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable”). But the teachings of AA have indeed helped millions and, in so doing, have saved countless millions of lives, not only the lives of those who drink but their families, their friends and total strangers – those whose lives were saved by the removal of millions of impaired drivers from the roadways of the world.
Is it any wonder that “Bill” and “Dr. Bob” are revered souls, in fact, they are considered by many to have been divinely inspired.