Michael Fitzpatrick - Dr. Bob and Bill W. Speak: AAs Co-founders Tell Their Stories

Michael Fitzpatrick

Hazelden

Center City, Minnesota 55012

hazelden.org

2012 by Hazelden Foundation

All rights reserved. Published 2012.

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without the express written permission of the publisher. Failure to comply with these terms may expose you to legal action and damages for copyright infringement.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fitzpatrick, Michael, 1959

Dr. Bob and Bill W. speak : AA s cofounders tell their stories / Michael Fitzpatrick.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-61649-415-5 (softcover) ISBN 978-1-61649-451-3 (e-book)

1. Alcoholics AnonymousHistory. 2. W., Bill 3. Smith, Robert Holbrook, 1879-1950. 4. AlcoholicsRehabilitation. I. Title.

HV5278.A78F58 2012

362.29286dc23

2012027682

In , Earls story is excerpted from He Sold Himself Short in Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed. (New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, 2001), pp. 262263. The Twelve Traditions and brief excerpts from Alcoholics Anonymous are reprinted with permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. ( AAWS ). Permission to reprint brief excerpts from A.A. material does not mean that AAWS has reviewed or approved the contents of this publication, or that AAWS necessarily agrees with the views expressed herein. A.A. is a program of recovery from alcoholism only use of its material in connection with programs and activities which are patterned after A.A. , but which address other problems, or in any other non- A.A. context, does not imply otherwise.

Images of letters in courtesy Stepping Stones Foundation Archives Center, Stepping Stones, the historic home of Bill and Lois Wilson, Katonah, NY.

Editors note

The names, details, and circumstances may have been changed to protect the privacy of those mentioned in this publication.

Alcoholics Anonymous, AA , the Big Book, the Grapevine, and AA Grapevine are registered trademarks of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

16 15 14 13 12 1 2 3 4 5 6

Cover design by David Spohn

Interior design and typesetting by David J. Farr, ImageSmythe

Legacy 12

Bringing AA and Twelve Step History Alive

Hazeldens Legacy 12 publishing initiative enriches peoples recovery with dynamic multimedia works that use rare original-source documents to bring Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Step history alive.

To those who have chosen to follow Dr. Bob and Bill W.

key to audio resources

Use this list as a key to the brief audio tracks noted throughout this book. In the e-book, each track can be accessed by clicking on the link embedded in the text. For complete source information on each passage, refer to the numbered endnote in the body of the book and the Notes section at the back of the book.

Audio Tracks

Total running time: approx. 65 minutes

1. Bill W. shares a warmhearted story about his grandfathers challenge to him: Nobody but an Australian can make and throw a boomerang (recorded in Fort Worth, Texas, June 1954).
2. In the same 1953 talk, Bill discusses his early drive to be number one.
3. In the same talk, Bill recalls serving on guard duty during World War I.
4. Bill continues, recounting his wife Loiss conversation with his doctor, William Silkworth, while Bill was being treated at Towns Hospital.
5. Ebby T, Bills sponsor, recalls Bill telling him, Youve got something and I want to get it (recorded February 21, 1961 at an AA meeting in Great Bend, Kansas).
6. In the same talk, Ebby tells about shooting at pigeons on a rainy night.
7. Ebby tells about the release he felt and the prayer he said (recorded in San Francisco, 1961).
8. At the June 1954 Texas State Convention, Ebby T. tells how he ended up in Texas.
9. Bill W shares his white light experience (recorded at a Chicago meeting in February 1951).
10. At the 1966 AA Doctors International Convention in Indianapolis, Bill W. discusses remarks made by Dr. Silkworth.
11. At the same 1966 convention, Bill discusses the original formula [Steps] he received from Ebby.
12. At the same convention, Bill discusses some key insights he derived from William Jamess The Varieties of Religious Experience.
13. At a meeting in Atlanta in July 1951, Bill discusses the power of one alcoholic talking to another.
14. In a speech given by Bill at his 20th anniversary dinner in 1954, he describes his transformation after complete defeat.
15. In the same talk, Bill tells of his mission to sober up all the drunks in the world.
16. Bill continues, telling how he and Dr. Bob needed to work with another alcoholic.
17. Dr. Bob tells his version of Bills May 1935 visit to Akron (recorded in Detroit in 1948).
18. In the same recording, Dr. Bob talks about AA number three.
19. At the 1954 Founders Day celebration, Bill talks about AA s origins as a spark that was to light a candle.
20. In the same talk, Bill tells about the Church Directory he found at the Mayflower Hotel in Akron, Ohio.
21. Bill continues, recounting the phone call that arranged his first meeting with Dr. Bob.
22. In a Texas speech in 1962, Clarence S., founder of AA in Cleveland, recalls Dr. Bobs words to him when he first got sober.
23. Bill speaks of Dr. Bob, Sister Ignatia, and sponsorship at the AA International Convention in July 1960.
24. In a 1965 Akron speech, Bill talks about some of AA s early religious influences.
25. Speaking at the San Francisco Opera House in February 1951, Bill pays tribute to Sister Ignatia.
26. Sister Ignatia shares at the 1960 International Convention in Long Beach, California.
27. In the same speech, Sister Ignatia recounts how she and Dr. Bob treated some four to five thousand alcoholics.
28. At the Cleveland International Convention in July 1950, Dr. Bob reveals that he is ill.
29. When recovering alcoholics imagine polishing off a few, what should they do? Dr. Bob discusses his own strategy in a 1948 Detroit speech.
30. In the same speech, Dr. Bob talks about the absolutes.
31. Dr. Bob continues, discussing his own gratitude.
32. Bill W. recalls the years he and Lois shared their Clinton Street home with numerous alcoholics (recorded at the Manhattan Groups 1955 Christmas party).
33. In the same speech, Bill remarks on writing the early chapters of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous in May 1938.
34. Bill continues, describing writing the Twelve Steps.
35. At the 1955 St. Louis International Convention, Bill gives a talk: How We Learned to Stay Together.
36. Bill W. gives a speech about responsibility at AA s thirtieth anniversary gathering in Toronto, July 1965.
37. In the same talk, Bill observes that the practice of the Twelve Traditions has amazingly cemented our unity.
38. Continuing his speech, Bill notes that Alcoholics Anonymous is not a religion nor is it a medical treatment.
39. In the same speech, Bill discusses AA s world service board.

CERTAIN QUESTIONS CAME UP several times during discussions about the writing of Dr. Bob and Bill W. Speak : Whats going to be different about this book? or What is there to say that hasnt already been discussed in other books?