Robert Thomsen - Bill W.: The absorbing and deeply moving life story of Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous
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Bill W.: The absorbing and deeply moving life story of Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous
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This is the story of a man whose discovery and vision have changed the lives of millions of people throughout the world. Robert Thomsens biography takes readers through the events of Bill W.s life, all the while detailing Bills growing dependence on alcohol. Thomsen writes of the collapse that brought Bill to the verge of death and of the luminous instant of insight that saved him. This turning point led Bill to the encounter in 1935 with Dr. Bob and the start of what was to be a new beginning for countless others who despaired of finding rescue and redemption. Every night at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings around the world, a speaker says, Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now. This describes the story of Bill W., a stirring spiritual odyssey through triumph, failure, and rebirth, with vital meaning for men and women everywhere.
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First published in New York by Harper & Row, Publishers, 1975. Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 10 East 53rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10022. Published simultaneously in Canada by Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, Toronto.
Trade paperback edition published in 1999 by the Hazelden Foundation by arrangement with HarperCollins. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: 1-56838-343-6
03 02 01 00 99 6 5 4 3 2 1
Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint the following:
Excerpts from Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. Copyright 1953 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
Letter to William Wilson from C. G. Jung, January 30, 1961. Copyright 1963 by the AA Grapevine, Inc. Reprinted by permission.
Cover design by David Spohn Interior design by Donna Burch Typesetting by Stanton Publication Services Inc.
Page v
AUTHOR'S NOTE
It is an act of presumption for any man to write the life of anotherhow can any of us be so sure of our own perceptions to say in print "this is what so-and-so was really like"? When the subject of a biography is a man whose life has had a revolutionary effect on hundreds of thousands of others, that presumption may seem a kind of impertinence.
Bill W. told his own story many times; he also wrote about it. Possibly because of New England reticence, the emphasis was always on the second half of his life. He gave few details of his childhood, his youth or the early years of his marriage. However, it was my privilegemy blessing, if you willto have known and worked beside Bill during the last twelve years of his life, when he had begun to understand that his biography would be written one day, and he made many attempts in notes, in letters, and on tape recordings "to set the record somewhere near straight."
Bill Wilson was an alcoholic and believed his alcoholism a three-pronged illness, physical, mental and spiritual. Because of this he knew that a drunk's true story must be told subjectively; otherwise it would be only an endless series of ridiculous, unmotivated episodes. I agreed. (I was younger then, and many things seemed easier and less presumptuous.)
Also Bill wanted his story aimed at the general reader, not at the academician or professional worker in the field.
Apart from Bill's letters and the notes and transcriptions of recordings which he left, the primary source of material has been the first-hand recollections of relativesnotably his sister Dorothy and her husband, Dr. Leonard Strong, Jr.friends and colleagues. But because of a peculiar circumstancethe AA tradition of anonymitymost of these must remain unacknowledged here.
Page vi
Such a book must inevitably contain quotations from Bill's published works: Alcoholics Anonymous, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, AA Comes of Age, and random articles that appeared above his initials in The Grapevine. He was a man who cared about words and on occasion possessed a kind of Yankee genius for finding the apt phrase. It would have been not only arrogant on my part but foolhardy to have searched for substitutes. At times his words have been juxtaposed here, sometimes they have been blended, but none of them has been misquoted. And to cite chapter and verse would simply have cluttered his story.
Make no mistake about it; any truth that appears in these pages about the AA way of life comes not from me, but from Bill Wilson, and here I want to thank Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., for permission to quote from his works so freely.
There is one person I must thank by nameLois Burnham Wilson. Her journey back through her memories has often been painful, but it has always been courageous, always loving... and invaluable.
I should also like to thank the AA archivist, whose kindness and extraordinary knowledge of AA's history has been a constant help. Most especially, I want to mention the managing editor of The Grapevine. Her endless generosity and concern step by step have been the mainstay of this biography, and through her I have been given many incisive glimpses into the character and development of Bill Wilson. Also I want to thank the General Service Board and all the staff members. In fact, my heartfelt thanks go to each and every member of the Fellowship I have met for making four years of research and writing an experience I can never forget and for which I shall never be able to express my gratitude.
If there were to be a dedication to this book, I think Bill would like it to be addressed to the Fellowship. I think, too, that he would join me in repeating a phrase from his last message to the members:
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