• AA Literature
    • A.A. Big Book
      • A.A. Big Book (164 Pages)
      • Big Book Stories Edition 1
      • Big Book Stories Edition 2
    • A.A. Preamble
    • Singleness of Purpose
    • A.A. 12 Steps
    • A.A. 12 Traditions
    • A.A. 12 Concepts
    • 12 Traditions Checklist
    • 9th Step Promises (Pg 83/84)
    • The Serenity Prayer
    • Principles Of The Program
    • I Am Responsible
    • The Page Of Prayers
  • A.A. History
    • The Emmanuel Movement
    • The Washingtonians
    • Magazine & Newspaper Articles
    • Narrative Of A.A. Timeline
    • Timelines In A.A. History
    • Manuscript Of A.A. World History – Bob P.
    • Place And Things In AA History
    • Who’s Who In A.A. History
    • Big Book Story Authors
    • Writings Of A.A. Members
  • Influential Books
    • A.A. Big Book (164 Pages)
    • Big Book Stories Edition 1
    • Big Book Stories Edition 2
    • Mel B’s Library
    • Dick B.’s Library
    • The Greatest Thing In The World
    • The Varieties Of Religious Experiences
    • In His Steps
    • As A Man Thinketh
    • When Man Listens
    • John Barleycorn
    • The Confessions Of Saint Augustine (13 Books)
    • Religion, Clergy & A.A.
  • Free Stuff
    • Free Audiobooks & Speaker Tapes
    • Videos Of Bill Wilson
    • The PDF Project (1000+ PDF’s)
    • Free AA Apps For iPhone
    • Free AA Apps For Android
    • Free 12 Step Toolkit App
  • AA Literature
    • A.A. Big Book
      • A.A. Big Book (164 Pages)
      • Big Book Stories Edition 1
      • Big Book Stories Edition 2
    • A.A. Preamble
    • Singleness of Purpose
    • A.A. 12 Steps
    • A.A. 12 Traditions
    • A.A. 12 Concepts
    • 12 Traditions Checklist
    • 9th Step Promises (Pg 83/84)
    • The Serenity Prayer
    • Principles Of The Program
    • I Am Responsible
    • The Page Of Prayers
  • A.A. History
    • The Emmanuel Movement
    • The Washingtonians
    • Magazine & Newspaper Articles
    • Narrative Of A.A. Timeline
    • Timelines In A.A. History
    • Manuscript Of A.A. World History – Bob P.
    • Place And Things In AA History
    • Who’s Who In A.A. History
    • Big Book Story Authors
    • Writings Of A.A. Members
  • Influential Books
    • A.A. Big Book (164 Pages)
    • Big Book Stories Edition 1
    • Big Book Stories Edition 2
    • Mel B’s Library
    • Dick B.’s Library
    • The Greatest Thing In The World
    • The Varieties Of Religious Experiences
    • In His Steps
    • As A Man Thinketh
    • When Man Listens
    • John Barleycorn
    • The Confessions Of Saint Augustine (13 Books)
    • Religion, Clergy & A.A.
  • Free Stuff
    • Free Audiobooks & Speaker Tapes
    • Videos Of Bill Wilson
    • The PDF Project (1000+ PDF’s)
    • Free AA Apps For iPhone
    • Free AA Apps For Android
    • Free 12 Step Toolkit App
home/Alcoholics Anonymous/Writings Of A.A. Members/Bill W.

Bill W.: Nov. 26, 1895 – Jan. 24, 1971

40 views 0 aa

 

The Healer

Bill W.

 

From the rubble of a wasted life, he overcame alcoholism and founded the 12-step program that has helped millions of others do the same

 


BY

SUSAN CHEEVER

Second Lieut. Bill W. didn’t think twice when the first butler he

had ever seen offered him a drink. The 22-year-old soldier didn’t

think about how alcohol had destroyed his family. He didn’t think

about the Yankee temperance movement of his childhood or his loving

fiance Lois B. or his emerging talent for leadership. He didn’t

think about anything at all. “I had found the elixir of life,” he

wrote. Bill’s last drink, 17 years later, when alcohol had destroyed

his health and his career, precipitated an epiphany that would change

his life and the lives of millions of other alcoholics. Incarcerated

for the fourth time at Manhattan’s Towns Hospital in 1934, Bill

had a spiritual awakening–a flash of white light, a liberating

awareness of God–that led to the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous

and Bill’s revolutionary 12-step program, the successful remedy

for alcoholism. The 12 steps have also generated successful programs

for eating disorders, gambling, narcotics, debting, sex addiction

and people affected by others’ addictions. Aldous Huxley called

him “the greatest social architect of our century.”

William (Bill) G. W. grew up in a quarry town in Vermont. When he

was 10, his hard-drinking father headed for Canada, and his mother

moved to Boston, leaving the sickly child with her parents. As a

soldier, and then as a businessman, Bill W. drank to alleviate his

depressions and to celebrate his Wall Street success. Married in

1918, he and Lois toured the country on a motorcycle and appeared

to be a prosperous, promising young couple. By 1933, however, they

were living on charity in her parents’ house on Clinton Street in

Brooklyn, N.Y. Bill had become an unemployable drunk who disdained

religion and even panhandled for cash.

Inspired by a friend who had stopped drinking, Bill went to meetings

of the Oxford Group, an evangelical society founded in Britain by

Pennsylvania Frank Buchman. And as Bill underwent a barbiturate-and-belladonna

cure called “purge and puke,” which was state-of-the-art alcoholism

treatment at the time, his brain spun with phrases from Oxford Group

meetings, Carl Jung and William James’ “Varieties of Religious Experience,”

which he read in the hospital. Five sober months later, Bill W.

went to Akron, Ohio, on business. The deal fell through, and he

wanted a drink. He stood in the lobby of the Mayflower Hotel, entranced

by the sounds of the bar across the hall. Suddenly he became convinced

that by helping another alcoholic, he could save himself.

Through

a series of desperate telephone calls, he found Dr. Robert S., a

skeptical drunk whose family persuaded him to give Bill W. 15 minutes.

Their meeting lasted for hours. A month later, Dr. Bob had his last

drink, and that date, June 10, 1935, is the official birth date

of A.A., which is based on the idea that only an alcoholic can help

another alcoholic. “Because of our kinship in suffering,” Bill wrote,

“our channels of contact have always been charged with the language

of the heart.”

The

Burnham house on Clinton Street became a haven for drunks. “My name

is Bill W., and I’m an alcoholic,” he told assorted houseguests

and visitors at meetings. To spread the word, he began writing down

his principles for sobriety. Each chapter was read by the Clinton

Street group and sent to Smith in Akron for more editing. The book

had a dozen provisional titles, among them “The Way Out” and “The

Empty Glass.” Edited to 400 pages, it was finally called “Alcoholics

Anonymous,” and this became the group’s name.

But

the book, although well reviewed, wasn’t selling. Bill W. tried

unsuccessfully to make a living as a wire-rope salesman. A.A. had

about a hundred members, but many were still drinking. Meanwhile,

in 1939, the bank foreclosed on the Clinton Street house, and the

couple began years of homelessness, living as guests in borrowed

rooms and at one point staying in temporary quarters above the A.A.

clubhouse on 24th Street in Manhattan. In 1940 John D. Rockefeller

Jr. held an A.A. dinner and was impressed enough to create a trust

to provide Bill W. with $30 a week–but no more. The tycoon felt

that money would corrupt the group’s spirit.

Then,

in March 1941, The Saturday Evening Post published an article on

A.A., and suddenly thousands of letters and requests poured in.

Attendance at meetings doubled and tripled. Bill W. had reached

his audience. In “Twelve Traditions,” Bill set down the suggested

bylaws of Alcoholics Anonymous. In them, he created an enduring

blueprint for an organization with a maximum of individual freedom

and no accumulation of power or money. Public anonymity ensured

humility. No contributions were required; no member could contribute

more than $1,000.

Today

more than 2 million A.A. members in 150 countries hold meetings

in church basements, hospital conference rooms and school gyms,

following Bill’s informal structure. Members identify themselves

as alcoholics and share their stories; there are no rules or entry

requirements, and many members use only first names.

Bill

W. believed the key to sobriety was a change of heart. The suggested

12 steps include an admission of powerlessness, a moral inventory,

a restitution for harm done, a call to service and a surrender to

some personal God. In A.A., God can be anything from a radiator

to a patriarch. Influenced by A.A., the American Medical Association

has redefined alcoholism as a chronic disease, not a failure of

willpower.

As

Alcoholics Anonymous grew, Bill W. became its principal symbol.

He helped create a governing structure for the program, the General

Service Board, and turned over his power. “I have become a pupil

of the A.A. movement rather than the teacher,” he wrote. A smoker

into his 70s, he died of pneumonia and emphysema in Miami, where

he went for treatment in 1971. To the end, he clung to the principles

and the power of anonymity. He was always Bill W., refusing to take

money for counseling and leadership. He turned down many honors,

including a degree from Yale. And he declined this magazine’s offer

to put him on the cover–even with his back turned.

 


Susan Cheever, a novelist and memoirist, is the author of “Note Found in a Bottle: My Life as a Drinker”

 

 

 

 

Bill Wilson

COURTESY

THE WILSON HOUSE

 

 

 

BORN Nov. 26,

1895, in East Dorset, Vt.

1918

Marries Lois B. In 1951 she founds Al-Anon for families of alcoholics

 

1933

First of four hospitalizations for alcoholism

1934

Takes his last drink

1935

Persuades Dr. Robert S. to stay sober with him. This is the first

A.A. meeting

1938

Forms the Alcoholics Foundation

1939

Publishes the book “Alcoholics Anonymous,” which includes the 12 steps

 

1953

Publishes “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,” outlining a structure for

A.A.

DIED

Jan. 24, 1971, of pneumonia, in Miami


 

 

WEB RESOURCES:

Recovery.org

Bill W.’s diary of his alcoholic journey

 

Last

Call: Faces of Alcoholism

TIME Online photo essay

 

Alcoholics

Anonymous

The official AA web site

 

 


AUDIO

CREDIT:

Audio of Bill W. is provided courtesy of Alcoholics

Anonymous.

 


Bill W.

“I had to be first in everything

because in my perverse heart I felt myself the least of God’s creatures.”

 

 

– BILL W., describing his alcoholism


Bill W.

“In the wake of my spiritual

experience there came a vision of a society of alcoholics.”

– BILL W., writing to Carl

Jung in 1961


Time

Top 100

©

Heroes and Icons

 

Tags:aawritings of aa membersbill w.cleveland ohioalcoholics anonymous

Was this helpful?

Yes  No
Related Articles
  • Transcript Of Talk Given By Bill W.
  • The Wilson – Burwell Letters
  • Bill W.’s Comments On Philip Wylie’s Article
  • Step Five – Building An Arch
  • The Second Step – A Measure Of Hope
  • The Legacy of Recovery
Leave A Comment Cancel reply

Popular Articles
  • Step Six
  • No Information
  • Step Ten
  • A History Of The Clear Creek Club – At The Creek, Clear Creek Club, Seabrook TX.
  • An Alcoholics Anonymous History In Northern Illinois
KB Categories
  • Literature 12
    • Big Book 18
    • Big Book Stories Edition 1 29
    • Big Book Stories Edition 2 40
    • A.A. Prayers 10
    • The Big Book Concordance 27
    • The Original Manuscript Of AA. 16
    • The First A.A. Pamphlet 8
  • Writings Of A.A. Members 0
    • Bill W. 19
      • Let's Ask Bill W. 41
      • Bill W. On The 12 Traditions 16
      • Letters – To Jim Burwell From Bill Wilson 18
      • Letters – To Bill Wilson From Jim Burwell 3
      • Talks At General Service Conferences 31
        • Alcoholic Foundation 4
      • Grapevine Articles Of Bill W. 34
        • Grapevine – 12 Traditions Of A.A. 16
        • Grapevine – 12 Steps Of AA 2
    • Lois W. 7
    • Doctor Bob 10
    • Henry G. (Hank P. 2
    • Clarence S. 6
    • Bill D. 2
    • Ebby Thacher 2
    • Others 13
      • Letters – To Jim Burwell From Bill Wilson 18
      • Letters – To Bill Wilson From Jim Burwell 3
  • Al-Anon 14
  • Research & Study 13
    • Dr. William Duncan Silkworth M.D. 12
      • Grapevine Articles Of Dr. William Silkworth 5
    • A Narrative Of Timeline Of A.A. History 30
    • Timelines In A.A. History 14
    • Timelines Of Historic A.A. Events 1
    • Manuscript Of A.A. World History, 1985 – By Bob P. 23
    • Magazine And Newspaper Articles 149
    • People In A.A.'s History 26
    • Place And Things In AA History 13
    • The Washingtonians 31
      • Grapevine Articles Of The Washingtonians 15
    • The Emmanuel Movement 12
    • Big Book Story Author's 78
    • Whos's Who In A.A.'s History 23
    • Big Book Changes 1
    • Tiebout Papers 6
    • AA Growth 135
    • Charlie Bishop Jr. 3
    • A.A. History – News Articles 8
      • Cleveland Plain Dealer 8
    • Gresham's Law And Alcoholics Anonymous 5
  • The PDF Project (1000+ PDF's 1
    • The Big Book (179 Articles 6
    • Bill W. (172 Articles 4
    • Dr. Bob (24 Articles 1
    • General Service Conference (157 Articles 6
    • Grapevine (51 Articles 5
    • History (437 Articles 52
  • Audio Books 0
    • Joe & Charlie 34
    • AA Big Book Audiobook 14
    • Sandy B. – Saturday Morning Live 12
    • AA Speaker Bill W. 100
    • Videos 15
    • International Conventions – 2015 184
    • AA Speaker Chuck C. 111
    • AA Speakers Clergy 220
    • AA Speakers Doctor's 129
    • AA Speaker Sandy B. 74
    • AA Assorted Speakers 195
  • Other Articles 39
    • Printed Book Reviews 26
    • Religion, Clergy & A.A. 108
  • Influential Books 0
    • Big Book Of AA 21
    • Personal Stories – Edition 1 29
    • Personal Stories – Edition 2 40
    • Mel B.'s Library 56
      • The Four Absolutes 17
    • Dick B.'s Library 128
    • The Greatest Thing In The world 5
    • In His Steps 32
    • The Varieties Of Religious Experiences 17
    • As A Man Thinketh 8
    • When Man Listens 6
    • The Confessions Of Saint Augustine 5
      • Book One 20
      • Book Two 12
      • Book Three 14
      • Book Four 18
      • Book Five 16
      • Book Six 18
      • Book Seven 23
      • Book Eight 14
      • Book Nine 15
      • Book Ten 45
      • Book Eleven 33
      • Book Twelve 34
      • Book Thirteen 40
    • Other Books 9
    • John Barleycorn 39
  • Grapevine Articles 4
    • Grapevine Reproduction 8
    • Additional A.A. Grapevine Articles 20
    • Big Book Updates 13
    • Other Grapevine Articles 33
    • Grapevine Articles – Interviews 6
  • The Detroit Pamphlet 4
  • A.A. History – General 27
  • The History Of Alcoholics Anonymous 6
  • The Global Map 3
    • Africa 0
      • Algeria & Morocco 1
      • Angola & Zambia 1
      • Burkina Faso & Mali 1
      • Cameroon 1
      • Central African Republic & Ethiopia 1
      • Comoro Island & Seychelles 1
      • Congo & Gabon 1
      • Cote d'Ivoire & Guinea 1
      • Egypt 1
      • Eritrea & Djibouti 1
      • Ghana, Togo & Benin 1
      • Guinea-Bissau & The Gambia 1
      • Liberia & Sierra Leone 1
      • Libya & Tunisia 1
      • Madagascar 1
      • Malawi & Zimbabwe 1
      • Mauritania & Western Sahara 1
      • Namibia & Botswana 1
      • Nigeria & Niger 1
      • Reunion & Mauritius 1
      • Rwanda & Burundi 1
      • Saint Helena & Equatorial Guinea 1
      • Sao Tome & Principe 1
      • Senegal & Cape Verde 1
      • Somalia 1
      • South Africa & Lesotho 1
      • Sudan & Chad 1
      • Swaziland & Mozambique 1
      • Tanzania & D. R. Congo 1
      • Uganda & Kenya 1
    • Asia 0
      • Bangladesh 1
      • Burma 1
      • Bhutan 1
      • China 1
      • Hong Kong 1
      • India 1
      • Indonesia 1
      • Japan 1
      • Kazakhstan 1
      • Laos 1
      • Malaysia 1
      • Maldives 1
      • Mongolia 1
      • North Korea 1
      • Nepal 1
      • Pakistan 1
      • Philippines 1
      • Russia 2
      • South Korea 1
      • Sri Lanka 1
      • Thailand 1
      • Taiwan 1
      • Vietnam 1
    • Canada 0
      • Alberta 1
      • British Columbia 2
      • Manitoba 1
      • New Brunswick 1
      • Newfoundland 1
      • Northwest Territories 1
      • Nova Scotia 1
      • Ontario 18
      • Quebec 1
      • Saskatchewan 1
      • Yukon 1
    • Caribbean 0
      • Anguilla 1
      • Antiqua 1
      • Aruba 1
      • Bonaire 1
      • Barbados 1
      • Barbuda 1
      • Bahamas 1
      • Bermuda 1
      • Cuba 1
      • Cayman Island 1
      • Curacao 1
      • Dominican Republic 1
      • Dominica 1
      • Grenada 1
      • Guadeloupe 1
      • Haiti 1
      • Jamaica 1
      • Margarita 1
      • Martinique 1
      • Puerto Rico 1
      • Saint Maarten/Saint Martin 1
      • Saint Barts 1
      • Saint Lucia 1
      • Saint Vincent And The Grenadines 1
      • Saba/Saint Eustatius 1
      • Saint Kitts And Nevis 1
      • Trinidad And Tobago 1
      • Turks And Caicos 1
      • Virgin Islands 1
    • Central America 0
      • Belize 1
      • Costa Rica 1
      • El Salvador 1
      • Guatemala 1
      • Honduras 1
      • Mexico 1
      • Nicaragua 1
      • Panama 1
    • Europe 0
      • Austria 1
      • Andorra 1
      • Belgium 1
      • Bulgaria 1
      • Croatia.html 1
      • Cyprus 1
      • Czech Republic 1
      • Denmark 1
      • Estonia 1
      • England 2
      • Finland 1
      • France 1
      • Germany 1
      • Greece 1
      • Gibraltar 1
      • Hungary 1
      • Herzegovina 1
      • Iceland 1
      • Ireland 1
      • Italy 1
      • Latvia 1
      • Liechtenstein 1
      • Lithuania 1
      • Luxembourg 1
      • Malta 1
      • Macedonia 1
      • Monaco 1
      • Netherlands 1
      • Norway 1
      • Poland 1
      • Portugal 1
      • Romania 1
      • Russia 2
      • Scotland 2
      • Slovakia 1
      • Slovenia 1
      • Spain 1
      • Sweden 1
      • Switzerland 1
      • Turkey 1
      • Ukraine 1
      • Wales 1
      • Yugoslavia 1
    • Middle East 0
      • Arabia 1
      • Azerbaijan 1
      • Armenia 1
      • Afghanistan 1
      • Bahrain 1
      • Cyprus 1
      • Iran 1
      • Iraq 1
      • Israel 1
      • Jordan 1
      • Kuwait 1
      • Kyrgyzstan 1
      • Lebanon 1
      • Oman 1
      • Qatar 1
      • Syria 1
      • Saudi Arabia 1
      • Tajikistan 1
      • Turkmenistan 1
      • Turkey 1
      • United Arab Emirates 1
      • Yemen 1
    • Australia (Oceania 0
      • Australia 3
      • American Samoa 1
      • Cook Islands 1
      • Coral Sea Islands 1
      • Federated States Of Micronesia 1
      • Fiji 1
      • French Polynesia 1
      • Guam 1
      • Kiribati 1
      • Marshall Islands 1
      • Northern Mariana Islands 1
      • New Zealand 1
      • Nauru 1
      • New Caledonia 1
      • Niue 1
      • Palau 1
      • Papua New Guinea 1
      • Pitcairn Islands 1
      • Solomon Islands 1
      • Tongi 1
      • Tokelau 1
      • Tuvalu 1
      • Vanuatu 1
      • Western Samoa 1
      • Wallis And Futuna Islands 1
    • South America 0
      • Aruba (NL 1
      • Argentina 1
      • Bolivia 1
      • Brazil 1
      • Chile 1
      • Ecuador 1
      • French Guiana (France 1
      • Falkland Islands (UK 1
      • Guyana 1
      • Netherland Antilles (NL 1
      • Peru 1
      • Paraguay 1
      • Suriname 1
      • South Georgia (UK 1
      • Uruguay 1
      • Venezuela 1
    • United States 0
      • Alabama 1
      • Alaska 1
      • Arizona 1
      • Arkansas 1
      • California 4
      • Colorado 1
      • Connecticut 1
      • Delaware 1
      • Florida 28
      • Georgia 1
      • Hawaii 1
      • Idaho 1
      • Illinois 3
      • Indiana 1
      • Iowa 1
      • Kansas 1
      • Kentucky 1
      • Louisiana 1
      • Maine 1
      • Maryland 3
      • Massachusetts 1
      • Michigan 4
      • Minnesota 2
      • Mississippi 1
      • Missouri 1
      • Montana 1
      • Nebraska 1
      • Nevada 1
      • New Hampshire 1
      • New Jersey 3
      • New Mexico 1
      • New York 1
      • North Carolina 2
      • North Dakota 1
      • Ohio 5
      • Oklahoma 1
      • Oregon 1
      • Pennsylvania 6
      • Rhode Island 1
      • South Carolina 5
      • South Dakota 1
      • Tennessee 1
      • Texas 6
      • Utah 1
      • Vermont 1
      • Virginia/DC 3
      • Washington 3
      • West Virginia 1
      • Wisconsin 1
      • Wyoming 1
    • General 3
AA Anonymity Statement

Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions.

Please respect this and treat in confidence who you see and what you hear.

About Silkworth.net
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal Disclaimer
  • Contact Us
External Links
  • Free 12 Step Toolkit App
  • Free AA Apple Apps
  • Free AA Android Apps
  • Silkworth’s YouTube Channel
  • Alcoholics Anonymous (AAWS Inc.)
  • AA Grapevine, International Journal of Alcoholics Anonymous
  • Al-Anon Family (Includes Alateen)
Newsletter Subscription





  • © 2020 silkworth.net. All Rights Reserved