A.A. Origins--Beginning Facts for an A.A. Newcomer:
Start with “Old-School” Akron A.A. of 1935
By Dick B.
© 2013 Anonymous. All rights reserved
Orientation Needs to Be Given
A newcomer in recovery needs a
simple explanation of the fellowship he or she has chosen to enter. Call it
“orientation.” Call it “beginner’s facts.” Or call it “a beginner’s meeting.”
And that beginner orientation
offers the least controversial presentation if and when it comes right out of
Alcoholics Anonymous “General Service Conference-approved Literature.”
The article following this
orientation on “old-school” A.A. origins will present beginning facts for an
A.A. newcomer explaining the “new” 1939 Twelve Step program which Bill W. wrote
and then published in 1939.
“Old-School” A.A. Began Taking Shape over the
Summer of 1935
Much of the understanding of
the simple program of early Akron A.A. lies with the requisite account of how
the first three AAs got sober just before Akron Group Number One--the original
“Christian fellowship”--was founded in June 1935. Regrettably, this vital
information was never adequately researched or reported until I began my
23-year trek into the roots--the origins--of A.A.
Each of the first three AAs
played a specific role in shaping the essentials of the old program. For a study, see Dick B. and Ken B., The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide:
Historical Perspectives and Effective Modern Application, draft of 4th
rev. & exp. ed. (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications, Inc., 2012),
167-73.
In a sense, Bill W.’s
contribution came first with his new birth at Calvary Rescue Mission where he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord
and Savior in early December 1934. Next with his “vital religious experience”
(as it was first called) when--during his December 11-18, 1934, stay at Towns
Hospital—when he cried out to God for help and experienced his hospital room
blaze with an indescribably white light, after which he never drank again. And
then with the beginning of what Bill believed was his “commission” to carry the
message to all the drunks in the world. The message commenced with what Bill called
the great thought: “Bill you are a free man! This is the God of the Scriptures.”
See Bill W.: My First 40 Years (Center
City, MN: Hazelden, 2000), 145-46; The
Language of the Heart (NY: The AA Grapevine, Inc., 1988), 284.
Dr. Bob’s contribution came
later but began much much earlier. In his Christian upbringing in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, Dr. Bob had
received what he called “excellent training” in the Bible. It was coupled with
what he learned from his parents, his church and Sunday school, the program of the
Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor, Bible studies, and the Young
Men’s Christian Association. Years later, Bob surrendered. He dropped to the
floor with his friends at the home of T. Henry Williams and prayed with them
for his deliverance from alcoholism. The prayer, all believed, was answered
when the stranger Bill W. from New York soon showed up in Akron, met with Dr.
Bob for six hours, hit it off with Bob, and convinced Bob that he had never
grasped the idea of “service” that Bill had acquired through the Oxford Group.
Finally, the contribution of
Bill D., A.A. Number 3 of Akron, was much more simple. Deep in the throes of alcoholism, Bill D.
was persuaded by Bill W. and Dr. Bob that there was a solution, that he must
give his life to God, and that he must then help others. Bill D. did just that.
He was immediately cured. He emerged from the hospital a “free man,” as Bill W.
put it. And Bill W. announced that the date on which A.A. Number Three, Bill
D., was discharged from the hospital, July 4, 1935, marked the founding of the
first A.A. group in the world—Akron Number One.
Where to Learn the Simple, Seven-Point
Summary of the Early A.A. Program of 1935
With the following A.A.
publications before him, a speaker, leader, or sponsor can enlighten the
beginner with the following:
1. Pioneers were guided by, studied, and
recovered with the Bible: Dr,
Bob stated in 1948: “In the early days . . . our stories didn’t amount to
anything to speak of. When we started in on Bill D. [A.A. Number 3], we had no
Twelve Steps, either; we had no Traditions. But we were convinced that the
answer to our problems was in the Good Book.” The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous: Biblical Sketches Their Last
Major Talks (NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1972, 1975,) p.
13. [The “Good Book” was what the early AAs called the King James Version of
the Bible that they used.]
2. Their seven-point biblical program was
summarized and published in DR.
BOB and the Good Oldtimers
(NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 1980,) p. 131. See the precise
language also in: Dick B. and Ken B., Stick
with the Winners! How to Conduct More Effective 12-Step Recovery Meetings Using
Conference-Approved Literature: A Dick B. Guide for Christian Leaders and
Workers in the Recovery Arena (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research Publications,
Inc., 2012), 25-37.
3. By November 1937, about 40 pioneers had been
astonishingly successful.
The
details of precisely how a cross-section of those early AAs had recovered were
printed and published in the personal stories in the first edition of their Big
Book, published in April 1939. See Alcoholics
Anonymous: The Original 1939 Edition. With a New Introduction by Dick B.
(Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 2011), 10-26, 180-396. Almost all of
those stories were removed from future editions. For a study, see Dick B. and Ken
B., Pioneer Stories in Alcoholics
Anonymous: God’s Role in Recovery Confirmed! (Kihei, HI: Paradise Research
Publications, Inc., 2012.) Years after these stories had been removed, A.A.
finally restored them in Experience,
Strength and Hope: Stories from the First Three Editions of Alcoholics
Anonymous (NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2003).
4. Each of the first three AAs succinctly told,
in his own words, the solution he had found, and these words and the solution
were then recorded it in various editions of their Big Book. Here is what they said, as reported in Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed.
(NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2001):
Bill W. said: “Henrietta [wife of A.A. Number 3], the Lord
has been so wonderful to me, curing me of this terrible disease, that I just
want to keep talking about it and telling people,” p. 191.
Dr. Bob said: “. . . [W]e know that we have an answer for
you. It never fails. If you go about it with one half the zeal you have been in
the habit of showing when you were getting another drink. Your Heavenly Father
will never let you down!” p. 181.
Bill D. [A.A. Number 3] said: “That sentence, ‘The Lord has been so
wonderful to me, curing me of this terrible disease that I just want to keep
telling people about it,’ has been a sort of a golden text for the A.A. program
and for me.” p. 191.
In its chapter ‘There is a Solution,’ the 4th
edition of the Big Book said: “The
great fact is just this, and nothing less: That we have had deep and effective
spiritual experiences which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward our
fellows and toward God’s universe. The central fact of our lives today is the
absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a
way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for
us which we could never do by ourselves.” p. 25. See Dick B. and Ken B., Pioneer Stories in Alcoholics Anonymous:
God’s Role in Recovery Confirmed!, 75-86.
Gloria Deo
