History
of the Twelve Steps of Alcohol
Anonymous. In 1934 a
man named Bill
Wilson lost
his Wall Street career
because of his alcohol problem.
Bill's drinking buddy Eddy, shared his
idea of a Spiritual cure with him.
Eddy was a member of a Christian
movement called the Oxford Group.
Bill was treated at a hospital by a
Dr. Silkworth. This doctor promoted
a disease theory
of alcoholism.
While in the hospital, Bill believed he
had a spiritual
experience, and through
this he became convinced of the existence
of
God, and he was than able to stop
drinking.
On
a 1935 business trip to Akron,
Ohio, Bill
noticed he still had the urge to
drink again and in
an effort to stay
sober, he sought another alcoholic's
help. Wilson was
introduced to Dr. Bob
Smith, also a member of the Oxford
Group. After some
work together, Bill
and Bob co-founded AA. Bob's last drink
was on June 10,
1935 this is considered
to be the word of mouth founding date
of AA.
In
1937, Bill and Bob determined that
they had helped 40 alcoholics get sober,
and two years later,
with about 100
members, expanded
the program by
writing a book called Alcoholics
Anonymous. This is when the fellowship
adopted its official name.
