FOREWORD

(pp. 6-8)

How and why did Alcoholics Anonymous begin? To understand this, we must share a story with you.

In 1935, in the town of Akron, Ohio, a New York businessman and an Akron doctor met for the first time. These two men would become the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The businessman told the doctor that he had been trying to stop drinking for a very long time. He had been a heavy drinker for many years, and his drinking was destroying his life. His marriage and business were ruined. He felt confused and scared all the time. He was desperate for help. He had tried many different things, but nothing seemed to work. (You'll read his full story in Chapter 1.)

He explained that he had talked with a man named Dr. William D. Silkworth, who was studying alcoholism. Dr. Silkworth had helped the businessman understand exactly how serious alcoholism was. He taught him how important it was to stop drinking. He was one of the first medical doctors who saw alcoholism as a kind of disease. Before that, many people believed that alcoholics were weak or sinful or stupid. Treating drinking as a sickness was a very new idea.

It was an idea that had been very helpful to the businessman. Like many alcoholics, the businessman felt less shame about his drinking when he thought of it as a disease. He still wanted to stop drinking, but he didn't think of himself as a failure or a terrible person because he drank. Dr. Silkworth helped the businessman change how he thought about alcoholism. (You will read Dr. Silkworth's ideas in the next section of this book. They are very important to A.A.)

In addition to talking with Dr. Silkworth, the businessman had tried going to meetings of a religious group called the Oxford Group. Members of this group believed that selfishness and fear were the cause of all human problems. The Oxford Group asked their members to try many things to make themselves less fearful and less selfish. These things included apologizing to people they had hurt, making lists of their own strengths and weaknesses, and helping other people through difficult times. The businessman didn't think the Oxford Group could help him stop drinking because most members did not struggle with a drinking problem. However, he was very interested in their ideas and found them to be helpful.

The businessman had also tried to help other struggling drinkers in his hometown. He believed that only alcoholics could help other alcoholics stop drinking. Unfortunately, none of the people he tried to help gave up drinking.

All of this experience and knowledge still helped the businessman. He had stopped drinking for several months.

But now he was worried. He had come to Akron on a business trip which had gone very badly. He was far away from home and feeling upset. He wanted to drink very much and became desperate.

He needed to tell his story to another alcoholic as soon as possible.

If he could talk to someone who understood exactly what he was feeling, that would help him. If he could talk to someone who knew how hard and complicated alcoholism was, that would help him. Maybe talking would even keep him from drinking, just for a little while.

The businessman found a phone at the hotel and began to make a series of phone calls to people, beginning with names he recognized from the Oxford Group. Finally, a local woman suggested that he talk to a doctor in Akron who she said had a drinking problem. They got together and spoke for a long time about the things they had been through.

The doctor listened to the businessman, then talked about his own experiences. The doctor had also tried many things to stop his drinking and so far nothing had worked. Like the businessman, this doctor had become hopeless. When the businessman shared everything that Dr. Silkworth had told him about alcoholism, the Akron doctor felt hopeful. Thinking about drinking as a sickness changed how he felt about alcoholism. It also changed how he felt about himself.

Both men realized that talking to each other had helped them. The two understood each other the way only two alcoholics can. This connection was powerful. It made the urge to drink much less powerful. It felt like a miracle. While it was very difficult for the doctor to stop drinking entirely, the doctor had his last drink about a month later.

Seeing how much it had helped them to talk to each other, the New York businessman and the Akron doctor were eager to start helping other alcoholics in the same way. They started meeting with alcoholics at the Akron City Hospital. The first man they spoke with stopped drinking immediately and never drank again. Along with the businessman and the doctor, he became “A.A. member number three”! All through the summer of 1935, more and more alcoholics began meeting and talking with each other at the Akron City Hospital. Some still drank, but others were able to stop completely.

And this was the very first A.A. group.

When the businessman returned to his home in New York, he started a second small A.A. group. Another group started in Cleveland in 1937. The basic ideas of A.A. began to spread across the country. People who had struggled with drinking finally started to feel hopeful. A.A. was like a light in the darkness.

In the late 1930s, the members of A.A. across the country wanted to write down the experience they shared. There were about 100 people participating in the program at that time. They believed that they could help more alcoholics if they described how A.A. worked in the pages of a book. In 1939, the first version of the book Alcoholics Anonymous was published. Since then, many millions of people have read this book, joined A.A. groups, and gotten sober.

Reading and writing have helped the A.A. program grow and spread. The book Alcoholics Anonymous has been translated into more than 70 languages. This means that people all over the world can read and understand how A.A. works. This program has helped millions of people stop drinking, and it will help millions more in the future.

And it all started when a New York businessman and an Akron doctor decided to talk to each other. Those two men knew that talking and sharing would help them stop drinking. We are grateful to them. Their wisdom and self-sacrifice have saved more lives than we can ever count.

If you would like to learn more about the history of this book, you can read the forewords to the first four editions of the Big Book starting on page 176. You can also visit www.aa.org, or order any of the A.A. books, booklets, and pamphlets that sound interesting to you. Our organization has a powerful history, and we love helping members learn about its growth.

If you are ready to begin your own A.A. journey right now, just turn the page.