William Griffith Wilson (26 November 1895 - 24 January 1971) (also known as Bill Wilson or Bill W.), was the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), a fellowship of self-help groups dedicated to helping alcoholics recover from their disease. According to the AA Eleventh Tradition of anonymity, Wilson was and still is commonly known as "Bill W." is the 330th day of the year (331st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... AA meeting sign // Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an informal meeting society for recovering alcoholics whose primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety. ... Though the term self-help can refer to any case whereby an individual or a group betters themselves economically, intellectually or emotionally, the connotations of the phrase have come to apply particularly to psychological or psychotherapeutic nostrums, often purveyed through the popular genre of the self-help book. ... Alcoholism is the consumption of, or preoccupation with, alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the drinkers normal personal, family, social, or work life, and may lead to physical or mental harm. ... This article is about the medical term. ... // A Twelve-step program is a set of guiding principles for recovery from addictive, compulsive, or other behavioral problems, originally developed by the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) to guide recovery from alcoholism. ...

In spite of his sobriety, success, and recognition, Wilson was a deeply troubled man who suffered from compulsive behaviour and frequent depressions. Wilson turned over leadership of AA to the service board in 1955, and for the remainder of his life was free to experiment with alternate cures. He took an interest in spiritualism, in niacin (vitamin B3) as a possible cure for alcoholism, and in LSD as a means of inducing spiritual change.^[1] Wilson died of lung diseases in 1971. His wife, Lois Wilson was the founder of Al-Anon, a group dedicated to helping the friends and relatives of alcoholics. // By 1853, when the popular song Spirit Rappings was published, Spiritualism was an object of intense curiosity. ... Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid or vitamin B3, is a water-soluble vitamin whose derivatives such as NADH, NAD, NAD+, and NADP play essential roles in energy metabolism in the living cell and DNA repair. ... LSD redirects here. ... Lois Wilson circa 1970 For others sharing the same name, see Lois Wilson Lois Wilson née Burnham (4 March 1891 – 6 October 1988) was the founder of Al-Anon, a support group for the friends and family of alcoholics. ... Al-Anon Family Groups is a twelve-step program for relatives and friends of alcoholics. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

Childhood

When Wilson was 10, his father left on a business trip that turned out to be a permanent absence, and his mother announced that she would be leaving the family to study Osteopathic medicine. Abandoned by their parents, Wilson and his sister were left in the care of their maternal grandparents. Wilson showed some talent and determination in his teen years. He designed and carved a working boomerang after dozens of failed efforts. He taught himself to play the violin by dogged persistence, pasting to the neck of the instrument a diagram of the notes. At school, after initial difficulties, he found success in sports. But he experienced a serious depression at the age of seventeen when his first love, Bertha Bamford, died from complications during surgery. This article is about a type of complementary medicine practiced worldwide. ...

Marriage, work, and addiction

Wilson met his future wife Lois Burnham, who was four years older than him, during the summer of 1913 while sailing on Vermont's Emerald Lake; two years later the couple became engaged. Wilson was called into the army in 1917. During military training in Massachusetts, the young officers were often invited to dinner by the locals, and Wilson had his first drink, a glass of beer, to little effect. ^[2] A few weeks later at another dinner party, Wilson drank some Bronx cocktails, and felt at ease with the guests and liberated from his awkward shyness; "I had found the elixir of life," he wrote.^[3] "Even that first evening I got thoroughly drunk, and within the next time or two I passed out completely. But as everyone drank hard, not too much was made of that."^[4] The Bronx Cocktail is essentially a perfect martini with orange juice added. ...

Bill and Lois were married on January 24, 1918, just before he left to join the war in Europe as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Coast Artillery^[5]. After an uneventful military service but much exposure to wine and beer, Wilson returned to live with his wife in New York, his dependence on alcohol now fully established. He failed to graduate from law school because he was too drunk to pick up his diploma.^[6] Wilson became a stock speculator and had success traveling the country with his wife, evaluating companies for potential investors. (During these trips Lois had a hidden agenda: she hoped the travel would keep Wilson from drinking.^[7]) Speculation involves the buying, holding, and selling of stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, collectibles, real estate, derivatives or any valuable financial instrument to profit from fluctuations in its price as opposed to buying it for use or for income via methods such as dividends or interest. ...

However, Bill's constant drinking made business impossible and ruined his reputation. As his drinking grew more serious, starting in 1933 he had to be committed to the Towns psychiatric hospital three times under the care of Dr. William D. Silkworth. Silkworth's theory was that alcoholism took the form of an allergy (the inability to stop drinking once started) and an obsession (to take the first drink). Wilson gained hope from Silkworth's assertion alcoholism was a medical condition rather than a moral failing, but even that knowledge could not help him. He was eventually told that he would either die from his alcoholism or have to be locked up permanently due to alcoholic insanity. William Duncan Silkworth, M.D., (1873?-1951) was an American medical doctor and specialist in the treatment of alcoholism. ...

Through a series of events involving his old drinking friend Ebby Thacher and involvement with the Oxford Group, Wilson had a spiritual experience and quit drinking permanently, met Dr. Bob Smith, and founded the organization of Alcoholics Anonymous. Edwin Throckmorton Thacher (29 April 1896–21 March 1966) (commonly known as Ebby Thacher or Ebby T.), was an old drinking friend of Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill W. and is credited with introducing Wilson to the initial principles that AA would soon develop, such as one alcoholc talking to... Not to be confused with the Oxford Movement of the 19th century Anglican Church. ... For other people known as Doctor Bob, see Doctor Bob (disambiguation) Dr. Bob Smith (Robert Holbrook Smith, b. ...

For more details on this topic, see History of Alcoholics Anonymous.

AA Big Book // The history of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has been documented in books, movies, and AA literature,[1] from its founding in 1935 as a solution for alcoholism by Bill Wilson (known as Bill W.) and Dr. Robert Smith (known as Dr. Bob), through early struggles and worldwide growth. ...

Alternative cures and spirtualism

Humphrey Osmund and Abram Hoffer,the founders of orthomolecular psychiatry were the first to experiment with LSD, they were also known for the treatment of alcoholism/schizophrenia with niacin (vitamin B3). Research was funded in this area by the National Institute of Health and National Academy of Science. The hope was to shock alcoholics out of their dependence on alcohol. Upon hearing of the experiments Wilson's reaction was negative. Later in the 1950s Wilson experimented with LSD in medically supervised experiments with Gerard Heard and Aldous Huxley. With Bill's invitation his wife Lois, Father Dowling, and Nell Wing also participated in experimentation of this drug. Later Wilson wrote to Carl Jung, praising the results and recommending it as validation of Jung's spiritual experience though Jungs death caused the letter not to be sent.^[8] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly called LSD, LSD-25, or acid. ... Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid or vitamin B3, is a water-soluble vitamin whose derivatives such as NADH, NAD, NAD+, and NADP play essential roles in energy metabolism in the living cell and DNA repair. ... Aldous Leonard Huxley (July 26, 1894 – November 22, 1963) was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. ...

Bills first meeting with Abram Hoffer was at a parapsychology meeting in the 1960s. It was from Hoffer he learned about Niacin being a mood stabilizer. According to Hoffer, Bill was impressed with results obtained when he and Osmond gave niacin to people who could not stay sober and Bill saw niacin "as completing the third leg in the stool, the physical to complement the spiritual and emotional." Niacin also helped Bill find relief from a depression and as a result he promoted it within the AA community. Bill even helped persuade the National Institute of Mental Health to issue a grant for a study of the effectiveness of Niacin in treating schizophrenics. However, Bill's promotion of niacin was viewed by many AA members as somewhat similar to his experiments with LSD and it created a major furor in the AA community. Many members thought Bill was violating the AA traditions since he used the AA office as well as its stationary in his promotion of niacin. He did enormous damage to his prestige within AA.^[9] Early parapsychological research employed the use of Zener cards in experiments designed to test for possible telepathic communication. ...

For Wilson, spiritualism (communicating with the spirits of the dead) was a life-long interest. Bill believed that the living could communicate with the dead and kept a Spook Room in his basement, where he along and others would conduct seances with a Ouijiboard, as well as experiment with automatic writing. The seances were never a secret. This caused great controversy within AA and one member wrote to C. S. Lewis. In spite of Lewis's written reply of total disapproval for these practices, Lois and Bill's continued to communicate with spirits.^[10] // By 1853, when the popular song Spirit Rappings was published, Spiritualism was an object of intense curiosity. ... ... For the photographer, see Weegee. ... For the article about the album by Ataxia, see Automatic Writing (album). ... Clive Staples Jack Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an Irish author and scholar. ...

One of his letters to his spiritual adviser Father Ed Dowling suggests that while Wilson was working on his book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions he felt that spirits were helping him, in particular a 15th century monk named "Boniface."^[11] Despite his conviction that he had evidence for the reality of the spiritual world, Wilson chose not to share this with AA.^[12] During the last years of his life, Wilson ceased attending AA meetings on the grounds that he would always be asked to speak as the co-founder rather than as an alcoholic.^[13]

Bill's legacy

Wilson bought a house that he and Lois called Stepping Stones on an 8-acre estate in Bedford Hills, New York in 1941, and he lived there with Lois until he died. After Lois died in 1988, the house was opened for tours and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.^[14] Stepping Stones is the historic home of Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill W. and his wife Lois Wilson (activist) founder of Al-Anon/Alateen in Bedford Hills, New York. ... Bedford Hills is an unincorporated hamlet in the Town of Bedford, New York. ... A typical plaque showing entry on the National Register of Historic Places. ...

Wilson was a man of many great strengths and just as great weaknesses. He loved being the center of attention, but after the AA principle of anonymity had become established he refused an honorary degree from Yale University and refused to allow his picture, even from the back, on the cover of Time. Wilson's persistence, his ability to take and use good ideas, and his entrepreneurial flair^[15] are revealed in his pioneering escape from an alcoholic 'death sentence', his central role in the development of a program of spiritual growth, and his leadership in creating and building AA, an independent, entrepreneurial, maddeningly democratic, non-profit organization.^[16] Yale redirects here. ...

Wilson is perhaps best known as a synthesist of ideas,^[17] the man who pulled together various threads of psychology, theology, and democracy into a workable and life-saving system. Aldous Huxley called him "the greatest social architect of our century,"^[18] and Time magazine named Wilson to their Time 100 List of The Most Important People of the 20th Century.^[19] Wilson's self description was a man who "because of his bitter experience, discovered, slowly and through a conversion experience, a system of behavior and a series of actions that works for alcoholics who want to stop drinking." “TIME” redirects here. ...

Bill Wilson never held himself up as a model: he only hoped to help other people by sharing his own experience, strength and hope. He insisted again and again that he was just an ordinary man. An ordinary man who nonetheless did one extraordinary thing.^[20]

Wilson's life was continuously slowed by smoking which brought on emphysema and later pneumonia. He continued to smoke while dependent on an oxygen tank in the late 1960s.^[21] During the last days of his life, Wilson was visited by colleagues and friends who wanted to say goodbye. Wilson died of emphysema and pneumonia on 24 January 1971 en route to treatment in Miami, Florida. This article is about human pneumonia. ... is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ... Miami redirects here. ...

Criticism

Weakness for substances

Despite his victory over drink, Wilson remained incurably addictive. He chain-smoked himself into terminal emphysema. Even on his deathbed, he puffed incorrigibly as he suffocated. Although he drank nothing for the last thirty-seven years of his life, he always craved the stuff. As he lay dying, and delirious, he repeatedly demanded whiskey...^[22]

Weakness for women

Bill's womanizing was common knowledge in New York AA circles. His interest in younger women intensified with age, which caused Barry Leach and other friends of Bill to form a "Founders Watch". People were assigned to keep an eye on Bill during the socializing that follows AA functions and to separate and steer away young women who caught Bill's interest. Bill's behavior was painful and may have had a detrimental effect on some of the women with whom he became involved. In the mid 1950s he began a long time affair with one woman by the name of Helen Wyn, "in duration, intensity and scope" this was different from his other affairs. Bill at one point considered divorcing Lois to marry Helen. Bill renegotiated his royalty agreements with the AA trustees in 1963 whereby in his estate he left 10% of his book royalties to Helen and the other 90% to his wife Lois. In 1968 with Bill's illness making it harder for them to spend time together, Helen bought a house in Ireland. ^[23]

References

1. ^ Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. (1984), "Pass it on": the story of Bill Wilson and how the A.A. message reached the world,ISBN 0916856127.
2. ^ Cheever, Susan. (2004). My Name is Bill. Simon and Schuster, p 73. ISBN 074320154X.
3. ^ "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." (Time's "The Most Important People of the 20th Century".) Susan Cheever. Time 153.23 (June 14, 1999): p201+.
4. ^ *Pass It On: The Story of Bill Wilson and How the A. A. Message Reached the World,New York: Alcoholics Anonymous 1984,ISBN-10: 0916856127, p 56.
5. ^ Pass it on p 54.
6. ^ Cheever, 2004, p 91.
7. ^ Pass it on p 59.
8. ^ Francis Hartigan Bill Wilson p. 177-179.
9. ^ Francis Hartigan Bill W P.205-208
10. ^ Susan Cheevers My Name Is Bill Chpt.32 p. 201-209 , 2004 Simon & Schuster, IBSN 0-7432-0154-X
11. ^ Robert Fitzgerald. The Soul of Sponsorship: The Friendship of Fr. Ed Dowling, S.J. and Bill Wilson in Letters. Hazelden Publishing & Educational Services: 1995. ISBN-13: 978-1568380841. p 59.
12. ^ Ernest Kurtz. Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous. Hazelden Educational Foundation, Center City, MN, 1979. p 136.
13. ^ Raphael 2000, p. 167.
14. ^ Alcoholics Anonymous Founder’s House Is a Self-Help Landmark - New York Times - July 6, 2007
15. ^ Griffith Edwards. Alcohol: The World's Favorite Drug. 1st U.S. ed. New York : Thomas Dunne Books, 2002. ISBN 0-312-28387-3. p 109.
16. ^ Are we making the most of Alcoholics Anonymous? Peter Armstrong. The Journal of Addiction and Mental Health 5.1, Jan-Feb 2002. p16.
17. ^ Cheever, 2004, p 122.
18. ^ Cheever, 1999.
19. ^ Time 100 Most Important]
20. ^ John Sutherland, http://www.powells.com/review/2004_06_27.html Spirit against spirits (review of My Name is Bill by Susan Cheevers), Times Literary Supplement, June 27th, 2004.
21. ^ Cheever, 2004, pp 245 - 247.
22. ^ http://www.powells.com/review/2004_06_27.html
23. ^ Franics Haritigan Bill W. Chapter 25 p.190-197 St. Martins Press, year 2000 , 1st edition, IBSN 0-312-20056-0

Susan Cheever is a New York City writer whose 13 books include , a biography of Alcoholics Anonymous cofounder Bill Wilson; Home Before Dark, a memoir about her father, John Cheever; and five novels. ... Look up time in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

See also

• Alcoholics Anonymous
• History of Alcoholics Anonymous
• Twelve-step program
• Twelve traditions
• Alcoholism
• Addiction
• William Duncan Silkworth
• Bill W. and Dr. Bob (theatrical play)

AA meeting sign // Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an informal meeting society for recovering alcoholics whose primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety. ... AA Big Book // The history of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has been documented in books, movies, and AA literature,[1] from its founding in 1935 as a solution for alcoholism by Bill Wilson (known as Bill W.) and Dr. Robert Smith (known as Dr. Bob), through early struggles and worldwide growth. ... // A Twelve-step program is a set of guiding principles for recovery from addictive, compulsive, or other behavioral problems, originally developed by the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) to guide recovery from alcoholism. ... The Twelve Traditions of Twelve-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous define the appropriate relationships between an AA group and its members, other groups, AA as a whole, and society at large. ... Alcoholism is the consumption of, or preoccupation with, alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the drinkers normal personal, family, social, or work life, and may lead to physical or mental harm. ... Heroin bottle An addiction is a recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity, despite harmful consequences to the individuals health, mental state or social life. ... William Duncan Silkworth, M.D., (1873?-1951) was an American medical doctor and specialist in the treatment of alcoholism. ... Bill W. and Dr. Bob is a play that began previews Off Broadway at New World Stages on February 16, 2007 and opened on March 5, 2007. ...

Sources and further reading

• Bill W. (2004). The A.A. Service Manual combined with Twelve Concepts for World Service, 2004-2005 Edition, New York: Alcoholics Anonymous. 
• Susan Cheever. My Name is Bill, Bill Wilson: His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous. New York: Simon & Schuster/ Washington Square Press. ISBN 978-0-7434-0591-1 (paperback). 
• Bill W.. Alcoholics Anonymous. The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism, 4th ed. new and rev. 2001, New York: Alcoholics Anonymous. ISBN 1-893007-16-2, Dewey 362.29 A347 2001.  ('Big Book')
• Bill W.. Alcoholics Anonymous Comes Of Age. New York: Alcoholics Anonymous. ISBN 0-916856-02-X, LC HV5278.A78A4, Dewey: 178.1 A1c. 
• Bill W. (1967). As Bill Sees It. New York: Alcoholics Anonymous. ISBN 0-916856-03-8, Dewey 616.861 ASB. 
• Bill W. (2000). My First 40 Years. An Autobiography by the Cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous. Center City, Minnesota: Hazelden, 55012-0176. ISBN 1-56838-373-8, Dewey B W11w 2000. 
• (1980) Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers. New York: Alcoholics Anonymous. ISBN 0-916856-07-0, LCCN 80-65962, LC HV5278.D62 1980. 
• Hartigan, Francis (2000). Bill W. A Biography of Alcoholics Anonymous Cofounder Bill Wilson. New York: Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN 0-312-20056-0, Dewey B W11h 2000. 
• Kurtz, Ernest (1979). Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous. Center City, Minnesota: Hazelden. ISBN 0-89486-065-8 or ISBN 0-89486-065-8 (pbk.), LC HV5278, LCCN 79-88264, Dewey 362.2/9286 or 362.29286 K87 1979. 
• (1984) Pass It On: The story of Bill Wilson and how the A.A. message reached the world. New York: Alcoholics Anonymous. ISBN 0-916856-12-7, LC HV5032 .W19P37x 1984, LCCN 84-072766, Dewey 362.29/286/O92. 
• Raphael, Matthew J. (2000). Bill W. and Mr. Wilson: The Legend and Life of A.A.'s Cofounder. Amherst, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 1-55849-245-3. 
• Thomsen, Robert (1975). Bill W.. New York: Harper & Rowe. ISBN 0-06-014267-7, Dewey 362.29 W112t. 
• (1953) Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. New York: Alcoholics Anonymous. ISBN 0-916856-01-1.