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Chapter 1 – Bill’s Story. BILL’S STORY The Original Manuscript of A L C O H O L I C S A N O N Y M O U S This is a reproduction of the 1938 Original Manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous. This was the version of The... Chapter 2 – There Is A Solution.
The text of this document, “Original Manuscript,” was left just as it originally appeared in 1938. BILL’S STORY. War fever ran high in the New England town to which we new, young officers from Plattsburg were assigned, and we were flattered when the first citizens took us to their homes, making us feel heroic.
THE ORIGINAL “BILL’S STORY”. This is the first printed draft of the Big Book, which was mailed to various individuals for their comments and also as a fund raising tool. It is unclear at what time during the writing of the Big Book "Bill's Story" became chapter one. The language in this draft is in many ways different than the final ...
Bill's Original Story Note: Manuscript text (36 pages) dictated by William Griffith Wilson, typewritten by Ruth Hock between March and September 1938
- The Importance of Bill’s Story
- What It Was Like
- The Early Years
- The Great Depression
- What Happened
- A Fault Sense of Assurance
- What Things Are Like Now
- Tradition Number Two
This makes “Bill’s Story” one of the most important chapters in the Big Book. While it may not focus on direct lessons pertaining to our sobriety, it helps us to realize that we are not alone. Through this chapter, we come to realize that people have been living our stories since the 1930s. Not that Bill Wilson was by any means the world’s first al...
“Bill’s Story” wastes no time, beginning with its author’s introduction to liquor upon his return from the First World War. He had been warned before that alcohol could be a dangerous mistress, but he had always failed to heed the warning. The same was true when he later visited Winchester Cathedral in England and discovered a tombstone which read:...
In his early 20s, Bill studied law and performed work for a surety company that introduced him to Wall Street. He also studied business and economics, hoping to work the market himself. At this point, he states in “Bill’s Story” that he was not yet a full-blown alcoholic. But he often drank before exams and nearly failed his courses because of it. ...
Then, everyonein his profession found themselves with little else. It was 1929, and the Great Depression was putting an end to Bill’s good run. It is at this point in “Bill’s Story” that we experience a possible resurgence, as Bill states he would not go down without a fight. He and his wife moved to Canada, and Bill became successful again. But it...
We often say thataddiction is a family disease, and that is true in “Bill’s Story” as well. With few options, he went to live with his wife’s parents. His wife became the breadwinner, as Bill could not hold down a steady job for the next five years. He did have periods of sobriety, but things steadily became worse as he found that he needed beer an...
As was the case for many of us before we entered AA, of course. We knew that we needed to quit, but figured we could do it our own way. Bill was at a particular disadvantage since there was no AA for him to join. And while he had accepted his unmanageability, he had not accepted his powerlessness. But he did not see it yet, because no one had penne...
Bill Wilson is no longer among us, but his journey forward from his sobriety date was similar to the journey embarked upon by all who enter recovery. The Twelve Steps may not have existed, but Bill essentially performed them in pursuit of a better life. He made amends, he learned toovercome his resentments, and he embracedthe concept of service wor...
Tradition Twofocuses on a lack of complete control, which we learn in “Bill’s Story” was something he had to give up in order to become sober. The rest largely define how the group operates, something which other group members at the time had helped define (as per the first two traditions). Now, countless alcoholics have recovered as a result of Bi...
Apr 22, 2008 · Bill W. 'Original' Story: Prior to 1939 Bill produced this story, often referred to as the 1938 manuscript. [PDF Format Transcription] [Scan of Original Document] [Two Column Presentation]
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Opening the first 164 pages of the Big Book is Bill's Story, in which he establishes a practice followed to this day in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous: telling 'what it was like, what happened, and what it is like now'.