The Doctors Opinion in the Big Book can be accessed and read at the below link. The preceding information was provided to me by a friend to help answer common questions and further understand the reading.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_doctoropinion.cfm

The “Doctor’s Opinion” was written by William D. Silkworth, M.D. To many recovered alcoholics, this section of the Big Book is considered to be the most important as it describes alcoholism in terms that make sense to the real alcoholic. From this description, the alcoholic learns the exact nature of the disease of alcoholism and how hopeless this condition of mind and body seems to be. We are told why we are unable to control the amount we drink once we have taken the first few drinks. But more important, we are told why it is that we cannot manage our decision to not take the first drink once we have made a firm decision, pledge, vow, promise, etc. to never drink again.

He also expresses his belief, based on his observations, in the effectiveness of the Program of Alcoholics Anonymous as a method of assuring the essential entire psychic change which he believed to be the only solution for the seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.

Dr. Silkworth was trained in Neurology and lost his practice as the result of the stock market “crash” of 1929. He met Charlie Townes who was in search of a physician to direct his hospital, Townes Hospital, which specialized in the treatment of alcoholics and drug addicts. Dr. Silkworth accepted the position for a stipend of $40.00 a week. His plans were to re-enter private practice when he could afford to do so, but the time never came. He devoted his entire career to a practice of helping alcoholics. Many thousands of alcoholics were directed to Alcoholics Anonymous because of his faith in our way of life.

Without Dr. Silkworth’s opinion of alcoholism, Alcoholics Anonymous would not have happened. It is only when we clearly understand a problem that we may be able to find a solution. Bill W. understood the hopelessness of his alcoholism from Dr. Silkworth’s opinion. Dr. Bob understood the hopelessness of his alcoholism after Bill W. explained Dr. Silkworth’s opinion to him.

If an alcoholic really wants to stop drinking for good and all, he must fully concede to his innermost self that he has a hopeless condition of mind, body and spirit. This is the first step in recovery and the “Doctor’s Opinion” gives us the knowledge necessary to surrender to that truth.

Very simply, from this section of the Big Book, we learn why it is that the real alcoholic has a body that can never get enough alcohol and a mind that will not let the alcoholic leave it alone.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Terry_R,

The Doctors Opinion in the Big Book can be accessed and read at the below link. The preceding information was provided to me by a friend to help answer common questions and further understand the reading.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_doctoropinion.cfm

Note: The FOREWORD TO FOURTH EDITION advanced the page numbers for THE DOCTOR’S OPINION by two (2) and will be so noted.
_______________________________________________________

Third (Page xxiii) - Fourth (Page xxv)
Bill W. writes:
1. What do we of Alcoholics Anonymous believe about this book? WE OF Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the reader will be interested in the medical estimate of the plan of recovery described in this book.

2. What is the source of the convincing testimony in this book? Convincing testimony must surely come from medical men who have had experience with the sufferings of our members and have witnessed our return to health.

3-a. Who gave Alcoholics Anonymous this “opinion” of alcoholism? A well-known doctor,
3-b. What was his position? Chief physician at a nationally prominent hospital specializing in alcoholic and drug addiction, gave Alcoholics Anonymous this letter:

Dr. Silkworth writes:
5. To whom it may concern: What was Dr. Silkworth’s specialty? I have specialized in the treatment of alcoholism for many years.

6. How did Dr. Silkworth describe the patient (Bill W.) he attended in 1934?
In late 1934 I attended a patient who, though he had been a competent businessman of good earning capacity, was an alcoholic of a type I had come to regard as hopeless.

7. What happened during Bill’s third course of treatment? In the course of his third treatment he acquired certain ideas concerning a possible means of recovery.

Comment -Bill did not meet Dr. Silkworth his first trip to Towns Hospital. His second visit was his first meeting with the good Doctor.

8. As part of Bill’s recovery, what did he try to impress upon other alcoholics? As part of his rehabilitation he commenced to present his conceptions to other alcoholics, impressing upon them that they must do likewise with still others.

Comment -For those who claim there are no “musts” in Alcoholics Anonymous, this is the first “must” in our Basic Text.

9. His work was the basis for what? This has become the basis of a rapidly growing fellowship of these men and their families.

10. How many did Dr. Silkworth say had recovered by 1939? This man and over one hundred others appear to have recovered.

11. How many did Dr. Silkworth know from his personal experience? I personally know scores of cases who were of the type with whom other methods had failed completely.

(Comment: In the original draft of the Big Book, Dr. Silkworth said, “I personally know of 30 of these cases who were of the type with whom other methods had failed completely.” He was willing to stake his reputation on these 30 hopeless cases that he saw recover, as Bill did, in Townes Hospital. The other 60 plus recovered alcoholics were in Akron or Cleveland.)

12. Why do these facts seem to be of extreme medical importance? These facts appear to be of extreme medical importance; because of the extraordinary possibilities of rapid growth inherent in this group they may mark a new epoch in the annals of alcoholism

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Terry_R,

The Doctors Opinion in the Big Book can be accessed and read at the below link. The preceding information was provided to me by a friend to help answer common questions and further understand the reading.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_doctoropinion.cfm

Third (Page xxiv) - Fourth (Page xxvi)

1. Did Dr. Silkworth believe this Program would work for many others? These men may well have a remedy for thousands of such situations.

2. Did Dr. Silkworth have complete confidence in recovered alcoholics? You may rely absolutely on anything they say about themselves.
Very truly yours,
William D. Silkworth, M.D.

Comment - This is truly a remarkable comment from a Doctor who believed in Bill and his dedication to our Program of Recovery. Dr. Silkworth put his reputation on the line for alcoholics like us. This is one instance where we see the Hand of Fate at work.

Bill W. writes:
3. What did the authors of this Book request of Dr. Silkworth? The physician who, at our request, gave us this letter, has been kind enough to enlarge upon his views in another statement which follows.

4. In Dr. Silkworth’s enlarged statement, what fact does he confirm that suffering alcoholics must believe? In this statement he confirms what we who have suffered alcoholic torture must believe-that the body of the alcoholic is quite as abnormal as his mind.

5. What didn’t satisfy us? It did not satisfy us to be told that we could not control our drinking just because we were maladjusted to life, that we were in full flight from reality, or were outright mental defectives.

6. Was there any truth in them? These things were true to some extent, in fact, to a considerable extent with some of us.

7. Of what are we sure? But we are sure that our bodies were sickened as well.

8. What must be included to make the picture of alcoholism a complete one? In our belief, any picture of the alcoholic which leaves out this physical factor is incomplete.

9. Which part of the doctor’s theory is of interest to alcoholics? The doctor's theory that we have an allergy to alcohol interests us.

10. Is our opinion considered valuable? As laymen, our opinion as to its soundness may, of course, mean little.

11. As ex-problem drinkers, what of his theory interests us? But as ex-problem drinkers, we can say that his explanation makes good sense.

(And if it didn’t make sense to us, his opinion would be worthless)

12. What does it do for us? But as ex-problem drinkers, we can say that his explanation makes good sense.

(How about an answer to why it is when we decide to have just a few, we can never get enough? And how about why it is when we have sworn of for good and all, we can’t manage our most sincere decision to stay stopped?)

13. Do we favor hospitalization for the very sick alcoholics? Though we work out our solution on the spiritual as well as an altruistic plane, we favor hospitalization for the alcoholic who is very jittery or befogged.

14. What is often necessary before we can begin to work with a person? More often than not, it is imperative that a man's brain be cleared before he is approached, as he has then a better chance of understanding and accepting what we have to offer.

(Dr. Bob had his own recipe for sobering up. It consisted of a can of stewed tomatoes, Karo syrup and sauerkraut juice. That would make an alcoholic puke big time.)

The Doctors Opinion in the Big Book can be accessed and read at the below link. The preceding information was provided to me by a friend to help answer common questions and further understand the reading.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_doctoropinion.cfm

Third (Page xxv) – Fourth (Page xxvii)

Dr. Silkworth writes:
1. Who should be interested in what is contained in this book? The subject presented in this book seems to me to be of paramount importance to those afflicted with alcoholic addiction.

2. What was Dr. Silkworth’s position? I say this after many years’ experience as Medical Director of one of the oldest hospitals in the country

3. His hospital specialized in what? treating alcoholic and drug addiction.

4. Did Dr. Silkworth believe the material in this book was of sufficient substance to warrant his contribution? There was, therefore, a sense of real satisfaction when I was asked to contribute a few words on a subject which is covered in such masterly detail in these pages.

5. What did Dr. Silkworth say that doctors believed to be of importance to alcoholics?
We doctors have realized for a long time that some form of moral psychology was of urgent importance to alcoholics, but its application presented difficulties beyond our conception.

6. With everything the medical profession had going for them, what were the doctors not equipped to do? What with our ultra-modern standards, our scientific approach to everything, we are perhaps not well equipped to apply the powers of good that lie outside our synthetic knowledge.

Question - Did he believe that the medical profession had the ability to really help the real alcoholic? (Comment: Your observation from the preceding 2 sentences.) (No. Of course not.)

7. What was it that one of the leading contributors (Bill W.) of this book wanted to do with the ideas he had acquired? Many years ago one of the leading contributors to this book came under our care in this hospital and while here he acquired some ideas which he put into practical application at once.

8. What privilege did Bill request of Dr. Silkworth? Later, he requested the privilege of being allowed to tell his story to other patients here and.

8. Was Dr. Silkworth really supportive of the dea? with some misgiving, we consented(If you would like to see how little this attitude has changed over the years since Bill was doing Twelfth Step work, walk up to the Information Desk of your local hospitals and tell them you are an alcoholic and would like to visit some of their patients.)

10. How did he feel about the cases that he reviewed after Bill W. did his thing? The cases we have followed through have been most interesting; in fact, many of them are amazing.

11. How did Dr. Silkworth view recovered alcoholics? The unselfishness of these men as we have come to know them, the entire absence of profit motive, and their community spirit, is indeed inspiring to one who has labored long and wearily in this alcoholic field.

12. What do recovered alcoholics believe in? They believe in themselves, and still more in the Power which pulls chronic alcoholics back from the gates of death.

(Comment: On this page, Dr. Silkworth mentions “moral psychology,” followed by “powers of good” and finally “Power”. He recognized our need for a Higher Power and expressed his acceptance of this fact in the foregoing fashion.)

13. Did Dr. Silkworth believe that hospitalization for the sick alcoholic is appropriate? Of course an alcoholic ought to be freed from his physical craving for liquor, and this often requires a definite hospital procedure, before psychological measures can be of maximum benefit.

Third (Page xxvi) – Fourth (Page xxviii)

1. What did Dr. Silkworth believe to be the cause of the alcoholic’s out-of-control drinking(powerlessness)? We believe, and so suggested a few years ago, that the action of alcohol on these chronic alcoholics is a manifestation of an allergy;

2. Does this phenomenon exist with normal drinkers? that the phenomenon of craving is limited to this class and never occurs in the average temperate drinker.(Powerless over the body due to the allergy is the first half of Step One.)

3. How much alcohol can a real alcoholic safely use? These allergic types can never safely use alcohol in any form at all;(Alcoholism is permanent. We will carry it to our grave, hopefully sober.)

4. Once the alcoholic has passed into the hopeless state, what happens? and once having formed the habit and found they cannot break it, once having lost their self-confidence, their reliance upon things human, their problems pile up on them and become astonishingly difficult to solve.

5. Can emotional pleading help an alcoholic see the truth? Frothy emotional appeal seldom suffices.(Frothy emotional appeal makes us feel guilty so we go have a few drinks.)

6. What type of message can help an alcoholic? The message which can interest and hold these alcoholic people must have depth and weight.

7. In what must the alcoholic’s ideals be grounded? In nearly all cases, their ideals must be grounded in a power greater than themselves,

8. Since alcoholism destroys lives, what can happen if our ideals are grounded in a Higher Power?
if they are to re-create their lives.

9. What would cause psychiatrists to accept and recommend the A.A. Program? If any feel that as psychiatrists directing a hospital for alcoholics we appear somewhat sentimental, let them stand with us a while on the firing line, see the tragedies, the despairing wives, the little children; let the solving of these problems become a part of their daily work, and even of their sleeping moments, and the most cynical will not wonder that we have accepted and encouraged this movement.

10. What did Dr. Silkworth believe could do a more effective job in helping alcoholics?
We feel, after many years of experience, that we have found nothing which has contributed more to the rehabilitation of these men than the altruistic movement now growing up among them.

11. Why do alcoholic men and women drink? Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol.(Comment: If you will go to pages 83 & 84, and put the words, “When I had a few drinks” in front of the Ninth Step Promises, you may be able to recognize the effect the alcoholic gets from the first few drinks.)

12. Does the alcoholic understand why he drinks? The sensation is so elusive that,

13. Does drinking cause problems or injuries as Dr. Silkworth terms them? while they admit it is injurious

14. What is the real problem with the alcoholic? they cannot after a time differentiate the true from the false.(This is a rather unusual way of saying we can never again can rely on our mind to keep us from starting to drink.)

15. What is normal to the alcoholic? To them, their alcoholic life seems the only normal one.
(Those who don’t drink the way we do must have something wrong with them.)

16. In the absence of a few drinks, what does the alcoholic feel? They are restless, irritable and discontented,

17. What can they experience from taking a few drinks? unless they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes at once by taking a few drinks-

The Doctors Opinion in the Big Book can be accessed and read at the below link. The preceding information was provided to me by a friend to help answer common questions and further understand the reading.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_doctoropinion.cfm


Third (xxvii) – Fourth (Page xxix)

1. What effect do alcoholics see others experience when they drink? drinks which they see others taking with impunity.

2. What happens after the alcoholic succumbs to that desire for a few drinks? After they have succumbed to the desire again, as so many do, and the phenomenon of craving develops

3. What is the result of the first few drinks? they pass through the well-known stages of a spree

4. How does the alcoholic feel afterward? emerging remorseful,

5. What is the national anthem (resolution) of every alcoholic? with a firm resolution not to drink again

6. How well does the alcoholic manage the resolution to never take another drink unmanageability)? This is repeated over and over

7. To be successful in sobriety, what must the alcoholic experience? and unless this person can experience an entire psychic change there is very little hope of his recovery. (This is the lethal aspect of alcoholism; our inability to manage our most sincere desire to never take another drink. Until we can accept this truth in our heart of hearts, our chances of living sober are out of reach. This is the second half of Step One; the unmanageability. As chronic alcoholics, we are powerless over our body and powerless over our mind where alcohol is concerned. Whatever else we may be powerless over has nothing to do with our requirement for membership in Alcoholics Anonymous.)

8. Once an alcoholic has experienced an “entire psychic change,” what happens? On the other hand-and strange as this may seem to those who do not understand-once a psychic change has occurred, the very same person who seemed doomed, who had so many problems he despaired of ever solving them, suddenly finds himself easily able to control his desire for alcohol,

9. What is necessary for this to happen? the only effort necessary being that required to follow a few simple rules.(Note: Could the “few simple rules” be the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous?)

10. What did the men who cried out to Dr. Silkworth plead for? Men have cried out to me in sincere and despairing appeal: "Doctor, I cannot go on like this! I have everything to live for! I must stop, but I cannot! You must help me!"

11. Do doctors, if they are honest with themselves, feel adequate in dealing with alcoholics?
Faced with this problem, if a doctor is honest with himself, he must sometimes feel his own inadequacy.

12. What is it when the doctor gives all that is in him? Although he gives all that is in him, it often is not enough.

13. What can human power not do? One feels that something more than human power is needed to produce the essential psychic change.

14. Can psychiatric efforts help a serious hard drinker? Though the aggregate of recoveries resulting from psychiatric effort is considerable,

15. Have medicine and psychiatry made much progress in treating chronic alcoholics? we physicians must admit we have made little impression upon the problem as a whole.

16. Do real (chronic) alcoholics respond to ordinary psychological treatment? Many types do not respond to the ordinary psychological approach.

Third (xxvii – continued) – Fourth (Page xxix - continued)

17. Did Dr. Silkworth believe that a real alcoholic could recover by mental control? I do not hold with those who believe that alcoholism is entirely a problem of mental control.

(Note: This is followed by the “unmanageability” and the “powerlessness.”)

18. In his example, was the alcoholic having a bad time? I have had many men who had, for example, worked a period of months on some problem or business deal which was to be settled on a certain date, favorably to them.

19. What insane act did he carry out? They took a drink a day or so prior to the date,
(Note: Does this demonstrate “unmanageability?”)

20. As the result of taking the drink, what happened? and then the phenomenon of craving at once became paramount to all other interests so that the important appointment was not met.
(Note: Does this demonstrate the “powerlessness?”)

The Doctors Opinion in the Big Book can be accessed and read at the below link. The preceding information was provided to me by a friend to help answer common questions and further understand the reading.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_doctoropinion.cfm

Third ( xxviii) – Fourth (Page xxx)

1. Do real alcoholics drink to escape? These men were not drinking to escape; they were drinking to overcome a craving beyond their mental control.

2. What do many alcoholics do to stop drinking? There are many situations which arise out of the phenomenon of craving which cause men to make the supreme sacrifice rather than continue to fight.

3. Is it easy to classify alcoholics? The classification of alcoholics seems most difficult, and in much detail is outside the scope of this book.

Question - How many types does Dr. Silkworth mention? Identify them.

4. Type One? There are, of course, the psychopaths who are emotionally unstable. We are all familiar with this type. They are always "going on the wagon for keeps." They are over-remorseful and make many resolutions, but never a decision.

5. Type Two? There is the type of man who is unwilling to admit that he cannot take a drink. He plans various ways of drinking. He changes his brand or his environment.

6. Type Three? There is the type who always believes that after being entirely free from alcohol for a period of time he can take a drink without danger.

7. Type Four? There is the manic-depressive type, who is, perhaps, the least understood by his friends, and about whom a whole chapter could be written.

8. Type Five? Then there are types entirely normal in every respect except in the effect alcohol has upon them. They are often able, intelligent, friendly people.

(Note: Isn’t this the most common type of alcoholic? The idea of the “alcoholic personality” is destroyed here and other places in our Text.)

9. Are there even more types? All these, and many others, (personalities)

10. What is the common denominator of each and every type? have one symptom in common: they cannot start drinking without developing the phenomenon of craving.

11. What is the one thing that sets alcoholic men and women apart from all other people?
This phenomenon, as we have suggested, may be the manifestation of an allergy which differentiates these people, and sets them apart as a distinct entity.

12. Which treatment program has been successful in treating alcoholics? It has never been, by any treatment with which we are familiar, permanently eradicated.

13. What is the only relief from alcoholism? The only relief we have to suggest is entire abstinence.

(Note: If the alcoholic never takes the first drink, he can never crave the second, then the third, then the fourth, then the fifth, the next fifth, and the next fifth . . .)

14. In spite of all the attention paid to alcoholism, what is the general consensus of physicians regarding alcoholics? (2 sentences) This immediately precipitates us into a seething caldron of debate. Much has been written pro and con, but among physicians, the general opinion seems to be that most chronic alcoholics are doomed.

Third (xxix) – Fourth (Page xxxi)

1. How does Dr. Silkworth demonstrate the Solution to chronic alcoholism?(2 sentences)What is the solution? Perhaps I can best answer this by relating one of my experiences.

2. What was the Solution to the first alcoholic’s dilemma? (Note: Please read the entire paragraph.) About one year prior to this experience a man was brought in to be treated for chronic alcoholism. He had but partially recovered from a gastric hemorrhage and seemed to be a case of pathological mental deterioration. He had lost everything worthwhile in life and was only living, one might say, to drink. He frankly admitted and believed that for him there was no hope. Following the elimination of alcohol, there was found to be no permanent brain injury. He accepted the plan outlined in this book. One year later he called to see me, and I experienced a very strange sensation. I knew the man by name, and partly recognized his features, but there all resemblance ended. From a trembling, despairing, nervous wreck, had emerged a man brimming over with self-reliance and contentment. I talked with him for some time, but was not able to bring myself to feel that I had known him before. To me he was a stranger, and so he left me. A long time has passed with no return to alcohol.

3. What was the solution to the second alcoholic’s dilemma? (Note: Please read both paragraphs and look for the answer on Page xxx.)

When I need a mental uplift, I often think of another case brought in by a physician prominent in New York. The patient had made his own diagnosis, and deciding his situation hopeless, had hidden in a deserted barn determined to die. He was rescued by a searching party, and, in desperate condition, brought to me. Following his physical rehabilitation, he had a talk with me in which he frankly stated he thought the treatment a waste of effort, unless I could assure him, which no one ever had, that in the future he would have the "will power" to resist the impulse to drink.

His alcoholic problem was so complex, and his depression so great, that we felt his only hope would be through what we then called "moral psychology," and we doubted if even that would have any effect.

(Comment: The alcoholic described in this paragraph wrote Chapter Ten, “To Employers.”)
_______________________________________________________


Third (xxx) – Fourth (Page xxxii)

1. What was the solution to the second man’s alcoholism? However, he did become "sold" on the ideas contained in this book.

2. Did it work for him? (2 sentences) He has not had a drink for a great many years. I see him now and then and he is as fine a specimen of manhood as one could wish to meet.

3. What does Dr. Silkworth advise every alcoholic to do? I earnestly advise every alcoholic to read this book through.

4. If an alcoholic carefully studies this book, what may he wind up doing?
and though perhaps he came to scoff, he may remain to pray.

Bills story in the Big Book can be accessed and read at the below link. The preceding information was provided to me by a friend to help answer common questions and further understand the reading.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_bigbook_chapt1.pdf

Overview
Pages 1 through 16)

The main purpose of “Bill’s Story” is for identification, as are the other stories in this textbook. In “The Doctor’s Opinion”, we learned the exact nature of alcoholism. We learned that we are powerless because of the allergic reaction the alcoholic has to alcohol (craving that comes with the first few drinks) and of the unmanageability resulting from a mind that cannot remember the allergic reaction (we start drinking again, even though we sincerely promised to never do it again.)

In “Bill’s Story” we will be “12th Stepped” by Bill W. himself. We will see the progression of the disease in his life. As we study his story, we should look for the effect of drinking on Bill that you, too, have experienced. We can look at what happened to him and say to ourselves, “Yes, that happened to me, too” or “No, that hasn’t happened to me YET.”

As we study his story, ignore the differences; such as, he was from Vermont, he was a stockbroker, he was in a World War, etc.. Look only for the similarities of experience resulting from drinking. Some of these will be noted as we progress in our study of Chapter One.

We will also learn how Bill found hope as the result of a visit from his long-time friend, Ebby T., who became Bill’s sponsor. While in Townes Hospital, Ebby visited Bill and helped him take the actions of our Twelve Steps -- which resulted in Bill having a spiritual experience. Bill tells us what his life was like after taking the action and lived 36 years without ever taking another drink.

If we do what Bill did, we will get what Bill got!

Bills story in the Big Book can be accessed and read at the below link. The preceding information was provided to me by a friend to help answer common questions and further understand the reading.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_bigbook_chapt1.pdf


1. Where was Bill when he had his first experience with alcohol? War fever ran high in the New England town to which we new, young officers from Plattsburg were assigned,

2. What flattered these young officers?
and we were flattered when the first citizens took us to their homes, making us feel heroic.

3. What did he find in these homes? Here was love, applause, war; moments sublime with intervals hilarious

4. What was his mood? I was part of life at last, and in the midst of the excitement I discovered liquor.

5. What did he forget? I forgot the strong warnings and the prejudices of my people concerning drink

Bill’s Dad was an alcoholic. His Mother divorced him and moved to New York to become a doctor. Bill was raised by his Grandparents

6. What was his mood when he again returned to drinking? In time we sailed for "Over There." I was very lonely and again turned to alcohol.

7. When Bill was lonely and drank, did he do so to change the way he thought and the way he felt? In time we sailed for "Over There." I was very lonely and again turned to alcohol.

8. When Bill visited Winchester Cathedral, what doggerel caught his attention? (the entire paragraph) We landed in England. I visited Winchester Cathedral. Much moved, I wandered outside. My attention was caught by a doggerel on an old tombstone:

"Here lies a Hampshire Grenadier
Who caught his death
Drinking cold small beer.
A good soldier is ne'er forgot
Whether he dieth by musket
Or by pot."

9. How did it affect him? Ominous warning - which I failed to heed.

10. How old was Bill at the end of the War?
Twenty-two, and a veteran of foreign wars, I went home at last.

11. Did Bill appear to think well of himself?
I fancied myself a leader,

12. What gave him that idea? for had not the men of my battery given me a special token of appreciation?

13. Were his ideas a little grandiose?
I imagined, would place me at the head of vast enterprises which I would manage with the utmost assurance.

Bills story in the Big Book can be accessed and read at the below link. The preceding information was provided to me by a friend to help answer common questions and further understand the reading.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_bigbook_chapt1.pdf

1. Was Bill willing to pay the price to be successful? (2 sentences) I took a night law course, and obtained employment as investigator for a surety company. The drive for success was on.

2. What did he want to prove? I'd prove to the world I was important.

3. What did he become interested in? My work took me about Wall Street and little by little I became interested in the market. Skip the next two sentences.

4. Besides law, what did Bill study? I studied economics and business as well as law

5. Did his drinking interfere with his education? (2 sentences) Potential alcoholic that I was, I nearly failed my law course. At one of the finals I was too drunk to think or write.

6. What did his wife, Lois, think of his drinking? Though my drinking was not yet continuous, it disturbed my wife. (Note: Did anyone ever fuss at you about your drinking?)

7. What did he tell Lois? We had long talks when I would still her forebodings by telling her that men of genius conceived their best projects when drunk; that the most majestic constructions of philosophic thought were so derived.

(Note: Did you believe you thought more clearly after a few drinks?)
Does this sound like an alcoholic trying to explain why we drink when we were asked, “Why do you drink the way you do?” And we told them the truth, “I don’t know.” And they said “Oh yes you do!” When those Al-Anons accuse us of being liars, remind them that is their fault. When we told them the truth, they wouldn’t accept it.

8. Although he studied law, what really interested him?(2 sentences) By the time I had completed the course, I knew the law was not for me. The inviting maelstrom of Wall Street had me in its grip.

9. Who were his heroes? Business and financial leaders were my heroes.

10. What did the alloy of drink and speculation do for Bill? Out of this alloy of drink and speculation, I commenced to forge the weapon that one day would turn in its flight like a boomerang and all but cut me to ribbons.

Skip the next three sentences.

11. Were Bill’s broker friends willing to help him? I failed to persuade my broker friends to send me out looking over factories and managements,

12. Was Bill hard-headed, strong self-willed and determined? but my wife and I decided to go anyway.

13. What was Bill’s theory? (2 sentences)
I had developed a theory that most people lost money in stocks through ignorance of markets. I discovered many more reasons later on.

14. What did he and Lois do that seemed crazy We gave up our positions and off we roared on amotorcycle, the sidecar stuffed with tent, blankets, a change of clothes, and three huge volumes of a financial reference service.

Bills story in the Big Book can be accessed and read at the below link. The preceding information was provided to me by a friend to help answer common questions and further understand the reading.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_bigbook_chapt1.pdf

1. What did their friends think of their idea? Our friends thought a lunacy commission should be appointed.

Skip the next three sentences.

2. How long did Bill and Lois stick with the motorbike episode? We covered the whole eastern United States in a year.

3. Did their investigation of companies on the East Coast prove productive?
At the end of it, my reports to Wall Street procured me a position there and the use of a large expense account.

4. How were their finances at the end of the year? The exercise of an option brought in more money, leaving us with a profit of several thousand dollars for that year.

5. Did this adventure lead to great success for Bill? (2 sentences)
For the next few years fortune threw money and applause my way. I had arrived.

6. Were people impressed with Bill’s judgment? My judgment and ideas were followed by many to the tune of paper millions.

7. What period does this cover? The great boom of the late twenties was seething and swelling.

8. How was drinking fitting into Bill’s life? Drink was taking an important and exhilarating part in my life.

Skip the next three sentences.

9. Was Bill successful in making friends? I made a host of fair-weather friends.

10. How often was Bill drinking? My drinking assumed more serious proportions, continuing all day and almost every night

(Note: Did you drink that way?)

11. What did Bill’s friends think of his drinking? The remonstrances of my friends terminated in a row and I became a lone wolf. (Note: Did you lose friends because of your drinking?)

12. Was Bill’s relationship with Lois going well? There were many unhappy scenes in our sumptuous apartment. (Note: Did your drinking cause some discontent in your family?)


13. Was Bill faithful to Lois? There had been no real infidelity, for loyalty to my wife,helped at times by extreme drunkenness, kept me out of those scrapes.

14. What sporting activity did Bill become interested in?(2 sentences) In 1929 I contracted golf fever. We went at once to the country, my wife to applaud while I started out to overtake Walter Hagen. (Walter Hagen was the Arnold Palmer of that time in history)

15. Did he prove to do better at golf or at drinking? Liquor caught up with me much faster than I came up behind Walter

16. How did Bill feel in the morning? I began to be jittery in the morning.
(Note: Did you ever feel that way?)

Bills story in the Big Book can be accessed and read at the below link. The preceding information was provided to me by a friend to help answer common questions and further understand the reading.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_bigbook_chapt1.pdf

1. Had Bill become financially successful ? (2 sentences) Golf permitted drinking every day and every night. It was fun to carom around the exclusive course which had inspired such awe in me as a lad. I acquired the impeccable coat of tan one sees upon the well-to-do.

2. Did it appear that Bill had the ability to make things happen in his life? The local banker watched me whirl fat checks in and out of his till with amused skepticism

(Like most alcoholics, Bill was very capable and determined to be successful in anything he attempted and he was. That was true for him except in only one area of his life. He was a complete failure in his efforts to manage his drinking.)

3. What happened in 1929 that had a great impact on the lives of many people? Abruptly in October 1929 hell broke loose on the New York stock exchange. Skip the next five sentences.

4. Did it have an impact on Bill? I was finished and so were many friends.

5. How were some reacting to their great losses? The papers reported men jumping to death from the towers of High Finance.

6. What did Bill think about what they had done? That disgusted me.

7. What was his solution to his losses?(2 sentences) I would not jump. I went back to the bar.
(Note: What did you do after your great losses?)

8. What was his attitude about the great tragedy?(2 sentences) My friends had dropped several million since ten o’clock – so what? Tomorrow was another day.

9. As he drank, did it change the way he thought and the way he felt? As I drank, the old fierce determination to win came back.

10. Where did he go for another chance? (2 sentences) Next morning I telephoned a friend in Montreal. He had plenty of money left and thought I had better go to Canada.

11. Was he successful there? By the following spring we were living in our accustomed style.

12. Who was it he felt like?(2 sentences) I felt like Napoleon returning from Elba. No St. Helena for me!

13. His first big failure was because of the stock market crash. What was the cause of his failure this time? (2 sentences) But drinking caught up with me again and my generous friend had to let me go. This time we stayed broke.

(Bill had formed this group who put up the money and he would select the stock the combine would purchase. They met in a hotel room to discuss the timing to sell the stocks. One of the members of the combine brought a jug of “Jersey Lightening” which was being passed around the room. Bill passed it on a couple of times and then started thinking, “I’ve never had any Jersey Lightening, I wonder what it tastes like so he found out.” Dr. Silkworth referred to this event in his “Opinion”)

14. Where did he and Lois go then? We went to live with my wife’s parents.

15. How did he lose his job? I found a job; then lost it as the result of a brawl with a taxi driver.

(Bill didn’t play out the drama, as so many do. He went to jail as the result of this fight but that wasn’t the important thing to him. His point was that he again failed in his attempt to resist the first drink; the un-manage-ability of chronic alcoholism. The external events are not what brings us to our decision to come to Alcoholics Anonymous for help. That pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization accepting complete defeat is what it takes to be successful in sobriety.)

16. How long did he go without gainful employment? Mercifully, no one could guess that I was to have no real employment for five years,

17. How was he doing with his drinking? Or hardly draw a sober breath.

18. Who supported the family financially? My wife began to work in a department store,

19. What was Lois’s reward for a hard day’s work? Coming home exhausted to find me drunk.

Bills story in the Big Book can be accessed and read at the below link. The preceding information was provided to me by a friend to help answer common questions and further understand the reading.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_bigbook_chapt1.pdf

1. Were Bill’s business associates happy to see him? I became an unwelcome hanger-on at brokerage places.

2. What had liquor become to Bill? Liquor ceased to be a luxury; it became a necessity.
(Note: Do you suppose he hid his liquor? Maybe lied about this drinking? Sneaked drinks? Have you ever done any of those things? Do moderate drinkers do these kinds of things?)

3. What was Bill drinking? “Bathtub” gin,

4. How much was Bill drinking? Two bottles a day, and often three, got to be routine.
(Remember, this was during “Probition,” a period in American history when possession of alcoholic beverages was illegal. Doctors could prescribe it for medicinal purposes but that was the only legal method of obtaining alcohol. Therefore, boot legers made various and sundry types of alcoholic drinks. Bath tub gin was a favorite and it very often was made in a bath tub. Corn liquor, Jersey lightening, home brew, etc. were all made illegally and sold in Mason jars of jugs. This ridiculous law was repealed after 13 years but organized crime was given birth during this period.)

Skip the next sentence.

5. How did Bill awaken? This went on endlessly, and I began to waken very early in the morning shaking violently. (Note: Did you ever wake up this way?)

6. What did Bill have to do? A tumbler full of gin followed by half a dozen bottles of beer would be required if I were to eat any breakfast. (Note: Did you ever have to do this?)

7. At this point, did Bill think he had a problem? Nevertheless, I still thought I could control the situation, (Note: Did you have a run of bad luck and think it was someone else’s fault?)

8. What gave Lois hope? And there were periods of sobriety which renewed my wife’s hope.

9. Did things get better for Bill?(2 sentences) Gradually things got worse. The house was taken over by the mortgage holder, my mother-in-law died, my wife and father-in-law became ill.
(Note: Did things get better for you?)

10. Did Bill have another chance in the business world? Then I got a promising business opportunity.

11. What kind of deal did Bill put together? Stocks were at the low point of 1932, and I had somehow formed a group to buy.

12. What was his motivation for this deal? I was to share generously in the profits.

13. Why did it not prove successful? Then I went on a prodigious bender, and that chance vanished. (Bill had formed this group who put up the money and he would select the stock the combine would purchase. They met in a hotel room to discuss the timing to sell the stocks. One of the members of the combine brought a jug of “Jersey Lightening” which was being passed around the room. Bill passed it on a couple of times and then started thinking, “I’ve never had any Jersey Lightening, I wonder what it tastes like so he found out.” Dr. Silkworth referred to this event in his “Opinion”)

14. As the result of this episode, what did Bill come to realize? (4 sentences) I woke up. This had to be stopped. I saw I could not take so much as one drink. I was through forever.

15. What had he done prior to this time? Before then, I had written lots of sweet promises,

16. Was Bill really serious this time? (2 sentences) but my wife happily observed that this time I meant business. And so I did. (Note: Have your been really serious about staying stopped?)

17. How well did he manage his decision? (4 sentences) Shortly afterward I came home drunk. There had been no fight. Where had been my high resolve? I simply didn’t know.(Note: How well did you manage your decision?)

18. Did he make a conscious decision to take the drink? It hadn’t even come to mind.
(Note: Have you ever found yourself drunk and couldn’t remember taking the first drink?)

19. What did his appalling lack of perspective make him wonder?(Rest of paragraph) Someone had pushed a drink my way, and I had taken it. Was I crazy? I began to wonder, for such an appalling lack of perspective seemed near being just that.

20. What was his next decision? Renewing my resolve, I tried again.

Bills story in the Big Book can be accessed and read at the below link. The preceding information was provided to me by a friend to help answer common questions and further understand the reading.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_bigbook_chapt1.pdf

1. What happened to Bill when he became confident? (3 sentences) Some time passed, and confidence began to be replaced by cock-sureness. I could laugh at the gin mills. Now I had what it takes!

2. Why did Bill enter the cafe? One day I walked into a cafe to telephone.

3. Was he conscious of taking the first drink? In no time I was beating on the bar asking myself how it happened.

4. As he felt the effect of the whisky, what did he tell himself?(2 sentences) As the whisky rose to my head I told myself I would manage better next time, but I might as well get good and drunk then. And I did.(Note: Is this something you have experienced?)

5. How did he feel the next morning? The remorse, horror and hopelessness of the next morning are unforgettable. (Note: Have you ever felt this way the next morning?)

6. Was he able to fight? The courage to do battle was not there. (Note: Have you ever felt defeated?)

7. What was his brain doing? My brain raced uncontrollably and there was a terrible sense of impending calamity. (Note: Have you ever experienced this?)

8. Why was he afraid to cross the street? I hardly dared cross the street, lest I collapse and be run down by an early morning truck, for it was scarcely daylight. (Note: Have you ever felt this way?)

9. What did it take to still his nerves?(2 sentences) An all night place supplied me with a dozen glasses of ale. My writhing nerves were stilled at last. (Note: Have you ever had to still your nerves in a similar manner?)

10. What did Bill realize when he read of another market crash?(4 sentences) A morning paper told me the market had gone to hell again. Well, so had I. The market would recover, but I wouldn’t. That was a hard thought. (Note: Have you had such a hard thought?)

11. For a brief spell, what did Bill consider doing ? (2 sentences) Should I kill myself? No – not now. (Note: During your drinking, did this thought pass through your mind?)

12. What did Bill do to quiet the thought? (3 sentences) Then a mental fog settled down. Gin would fix that. So two bottles, and – oblivion. (Note: Have you ever sought oblivion as Bill did?)

13. How much longer did Bill suffer the agony of alcoholism? The mind and body are marvelous mechanisms, for mine endured this agony two more years.

14. Did Bill steal money to drink? Sometimes I stole from my wife's slender purse when the morning terror and madness were on me. (Note: Have you ever stolen money to buy alcohol?)

15. Did Bill consider suicide? Again I swayed dizzily before an open window, or the medicine cabinet where there was poison, cursing myself for a weakling. (Note: Have you ever considered suicide?)

16. Did Bill go from one place to another hoping? There were flights from city to country and back, as my wife and I sought escape.(Note: Did you ever believe you would be better off some other place?)

17. Did Bill come to fear for his life? Then came the night when the physical and mental torture was so hellish I feared I would burst through my window, sash and all. (Note: Did you ever really fear for your life?)

18. What did Bill do with his mattress and why? Somehow I managed to drag my mattress to a lower floor, lest I suddenly leap. (Note: Have you experienced such desperation?)

19. What did a doctor bring Bill? A doctor came with a heavy sedative. (Note: Have doctors had to prescribe sedatives for you?)

Bills story in the Big Book can be accessed and read at the below link. The preceding information was provided to me by a friend to help answer common questions and further understand the reading.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_bigbook_chapt1.pdf

1. What was Bill doing the next day? Next day found me drinking both gin and sedative.
(Note: Have you ever drank and taken sedatives?)

2. What did they do for Bill? This combination soon landed me on the rocks.

3. What was the concern for and of Bill? (2 sentences) People feared for my sanity. So did I.
(Note: Have folks ever feared for your sanity? Have you ever feared for your sanity?)

4. Had Bill’s alcoholism progressed to where he could no longer tolerate food? I could eat little or nothing when drinking, and I was forty pounds under weight. (Note: Has your alcoholism progressed to where you could not eat?)

(Comment: Bill being 40 pounds underweight indicates he was suffering from malnutrition and in a very serious state of deteriorating health. He was literally dying at this point).

5. What did his brother-in-law and mother do for Bill? My brother-in-law is a physician, and through his kindness and that of my mother I was placed in a nationally-known hospital for the mental and physical rehabilitation of alcoholics. (Comment: The hospital was Townes Hospital.)

6. What treatments did they give Bill? (2 sentences) Under the so-called belladonna treatment my brain cleared. Hydrotherapy and mild exercise helped much.

7. What was the best thing that happened to Bill at the hospital? Best of all, I met a kind doctor (Comment: The doctor was Dr. Silkworth, author of “The Doctor’s Opinion”.)

8. What did the doctor explain to Bill? who explained that though certainly selfish and foolish, I had been seriously ill, bodily and mentally.(Note: Has your sponsor explained this to you?)

9. What did it relieve Bill to know? It relieved me somewhat to learn that in alcoholics the will is amazingly weakened when it comes to combating liquor, though it often remains strong in other respects. (Note: Does it relieve you to know you are normal except for the effect alcohol has on you?)

10. Did Dr. Silkworth help Bill understand why he had been unable to stay stopped? My incredible behavior in the face of a desperate desire to stop was explained.

11. When Bill believed that he understood the problem, how did he feel? Understanding myself now, I fared forth in high hope.

12. How long did that knowledge keep him sober? For three for four months the goose hung high.

13. He was even able to do what? I went to town regularly and even made a little money

14. Does knowing what is wrong with us keep us from beginning to drink? Surely this was the answer - self-knowledge. (Comment: If a person knows they have cancer, does that keep the cancer from progressing?)

15. How well did self-knowledge work for Bill? But it was not, for the frightful day came when I drank once more.

16. Was Bill’s judgment and physical health in rapid deterioration? The curve of my declining moral and bodily health fell off like a ski-jump.

17. What did Bill do? After a time I returned to the hospital.

18. What did Bill believe this trip to be? This was the finish, the curtain, it seemed to me.

19. What did Lois learn from Dr. Silkworth? My weary and despairing wife was informed that it would all end with heart failure during delirium tremens, or I would develop a wet brain, perhaps within a year.

20. What did Dr. Silkworth tell Lois her two options were? She would soon have to give me over to the undertaker or the asylum.

21. Did they have to tell Bill? They did not need to tell me

22. Was he almost looking forward to the end? I knew, and almost welcomed the idea to the end?

23. What did this fact do to his ego? It was a devastating blow to my pride.

Bills story in the Big Book can be accessed and read at the below link. The preceding information was provided to me by a friend to help answer common questions and further understand the reading.

http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_bigbook_chapt1.pdf

1. Had Bill proved that he could make things happen in his life? I, who had thought so well of myself and my abilities, of my capacity to surmount obstacles, was cornered at last.

2. Could he see where he was headed? Now I was to plunge into the dark, joining that endless procession of sots who had gone on before.

3. Of whom did Bill think? (2 sentences) I thought of my poor wife. There had been much happiness after all.

4. What did he really want to do? What would I not give to make amends.

5. Did he have any hope left? But that was over now.

6. What did Bill feel? No words can tell of the loneliness and despair I found in that bitter morass of self-pity. (Note: Have you felt this way?)

(Comment: This is where Bill took Step One, as we understand it today)

7. What did Bill completely surrender to? (rest of paragraph) Quicksand stretched around me in all directions. I had met my match. I had been overwhelmed. Alcohol was my master.
(Note: Have you made a complete surrender to alcohol?)

8. How did Bill leave Townes Hospital the second time? Trembling, I stepped from the hospital a broken man.

9. What kept him from taking the first drink? Fear sobered me for a bit.

10. What caused Bill to start drinking again? Then came the insidious insanity of that first drink (Note: Do you recognize the insidious insanity of taking the first drink? This is what defines the “alcoholic mind” and is the source of the “unmanageability” of chronic alcoholism.)

11. When did it fail him? and on Armistice Day (November 11) 1934, I was off again.

12. What was everyone’s prognosis for Bill? Everyone became resigned to the certainty that I would have to be shut up somewhere, or would stumble along to a miserable end.

13. In reality, what was this last drunk to be for Bill?(2 sentences) In reality that was the beginning of my last debauch. I was soon to be catapulted into what I like to call the fourth dimension of existence.

14. What was to soon happen to Bill? I was soon to be catapulted into what I like to call the fourth dimension of existence.

15. What was it he would come to know? I was to know happiness, peace, and usefulness, in a way of life that is incredibly more wonderful as time passes. (Comment: Carefully study this paragraph. Look at how it begins -- hopeless. Look at how it ends -- happy, joyous and free. This paragraph exemplifies the simplicity of the Program; the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

16. What was Bill doing around the end of November, 1934? Near the end of that bleak November, I sat drinking in my kitchen.

17. What caused the sense of satisfaction Bill was experiencing? With a certain satisfaction I reflected there was enough gin concealed about the house to carry me through that night and the next day.(Note: Did you feel secure when you knew you had alcohol hidden in secret places?)

18. Where was Bill thinking of hiding a bottle? (2 sentences) My wife was at work. I wondered whether I dared hide a full bottle of gin near the head of our bed. (Note: Have you ever hidden alcohol near or under the bed? Do normal drinkers hide alcohol?)

19. Why did he feel it necessary to have a bottle under his bed? I would need it before daylight.
(Note: Have you ever had to take a few drinks during the night to, hopefully, be able to go back to sleep?)

20. What interrupted Bill’s day dreaming? My musing was interrupted by the telephone.

21. Whose voice did Bill hear? The cheery voice of an old school friend (Comment: The voice was that of Ebby T., Bill’s longtime friend who was known to have a serious drinking problem.)
22. What did Ebby want to do? asked if he might come over.