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Health & Fitness

ON HIATUS WITH BILL W.

Some of you may have noticed that it's been a while since I posted a new blog entry. There's actually a good reason for that! I've had the rare opportunity to work on a business project that is very near and dear to my heart: publicizing the critically acclaimed documentary, Bill W., about the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. This is the man who helped save my life, and the lives of millions of others around the world. And because this is a true passion project for me, I've been dedicating every spare minute to it.

I was retained by the filmmakers, Kevin Hanlon and Dan Carracino, in April to bring the movie (now on DVD) to an even wider audience—and at the same time to promote "The Bill W. Photographic Collection," a series of rare, archival-quality prints featuring never-before-seen shots of Bill and his wife, Lois. Hanlon and Carracino discovered this treasure trove of photos while making the movie, and they offer an extraordinary glimpse into the behind-the-scenes life of this iconic figure. You can find them at www.page124photos.com.

While I've been a "friend of Bill W.'s" for close to 20 years, I was really surprised by how much I learned about him while working on this amazing project. Much of the credit goes to Hanlon and Carracino, who took their time (eight years!) to make an honest, accurate and incredibly entertaining documentary about the man who authored the famous 12 Steps, which so many of us use to live clean, sober and happier lives today. 

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If you’re a member of any 12-step program, know anyone who is, are a history buff, or are just plain curious, I highly recommend you watch Bill W. You won’t be disappointed. In the meantime, here are 10 new things I discovered about Bill Wilson, thanks to watching and working on this remarkable film:

1.      Raised by grandparents: Bill and his sister, Dorothy, were abandoned by their parents (who divorced) as young children and raised by their grandparents in Vermont.  “Back in those days, there was as much or more stigma against divorce in a small Yankee town as there was against being the town drunk,” said Bill years later during an A.A. speech.

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2.      Unable to adopt children: Bill and his wife, Lois, weren’t able to have children, so they tried to adopt but were unsuccessful. Years later, they learned that the agency performing the routine background check was told about Bill's drinking from one of Lois’ close friends, and that put an end to their adoption plans.

3.      Homeless several years of his life: During the seventeen years of their marriage that Bill was drinking, Bill and Lois always had a home -- even at the end when the drinking had become so bad that no one would hire Bill.  Ironically, after Bill got sober, he and Lois went through a two year period of homelessness, having to move frequently from one friend’s house to another.  Finally, a widow of an alcoholic made them an extraordinary offer on a house, and they were able to finally purchase their first home: Stepping Stones in Katonah, New York.  They both lived there for the rest of their lives.

4.      Had connections to John D. Rockefeller: When Bill needed money to fund A.A., he turned to a colleague who knew an associate of John D. Rockefeller Jr. In 1937, Wilson asked for $50,000 from Rockefeller. A teetotaler, Rockefeller was a logical source for money. Rockefeller declined the request, but he did provide a $5,000 fund from which Bill and A.A. co-founder Dr. Bob could draw a small stipend – enough to prevent Dr. Bob, who had children, from losing his home.  Rockefeller also organized a fundraising banquet for A.A. in 1940. Rockefeller was sick the night of the dinner, and he delegated his son Nelson to be keynote speaker.  He also gave $1,000.

5.      Wrote 12 Steps by himself in one night:  Bill wrote the first draft of the 12 Steps on his own during a night at home in Brooklyn. Taking as a model the tenets of the Oxford Group, an extremely popular Christian evangelical movement of which Wilson had been a member, he began writing. “I relaxed and asked for guidance,” he recalled later. “With a speed that was astonishing…I completed the first draft.” When he numbered the steps he had written, there were twelve.

6.      Took LSD: In the mid-1950s, Bill began using LSD in medically supervised experiments with a number of doctors, including Humphry Osmond and Abram Hoffer, who appears in the film.  Bill was enthusiastic about the substance. He and a number of doctors thought they might have found something that could make a big difference to the lives of many who still suffered. “As for those who have no faith, it could act very much as my original experience at Towns did.  It might bring the gift of faith.”  However, when LSD became embroiled in controversy in the early 1960s and governments around the world began severely restricting its use, he had to stop using it.

7.      Had a long-time affair: In the mid-1950s, when Bill was in his early sixties, he began an extra-marital relationship with Helen Wynn, who was 10 years younger than he was. The relationship began in 1955, and only ended with his death in 1971.  I’ll admit this one surprised me—and yet, it also made me appreciate that much more the accomplishments of this flawed, imperfect, and completely human man.

8.      Refused an opportunity to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine: In April of 1960, after much thought and consideration, Bill turned down the chance to be on the cover of this prestigious magazine, fully aware, as he puts it, that the “impact of this thing could have been enormous and brought in great numbers of people.”  But he refused it, as he refused other awards, because he felt that to do so could threaten A.A.’s very existence in the future, by violating the very purpose of A.A. traditions number 10, 11, and 12 – words he himself had written: 

Ten—Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
Eleven—Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films.
Twelve—Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

9.      Asked for a drink on his death bed: As Bill lay dying of emphysema, he asked Lois and his caretakers for a drink. He was never given one. I find this incredibly poignant—what else would a delirious, dying alcoholic, undoubtedly drugged for his emphysema and probably reverting to an earlier time in his life, do but ask for a drink? Again, this revelation brought home to me that Bill W. was not just an icon, but a human being.

10.   Gave permission to use his name and image upon his death: In a letter dated October 1, 1969, Bill W. provided written permission for the use of his full name and identity upon his death. While A.A. requested anonymity for its members during their lifetime, the family could rescind that anonymity anytime after the alcoholic died. Lois co-signed Bill’s letter.

 

 

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