Ebby Thatcher and Bill Wilson

The Pre-History of Alcoholics Anonymous

By: History of Recovery

Narrated by: Ebby Thatcher, Bill Wilson, A Bill Friend

Listen to the pre-history of Alcoholics Anonymous, narrated by two of the people who were part of its most important, formative events. Ebby Thatcher, the man who brought the message to Bill Wilson, shares how he was helped to sobriety by Rowland Hazard and other Oxford Group members, how he carried the message to Bill, and the early developments of the AA fellowship. AA co-founder Bill Wilson discusses the two streams of influence that led to AA.

First, Bill tells the story of Rowland Hazard and how, after having failed to achieve lasting sobriety through ideas from Dr. Carl Jung, he took Jung's final piece of advice - to immerse himself in some sort of spiritual program. Practicing the principles of the Oxford Group, Rowland brought the message of sobriety to Ebby Thatcher.

During the second part of Bill's talk, he describes how Dr. Silkworth came to an understanding of alcoholism and its treatment and how Dr. Silkworth helped him: first, by preparing Bill to receive the message and then, by providing him a medical detox and professional assurance. Finally, he gave him the advice that enabled him to carry the message to another AA co-founder, Dr. Bob Smith.

©2020 Thomas Laperriere (P)2020 Thomas Laperriere