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 manuscript. This illustrates the process of having many individuals add their opinions to the contents. [archivist's note: All pages are 8.5" by 14"; marked text (underlined) means more than … [Read more...]
“Pre-original manuscript” draft of chapters in the Big Book.
(This is another "pre-original manuscript" draft of chapters in the Big Book. Please notice that the order of these first two chapters are reversed. Also, part of the Rowland Hazard/Dr. Carl Jung story is moved to the front of "There Is A Solution", and the end of the same chapter mentions that they were planning for the next few chapters to be personal narratives. God bless and take it easy! - Barefoot Bill) ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS CHAPTER #1 THERE IS A SOLUTION "I have never seen one … [Read more...]
Bill’s “Sweet Promises”
"I woke up. This had to be stopped. I saw I could not take so much as one drink. I was through forever. Before then, I had written lots of sweet promises, but my wife happily observed that this time I meant business. And so I did. Shortly afterward I came home drunk." "Big Book" page 5. ********** "There were unhappy scenes in the sumptuous Livingston Street apartment. Promise followed empty promise. On October 20, 1928, Bill wrote in the family Bible, the most sacred place he knew: 'To … [Read more...]