My Name Is Bill: Bill Wilson--His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous

Offering a fascinating look at Bill Wilson, one of Time Magazine's 100 List of The Most Important People of the 20th Century, My Name is Bill is a must read for anyone attempting to understand the broader context of Alcoholics Anonymous. Susan Cheever does a marvelous job of capturing the essence of what made this man a pioneering leader in treating alcoholism and, long after his death, other forms of addiction. Spawning 'Twelve-Step' programs addressing every form of human failing imaginable, Bill Wilson's contribution to both the science and spirituality of recovery is incalculable. A larger than life figure, Wilson almost singlehandedly changed the prognosis for those suffering from alcoholism. But he was certainly no saint, and Cheever's portrayal is nicely balanced. We learn a great deal about what drove this uncommon individual and even a bit about some of his other struggles. Wilson's 'Twelve Steps' approach is comparable to Dr. Albert Ellis's Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as a vehicle for assisting those struggling with personal demons find relief. Many believe Wilson's early recognition that this age-old problem requires a spiritual solution was divinely inspired. His insights into the disease of alcoholism based on his own experience stirred in him an uncanny prescience. He predicted that many alcoholics through a higher power would find deliverance from their debilitating condition if they could only follow a few simple steps. Included among those, and perhaps most crucial, is finding the wherewithal to get through the next 24 hours without a drink. Truly remarkable is how the man known simply as Bill W. transformed what can only be described as a life in precipitous decline - intractable alcoholism, unemployment, financial ruin, and a disintegrating marriage - into a beacon of hope for countless human beings the world over. Ironically, while he struggled with his own implacable inner demons, most notably chronic depression, millions of alcoholics were clawing their way back from the brink of self-destruction. And those are just the ones who were alive during his lifetime! Cheever writes, "Bill Wilson never held himself up as a model: he only hoped to help other people by sharing his own experience, strength and hope. He insisted again and again that he was just an ordinary man." Wilson was anything but an 'ordinary man.' His elegantly simple prescription for battling one's way back from booze-abetted disaster reflects pure genius. Although Bill was a reluctant model of a recovering alcoholic, his presence still looms large over the many thousands of AA groups that now meet across the globe. It is difficult to imagine many enduring contributions to mankind that exceed that of Bill Wilson's. Truly an epic 20th century figure! Kudos to Susan Cheever for a well-researched, well-written biography. This book should be required reading for anyone who suffers from alcoholism, their significant others, or those who

Two decades ago, I took up with a recovering alcoholic, and in a show of support, I attended several open Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. After a while, I had to confess that I found them really hokey. "That's because you are not an alcoholic," he replied. "If you were, you'd recognize the genius of the mind that created it. It's brilliant." For the last two days, I've carried Susan Cheever's book about Bill Wilson around with me, reading, I must admit, compulsively. Cheever, whose father John's important fiction covers the period in which AA grew up, brings a literary eye to the development of a character familiar in American public life: the charismatic leader. If it's not perfect in every factual detail, it is rich in content about our society, addictive substances, and our own craving for a savior. As in the lives of most alcoholics, there's a lot of pain. Surviving divorce in New England when it was rare, abandoned by a mother who remained nevertheless demanding, losing a sweetheart whose family had adopted him as their own--Cheever describes these events in Bill's early life in a sympathic but unsentimental way. She's less successful in blending the history of Vermont from colonial times to the present, but even with awkward flashbacks and forwards, this secondary narrative tells us a lot about the world that informed Bill's character. He was politically conservative, but doggedly independent; someone who with little tutoring found within himself both musical and engineering talents. He attended his family's Congregational church but failed to find the spiritual sustenance that he needed. His admission to a prestigious boarding school coincided with an impressive spurt in physical and mental growth, but he dropped out when felled by depression after his girlfriend died. By the time he takes up drink, we are prepared for a daunting ride. To anyone familiar with the genre of drunkalogues, it's predictable, but Cheever keeps the story moving by putting Bill's various binges in personal and historical context. By the time he gets to his Akron meeting with Dr. Bob Smith, AA's co-founder, all the elements are in place. It's perhaps unfair that Bill W.'s story gets more attention than Bob S.'s, but, steady and conventional (once sober) are less compelling than mercurial and brilliantly insightful. If the latter gifts are more impressive, so are Bill W's weaknesses--his inability to give up the tobacco that eventually kills him, the depressions that leave him weeping publically, and the perpetual womanizing. Amazingly, he works out the Twelve Traditions that guide the organization while clinically depressed. The more successful he and AA become, the more he craves anonymity. Especially if you're unfamiliar with the practices of AA, it's instructive to see how they developed from the experiences of these two men and their cohorts. I was surprised that Bill W. had a powerful (although perhaps drug-induced) conversion but that he remained dete

This is a gripping book; I read it in a single sitting. Bill W. is a very interesting figure, and Susan Cheever tells his story in a lucid and compelling way. But the book offers more than just a biography: it also does some very sophisticated and nuanced intellectual history. I came away from the book with a much deeper understanding of the multiple roots and contexts of the twelve-step program.