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Have a great day.

Thank you, Steve.

My name is Arthur, and I am a member of Alcoholics, Anonymous.

I got to apologize a little bit.

I didn't know there was going to be readings at the beginning of this, so I brought down

the one-hour version instead of the 50-minute version.

So I'm going to try to go along at a very brisk pace and I'll forewarn anybody going out for coffee into the restrooms.

You might miss a couple of decades in your absence.

Welcome, everyone, and thank you for the opportunity to make this history presentation.

It's going to be a timeline history of AA with extra emphasis on the history of the big book.

A.A. co-founder, Bill W., published a July 1953, Great Fine article titled The Fragment of History,

describing the origin of the 12 Steps.

Bill identified the three main channels of inspiration for the 12 steps as Dr. William

D. Silkeworth, William James and the Oxford Group.

Dr. William D. Silfworth, who Bill fondly called the little doctor who loved drunks, is central to the

big book chapter, The Doctor's Opinion. He was the medical director of Towns Hospital in

1934 when Bill W sobered up there after four admissions. We'll get to Dr. Silkworth's

specific influence on the steps and the big book in just a few slides.

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