Bill W.'s Last Drink and the Birth of Alcoholics Anonymous
HISTORY This Week
The HISTORY® Channel | Back Pocket Studios
4.5 • 4.2K Ratings
🗓️ 9 December 2024
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
December 11, 1934. Bill Wilson is on the subway, working his way through his third beer, heading to Towns Hospital. He isn’t injured, and he isn’t what would be traditionally classified as “sick.” But he knows he has a problem. And he needs help.
What he doesn't know as he arrives at the hospital – with a fourth bottle of beer in his hand – is that this will be the last sip of alcohol of his life. And when he's discharged from Towns, he won't be returning. Instead, he'll go on to start the most successful alcohol treatment program in history.
How did Bill W. finally kick his addiction to alcohol? And how did his journey toward sobriety lead to the creation of Alcoholics Anonymous?
Special thanks to Bill Schaberg, author of Writing the Big Book: The Creation of AA.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey everyone, it's Sally here. As we head into the holidays, we just want to let you know that |
| 0:04.6 | history this week is not going anywhere. Episodes will keep coming every Monday, so when you |
| 0:10.3 | meet up with friends and family, you will be stalked with plenty of fun stories to share |
| 0:14.7 | from the past. If you don't already, follow History This Week, wherever you listen to your podcasts, |
| 0:19.6 | and when you are showing off everything you learned from the show, make sure to tell them you heard it from us. |
| 0:25.1 | The History Channel, Original Podcast. |
| 0:30.4 | History This Week, December 11, 1934. |
| 0:37.3 | I'm Sally Helm. |
| 0:40.6 | Bill Wilson leaves his Brooklyn apartment with six cents in his pocket. He's headed uptown |
| 0:46.7 | to a five-story Victorian building that's actually familiar to him. It's a place he's been |
| 0:52.7 | several times before. But this visit will prove to be |
| 0:56.8 | the most important. Tonight is perhaps the defining night of Bill Wilson's life. He needs |
| 1:04.7 | five cents for the subway ride. That leaves just one penny left. not enough to really buy anything. |
| 1:11.9 | But nevertheless, Wilson decides to stop in at a nearby grocery store. |
| 1:17.8 | He asked the clerk, hey, do me a favor. |
| 1:20.8 | Give me four bottles of beer. |
| 1:23.8 | I'm good for it. |
| 1:25.0 | You see, I'm an alcoholic, but I'm on my way right now to be cured. |
| 1:31.6 | This is going to be my last ever drink. |
| 1:37.0 | For that clerk, I can't imagine this would have inspired a lot of confidence. |
| 1:42.5 | After all, that's part of being an alcoholic. |
| 1:45.4 | You're sure that this drink will be the last. |
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