Bill W. Meets Dr. Bob

Dr. Bob had in mind that time spent with this mug would be snappy, so he had made Henrietta promise that they would stay only 15 minutes after supper, but this notion became less compelling when Bill said something to the effect that Dr. Bob appeared to need a drink. But the 15-minute talk continued on and on till eleven o’clock!

Perhaps the prevailing factor sparking the doctor’s continued interest was that Bill’s revelations came from personal experience, unlike from other benignly motivated friends who spoke from book knowledge. Another factor would have been that Bill doubtless related Dr. Silkworth’s ideas of the physical allergy and the mental obsession . . . any true alcoholic would immediately see the truth in this concept through their own experience.

Bill’s recently enlightened method of talking with new prospects reflects lesson #2 from the earlier page of this book. Doctor Silkworth’s pointing out the necessity that Bill change his approach from preaching to personal experience, at just the right time, may well have provided another example of Dr. Carl Jung’s notion of ‘synchronicity.’

Dr. Bob had been privy to the teachings of the Oxford Group for over two years, so he obviously would not have been impressed by Bill’s new-found spiritual knowledge. Just as today, one drunk sharing his or her alcoholic experience with another alcoholic best implants the seed of hope into a newcomer’s world of doubt and confusion.

But yet, it is not beyond reason that Ebby’s miracle would have been discussed, as well as Bill’s spiritual experience at Towns Hospital. Plus, certainly, both parties would have shared a mutual interest in the Oxford Group teachings of which they were both deeply and regularly involved.

Excerpt from Pre-AA History