In 1941, Ruth Hock learns that Joseph Hooker W., Jr. had a “wet brain.”*
Joe was an early member of New York City A.A., referred to by Bill W. as “our
first literary light”—a former writer for Metropolitan Magazine† [right: Sep 1917 cover]—who was “recently scraped out of the Bowery.” He is sometimes credited‡
with coining the title Alcoholics Anonymous, inspired by members’ habit of
calling themselves “a nameless bunch of drunks” around October 1938. According
to Bill, he made “a burning issue” of it but remained sober only “on and
off.”
* Known more formally as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, this condition is caused by chronic alcohol intake, resulting in a deficiency of vitamin B1—thiamine—and reduced enzyme activity. Contributing factors include inadequate dietary intake, malabsorption of B1 from the gastrointestinal tract, and impaired utilization of B1 in cells. Without B1, the brain cannot process glucose, depriving it of energy and function.
† There is no evidence that, as some have speculated, he was a founder of Metropolitan Magazine or a founder and writer for The New Yorker.
‡ Schaberg identifies the first week of June 1938 as the “likely” earliest documented use of the term “Alcoholics Anonymous,” referring to both the name of the group and the title of the book, as well as any other applications they could think up. The term appears in Bill W.’s first draft of “There Is A Solution” and in Hank P.’s handwritten notes for the book, both written in early June. Lois W. dated the first use to June 15, 1938. Additionally, in a letter dated 24 June 1938, to Albert Scott, Frank Amos—both future Trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation—used the term.
* Known more formally as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, this condition is caused by chronic alcohol intake, resulting in a deficiency of vitamin B1—thiamine—and reduced enzyme activity. Contributing factors include inadequate dietary intake, malabsorption of B1 from the gastrointestinal tract, and impaired utilization of B1 in cells. Without B1, the brain cannot process glucose, depriving it of energy and function.
† There is no evidence that, as some have speculated, he was a founder of Metropolitan Magazine or a founder and writer for The New Yorker.
‡ Schaberg identifies the first week of June 1938 as the “likely” earliest documented use of the term “Alcoholics Anonymous,” referring to both the name of the group and the title of the book, as well as any other applications they could think up. The term appears in Bill W.’s first draft of “There Is A Solution” and in Hank P.’s handwritten notes for the book, both written in early June. Lois W. dated the first use to June 15, 1938. Additionally, in a letter dated 24 June 1938, to Albert Scott, Frank Amos—both future Trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation—used the term.
Today in A.A. History—May 16–19
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