June 14 in A.A. History

In 1940, The Evening Star of Washington, D.C. published “the second article in a series on Alcoholics Anonymous, national brotherhood of recovered alcoholics,” titled “Clergymen Discover the Efficacy of A.A. in Curing Drunks” [left]. It read, in part,

    Progress of Alcoholics Anonymous during the past 18 months, especially in many larger cities of the Nation, has attracted the interest of leaders in religion and medicine. They have studied closely this movement that originated in New York City five years ago. They have sought to determine how, in so many cases, the Double A’s [sic] have succeeded in straightening out drunks where other formulas have failed.

In 1946, The March of Time newsreel service released “Problem Drinkers” [right: screen capture], a documentary on alcoholism that prominently featured Alcoholics Anonymous. These shorts were widely distributed and often shown in movie theaters before the main attraction.

In 1954, in a letter to Bernard Smith, Chair of the Alcoholic Foundation/General Service Board, Bill W. shared his thoughts on the upcoming second edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, set to be published in 1955. His comments included:

    The story section of the Big Book is far more important than most of us think. It is our principal means of identifying with the reader outside of A.A.; it is the written equivalent of hearing speakers at an AA meeting; it is our show window of results. To increase the power and variety of this display to the utmost should be, therefore, no routine or hurried job.
    The best will be none too good. The difference between “good” and “excellent” can be the difference between prolonged misery and recovery, between life and death, for the reader outside A. A.
    The main purpose of the revision is to bring the story section up-to-date, to portray more adequately a cross-section of those who have found help. The audience for the book is people who are coming to Alcoholics Anonymous now. Those who are here have already heard our stories. Since the audience for the book is likely to be newcomers, anything from the point of view of content or style that might offend or alienate those who are not familiar with the program should be carefully eliminated.

Bill also outlined several “Basic Editorial Approaches” that remain relevant today, more than 70 years later. These included:

1.  The desire to reproduce realistic stories should not be overemphasized to the extent of producing an unrealistic book.… There should be no shrinking from the job of editing ruthlessly if such editing will preserve the story, without the realism.
2.  Profanity, even when mild, rarely contributes as much as it detracts. It should be avoided.
3. All minor geographic references should be avoided.
4. The stories should be organized coherently, either in terms of chronology or of the specific points the individual is trying to make.
5. “Selling” or other “gimmicks”—editorial and otherwise—should be avoided. The story section is not a popular magazine. The appearance and approach should be straightforward, without frills.
6. Humor should stem from the character of the storyteller and of the situations he describes, not be the result of gags.
7. The end results of editing should be that the stories will be suitable for reading aloud—at closed meetings, etc.—without embarrassment.