Anne Smith's Journal, 1933-1939: A.A.'s Principles of Success [Perfect Paperback]

Dick B. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 1998

Anne Ripley Smith was the wife of A.A. co-founder Dr. Bob. She compiled and shared with early AAs and their families the materials comprising early A.A.'s spiritual program--the Bible, Quiet Time, the teachings of Sam Shoemaker, the principles of the Oxford Group, and Christian literature of the day. This priceless source of information about where A.A. came from, what it did in the early days, and what its ideas mean has been presented concisely and thoroughly by author Dick B. This is the third edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Undoubtedly the most forgotten, least quoted, and least understood of early A.A.'s six major spiritual roots is Anne Smith's Journal. Anne Ripley Smith was the wife of A.A.'s co-founder Dr. Bob. She was called by A.A.'s other co-founder Bill Wilson a "founder" of A.A. and the "Mother of A.A.." It was she who read the Bible daily to Dr. Bob and Bill during the summer of 1935 when Bill was living with the Smiths and the spiritual recovery principles of A.A. were being developed. It was she, beginning in 1933, who recorded the basic ideas from the Bible, the Oxford Group's life-changing program, the Quiet Time practices, the Christian literature, and the practical ideas for depending upon God that became part and parcel of the A.A. Twelve Steps and A.A.'s Fellowship. Anne assembled these in her journal from 1933 to 1939. She read from this journal and used it as a basis for discussion from A.A.'s earliest Quiet Time days at the Smith home in Akron. Anne was declared to be the one who gave Bill W. and Dr. Bob a much needed "spiritual infusion." She attended all pioneer meetings. She acted as house-mother, nurse, evangelist, counselor, and employment agent for A.A. pioneers and their families. To know what Anne Smith wrote and was teaching is to know the real heart of early A.A.'s spiritual ideas and program. It was a program that put God and His Word first!

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Paradise Research Publications, Inc.; 3rd edition (December 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885803249
• ISBN-13: 978-1885803245
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #312,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm an active, recovered member of Alcoholics Anonymous. I use the pen name Dick B. to conform to A.A. Traditions. I am also a writer, an historian, a Christian, a Bible student, a certified CDAAC, a retired attorney, and A.A. with over 25 years of continuous sobriety. As of October, 2011, I had, for more than 21 years, been researching the roots of early A.A. in the Bible, United Christian Endeavor, the Salvation Army, the Rescue Missions, the Young Men's Christian Association, the evangelists of the 1800's, the life-changing program of the Oxford Group, the teachings of Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Quiet Time, the teachings of Anne Ripley Smith (Dr. Bob's wife), and the roles of William James, Carl Jung, Richard Peabody, New Thought writers, William D. Silkworth, Christian literature and devotionals of the day. And published 42 titles and over 675 articles on all aspects of A.A.'s spiritual history, biblical roots, and astonishing successes in the 1930's and very early 1940's. And why? Because many in the 12 Step Fellowships tire of hearing about a 'higher power' that can be a tree, a radiator, a lightbulb, the group, or Gertrude. And they tire of seeing Biblical expressions in A.A.'s basic text and early literature and yet hearing today's literature stating that A.A. is 'spiritual, but not religious' when outsiders and the courts readily see its religious character and many therefore believe they should be able to learn A.A. Christian roots. And they tire of the fatalism that abounds in recovery writings and talk today. So I decided to find out where A.A. came from, and then pass on to the 100 plus men I have sponsored, the truth about A.A.'s roots. Currently and still today, one history after another appears in print and purports to talk about A.A.'s beginnings. Yet there is little or no mention of the Bible, of God, of Jesus Christ, of Divine healing, of redemptive forgiveness, or of deliverance from the power of darkness. Nonetheless, these unmentioned or little mentioned Christian elements were relied upon by early AAs for their astonishing recoveries. The fact is that they declared they were cured by the power of God and had a documented 75 to 93% success rate among seemingly hopeless, medically incurable, alcoholics who gave the program their best shot. So each of my 42 published titles and innumerable articles cover some aspect, and often more than one, of A.A.'s seven major Biblical and basic roots: (1) The Bible. (2) Quiet Time and the daily devotionals. (3) The teachings of Rev. Sam Shoemaker, Jr. (4) The life-changing program of the Oxford Group. (5) The details in the spiritual journal kept by Anne Ripley Smith (co-founder DR. Bob's wife) and shared with the pioneers and their families, but unmentioned today. (6) The extensive Christian literature ranging from St. Augustine to Brother Lawrence to Henry Drummond to John Mott to Harry Emerson Fosdick to Glenn Clark to Oswald Chambers, and a host of others. (7) One of the most recent finds has been the roots of Akron A.A. in the United Christian Endeavor Society. If one wants to understand the role, power, and love of God our Creator in A.A. today, that person will not accomplish much in the meetings, nor even in the "something" or "somebody" definitions that are pumped out today as a "power" to seek. Nonetheless, they can find accurate facts in my thoroughly researched and documented work of the past 21 years. For A.A. history abounds with truths from the Bible: how to come to God through His son Jesus Christ, how to be healed, how to comport yourself in accordance with Christian principles, how to pray, and how to receive guidance as one of God's kids. It's all there; and I welcome your comments and the many I receive each day. There's still plenty to learn and pass on. God Bless, Dick B. PS: Many of our latest findings are in The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., 2010 www.dickb.com/Christian-Recov-Guide.shtml. Many are frequently posted on my blog www.mauihistorian.blogspot.com, as well as my facebook and twitter entries

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Anne Smith's Journal?, September 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Anne Smith's Journal, 1933-1939: A.A.'s Principles of Success (Perfect Paperback)

This book was well written and documented. It has much historical and spiritual value. My disappointment in the book was that it did not contain the contents of Anne Smith's Journal as a whole. It is an editorialized document written about Anne Smith's Journal, much in the form of a term paper. I did enjoy reading the excerpts from her journal and would have liked to read it for myself. One gets the sense of who and what Anne Smith was from this book, however the total effect is broken up by the many outside points and notations. I would like to see a copy of the original journal as a part of this book. I think that this would complete the work. I understand that the journal by itself is not a complete document. The combination of the two would be a excellant resource for spiritual growth and AA history.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top History in Anne Smith Journal, December 5, 2000

By 

John Hill IV (Henderson, NV (USA)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anne Smith's Journal, 1933-1939: A.A.'s Principles of Success (Perfect Paperback)

Dick B. here presents part of his ten years of research on early A.A. history. But the Anne Smith contribution is tops because the material is unavailable elsewhere. The original copy was obtained from A.A. with support of Dr. Bob's daughter and consent of Trustees. But it can't be seen or republished.That's the top value of this history. On careful reading, I found that the order of presentation is that of the relation of the Twelve Steps to Anne's writing in her journal as the early years moved on. It's been a lost treasure. Dick was the historian who brought it to light as a real resource for understanding the Alcoholics Anonymous roots. Good for reading. Good for understanding. Good for Christians like me.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anne Smith, wife of A.A.'s Dr. Bob, Mother of A.A., an A.A. Cofounder - the details, April 16, 2008

By 

Daxton Lyon (Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anne Smith's Journal, 1933-1939: A.A.'s Principles of Success (Perfect Paperback)

I know how much it meant to be when he located and acquired this important historical A.A. treasure. With the help of Dr. Bob's daughter (Sue Smith Windows), A.A.'s archivist (Frank Mauser), and Nell Wing, Dick was able to procure from the A.A. Archives in New York, the 64 page, partly handwritten, partly typewritten book kept by Anne Smith from 1933 to 1939. There was nothing like it. It spoke in detail about what the A.A. pioneers read, did, and believed. She said the Bible ought to be the main Source book of all. She recommended books on love, life-changing, and Christian life. She detailed the 28 Oxford Group ideas that Dick found to have been influential on AAs. She spoke simply and eloquently about how to pray to God, what to study in the Bible, how to apply the Oxford Group principles, how to help drunks, and so on. Later, Bill discovered from eye witnesses that Anne had shared the contents of this journal during morning Quiet Times at the Smith home. She did this during Wilson's stay in the summer of 1935; and she imbued them all with the richness of her faith, the extent of her love, and the availability of God for help, strength, healing, forgiveness, and love. One verse she quoted quite often was "God is love," from 1 John 4:8. This is a lady the ladies should get to know to see the importance of the women who helped early AAs. This is the lady that all AAs, men and women, should get to know in order to see how simple the principles and practices were that Bill Wilson was to embody in his Big Book and Twelve Steps. The original manuscript has never been published to date--and for a variety of reasons. But this is a readable, manageable, inspiring "must read" for people recovered and still in recovery. Especially for believers, Bible students, and teachers.