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
