How it Work(ed)s: The Evolution of Chapter 5 in Alcoholics Anonymous

“Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our DIRECTIONS.” Heard this before? It may have been at Founders’ Day in Akron. They have someone read Chapter 5 from the original manuscript. This, unfortunately, is sometimes erroneously credited as the 1^st edition of the Big Book. It isn’t!

We don’t know what the first draft of the first chapters may have looked like – we only now know the first printed edition. Bill had about 400 copies of these printed and sent them to members and non-members professionals (doctors, religious leaders, etc.) in Akron, Cleveland, and New York with instructions to mark them up and send them back. Not everyone complied. And that’s why Akron and Cleveland AA Archives now each have one copy of the original manuscript. In New York, GSO Archives also has a clean copy plus 4-5 marked-up copies. An additional marked-up copy, the one that was presumably used by the printer in creating the 1^st Edition of the Big Book, went to Bill W’s wife, Lois W, who gave it to Barry L, a friend and confidant.

This manuscript was sold at auction for over $1 million and later, after a second auction, was used as the source for The Book That Started It All: The Original Working Manuscript for Alcoholics Anonymous. Barry had written GSO saying he wanted their archives to have it upon his demise; however, this letter was buried in the literal tons of correspondence in their archives and only recently emerged and its importance realized. The manuscript, still in private hands, was about to be again auctioned until a suit filed by our General Service Board stopped or at least delayed this sale. We cannot learn more about this while litigation is still pending. At any rate only a very few of the original 400 manuscripts are known to exist.

The comments and lively discussions ensured. Very notable was a non-member’s contribution. A New Jersey psychiatrist, Dr. Howard, strongly urged changing the “you musts” to “we did.” This changed “directions” in the first sentence to “path” and many other directives like “You must find Him now!” to “May you find Him now.” Even before this manuscript publication another contentious point had been resolved. Fitz M, son of a minister, wanted an even more deeply Christian book. Hank P, Bill’s partner, together with Jim B wanted less of the “God stuff.” The compromise was to put “as we understand Him” after the word “God.”

Bill had taken the basic six principles garnered in large part from the Oxford Group, AA’s precursor, and expanded them to twelve. These steps too got modified. “Care and direction of God” in step 3 had “and direction” removed. Step 7 was “Humbly on our knees, asked Him to remove our shortcomings – holding nothing back” and got greatly shortened. Step 11 had the “as we understand Him” added. Step twelve’s “as the result of this course of action, we tried to carry this message to others, especially alcoholics” became “as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics”

We weren’t quite done with the steps even after the first printing of the first edition of the Big Book. We soon realized that many (most?) of us had not had a spiritual experience like Bill W’s “blinding white light” event but rather came to spirituality in a longer duration awakening. So those two words were exchanged in the 12^th step and an appendix titled “Spiritual Experience” added to the book.

The point is that the chapter evolved through the actions of many hands and hearts. This and other parts of the Big Book did not suddenly come down from on high. Many in the Fellowship believe this chapter to be divinely inspired which, if true, came as a result of God as we understand Him expressing Himself in so many of our group consciences over time.

By Bob M.