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Book on what early AAs did to achieve cure of their alcoholism Oct 19, 2011
By Dick B.
"Dick B."
Among AAs there have been two major ideas about whether alcoholism can be cured and is curable.
Many in A.A. today point to a statement about cure that is in a part of A.A.'s Big Book text. The most commonly cited statement is on page 85 of the 4th edition of "Alcoholics Anonymous." The text says, "We are not cured of alcoholism."
According to a footnote in DR. BOB and the Good Oldtimers, the word "cured" had been discarded on the assumption that early AAs had been misled.Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers: A Biography, With Recollections of Early A.A. in the Midwest/B-8 But the statment does not hold up if one considers the many places in A.A.'s long history where AAs have declared all over the United States that they were cured by the power of God. See Dick B., God and Alcoholism - God and Alcoholism: Our Growing Opportunity in the 21st Century; Dick B., Cured! Cured! Proven Help for Alcoholics and Addicts. And Richard K. of Massachusetts purchased a scrap book of news articles, columns, and magazine statements about the cures. His book is titled "So You Think Drunks Can't Be Cured." The scrap book is on sale at A.A. General Services in New York, where Richard bought it.
More significantly. Bill Wilson stated (and the statement is in the 2001 edition of the Big Book) that the Lord had been so wonderful to him curing him of his terrible disease. Dr. Bob's story in the same edition twice refers to Dr. Bob's view that he had been cured. And A.A. Number Three endorsed the same view. Later, Clarence Snyder, who founded Cleveland A.A. in 1939 said that he was cured. And, in a large meeting with the Rockefeller people and with the A.A. leaders from New York and Akron, Dr. William D. Silkworth told of how the alcoholics he had treated were "permanently cured."
I have found vehement denial at meetings where the "cure" is mentioned. And this book, When Early AAs Were Cured and Why lays out the things that early AAs did that established how they were cured.
Probably the argument will not end until A.A. finally relents and removes the statement of the Co-Founders and A.A. Number Three, or removes Wilson's johnny-come-lately addition to the Big Book claiming there is no cure.
Most of us who have achieved long-term sobriety, who have "worked" the A.A. program, and who have relied on God for healing are quite convinced that-- in the terms of the Big Book, God has restored us to sanity; and the "problem" has been removed.
Taken together, these resources will enable the reader to form his own view, based on the evidence there is.
Recipe for cure of alcoholism & addictions with God's power Apr 17, 2008
By Daxton Lyon
How often I have heard and read among AAs, from people emerging from treatment or from prison or from therapy that there is no cure for alcoholism. This is very very strange. I had become acquainted with Dick B. and learned from him that all the early AAs had been cured of alcoholism, that they all said so, that his historical research showed that Bill Wilson, Dr. Bob, and A.A. Number Three had joined other pioneers in rejoicing that God had cured them of their "terrible disease." Can He? Of course He can. And early AAs said so and believed so. Consequently I have relished each of Dick B.'s later books that have explored, documented, and demolished the fatalistic, secular view that persists today. Alcoholism can be, was, and has been cured by the power of God. I'm a Marine vet, and I'm not powerless over alcohol or drugs for the simple reason that I do not use them and rely on the Creator to guide me, strengthen me, and heal me and show me His way out of temptation. That's power! And God's kids have it. This book shows that early AAs believed the same thing, got well, and frequently recorded their cures. The book is a must read for those who want to overcome the perpetual sickness and perennial relapse theories that are killing recovery today.
A Book Stuffed Full of Hope for Healing - from historical fact Nov 15, 2006
By John Albert Hill Jr.
"Bible student in recovery"
I don't think anyone was more surprised than Dick B. and some of his colleagues who were researching with and for him and speaking at some of his history conferences. There had always been the curious "There is no cure for alcoholism." But where did this negative come from? It was so unusual that the A.A. book Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers wrote a footnote that explained that the original writers and founders had been mislead and had mistakenly used such terms as "cured" and "ex-alcoholic." And it let the matter go at that. And so for at least 25 years, today's AAs have naively swallowed this undocumented nonsense and wandered from awakenings to experiences to daily reprieves and to personality change to explain the object of A.A. and its Steps. But that's not A.A. history. It's belated revisionism. The facts and the conclusion are simple: Alcoholism can be cured. God can cure alcoholics. God has cured alcoholics. And God will cure those alcoholics who believe and seek help.
Three or four years ago, the truth burst on the scene--after years of darkness. Author Richard K. went to A.A. General Services and purchased the huge scrapbook that contains uncontradicted documented newspaper and magazine accounts of more than a decade of early A.A. publicity on cure. Then we all woke up. Dr. Bob had said he was cured, and he said it as he and Bill W. were hospitalizing A.A. Number Three. A.A. Number Three and Bill Wilson both said on what has become page 191 of the Big Book that the Lord had cured them of their terrible disease. Over and over the affirmations that God can heal were repeated. And that's the fact. Healings by religious means were so well known that Dr. Carl Jung, Professor William James, and Dr. William Silkworth all commented extensively on the cure of alcoholism by conversion and the work of the Great Physician. And Dick set to work revamping his research. He put his focus on what was said and done about healing. He first wrote Cured. Then he wrote Why Early A.A. Succeeded. Then he wrote this book. And a knowledge of all is essential if you want to know what God really did and still can do for the alcoholic who still suffers. You'll catch flak from the ignorant when you start talking about cure. Treatment centers won't welcome the assertion. Nor therapists. Nor insurance companies. Nor government grant seekers. Keep them sick. Keep them coming back. And keep up the search for drugs or therapy or some magic that will stop the alcoholic from drinking. That's the foundation. But the Bible foundation is far stronger. The verses, the accounts, and the testimonies are all stuffed into Dick's book. And you won't even have half your armor on for the verbal battle until you buckle up your chin straps and read the truth.
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