Women Pioneers in 12 Step Recovery

by Hunter, Charlotte; Jones, Billye; Zieger, Joan; Hazelden Foundation

• ISBN13: 9781568381633
• ISBN10: 1568381638
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-10-01
• Publisher: Hazelden

Summary

For some reason, we alcoholics seem to have the gift of picking out the world's finest women. So said Alcoholics Anonymous cofounder Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith (better known to millions of AA's as Dr. Bob). Speaking directly to his wife Anne, Dr. Bob was also indirectly addressing the extraordinary role played by women in the beginning, growth, and continuing strength of Alcoholics Anonymous. This book profiles some of these remarkable women--women like Anne Smith herself, generally credited with being the first to recognize and foster the spiritual force that passed between Bill W. And Dr. Bob, later embodied in the Twelve Steps; the beloved Lois Wilson, wife of AA cofounder Bill Wilson and herself the founder of Al-Anon; Nancy O'D., one of the first women to sober up in AA in the New York area; and Ruth Hock, the devoted, indefatigable, and often unpaid contributor to the preparations for the publication of the book Alcoholics Anonymous. Here we see the challenges these women and others faced, as well as the feats of character and flashes of genius that carried them through. A look into the lives of these women, full of the spirit and faith underlying their unique accomplishments, this book is also a tribute to their incalculable contributions to the success of the Twelve Step recovery program.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Note to the Reader	p. ix
Introduction	p. xi
Anne Smith	p. 1
Henrietta Seiberling	p. 25
Sister Ignatia	p. 43
Lois Wilson	p. 53
Ruth Hock	p. 75
Nell Wing	p. 91
Sybil C.	p. 105
Ester Elasardi	p. 121
Eve M.	p. 131
Geraldine Owen D.	p. 155
Nancy O'D.	p. 167
Marcelene W.	p. 177
Arbutus O'N.	p. 189
Barbara D.	p. 213
Dorothy Riggs M.	p. 229
Dr. Joan K. Jackson	p. 239
Betty Ford	p. 247
Mary Jane Hanley	p. 257
The International Alcoholics Anonymous Women's Conference (IAAWC): The Language of the Heart	p. 281
In Memory of Marty Mann	p. 303
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