August 11

August 11 – AM

Page 19, There Is A Solution, Chapter 2

None of us makes a sole vocation of this work, nor do we think its effectiveness would be increased if we did.  We feel that elimination of our drinking is but a beginning. A much more important demonstration of our principles lies before us in our respective homes, occupations and affairs.  All of us spend much of our spare time in the sort of effort which we are going to describe.  A few are fortunate enough to be so situated that they can give nearly all their time to the work.

August 11 – PM

Page 5, Bill’s Story, Chapter 1

Liquor ceased to be a luxury; it became a necessity.  “Bathtub” gin, two bottles a day, and often three, got to be routine.  Sometimes a small deal would net a few hundred dollars, and I would pay my bills at the bars and delicatessens.  This went on endlessly, and I began to waken very early in the morning shaking violently.  A tumbler full of gin followed by half a dozen bottles of beer would be required if I were to eat any breakfast.  Nevertheless, I still thought I could control the situation, and there were periods of sobriety which renewed my wife’s hope.

Gradually things got worse.  The house was taken over by the mortgage holder, my mother-in-law died, my wife and father-in-law became ill.

Then I got a promising business opportunity.  Stocks were at the low point of 1932, and I had somehow formed a group to buy.  I was to share generously in the profits.  Then I went on a prodigious bender, and the chance vanished.