Help Folks Learn and Pass Along

the Major Source of A,A,’s 12 Steps as Detailed in New Light on Alcoholism

Message One: About A.A.’s “Cofounder,” Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr.

Point No. 1: In an A.A. General Service Conference-approved book, Bill Wilson is quoted as follows:

Having now accounted for AA’s Steps One and Twelve, it is natural that we should ask, “Where did the early AAs find the material for the remaining ten Steps? Where did we learn about moral inventory, amends for harm done, turning wills and lives over to God? Where did we learn about meditation and prayer and all the rest of it?”

The spiritual substance of our remaining ten Steps came straight from Dr. Bob’s and my own earlier association with the Oxford Groups, as they were then led in America by that Episcopal rector, Dr. Samuel Shoemaker.

Point No. 2: So you’d like . . . to learn about A.A. “cofounder” Rev. Sam Shoemaker of New York?

Bill Wilson specifically wrote to Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Jr., rector of Calvary Episcopal Church in New York, and dubbed Sam a "co-founder of A.A." The cofounder name had previously been limited to Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. But there was good reason for Bill's remarks. And as the years rolled on, Bill spilled out more and more about what he and Sam Shoemaker had done, what Shoemaker had taught him, and how Shoemaker's teachings produced the heart of A.A.'s Twelve Steps. In fact, Bill had asked Shoemaker to write the Twelve Steps, but Sam declined in favor of Bill's being the author.

Many years of research involving Shoemaker's wife and two daughters, trips to Shoemaker's two churches in New York and Pittsburgh, trips to Hartford Seminary, trips to Princeton where Shoemaker was YMCA secretary and was a graduate, interviews with Shoemaker's close friends James and Eleanor Newton and Mrs. W. Irving Harris, review of Sam's personal journals, the reading of almost every book and article Shoemaker wrote, and an extended research trip to the Archives of the Episcopal Church Archives in Austin, Texas, have all contributed to a clear understanding of just how important Sam Shoemaker was to the A.A. movement.

And at least three of my titles contain comprehensive details, biographical material, archival material, A.A. literature and records, Shoemaker correspondence, and priceless personal journal references.

The first is New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker, and Alcoholics Anonymous, 2d ed. (http://dickb.com/newlight.shtml). Over 670 pages of documented information about Sam and A.A.

The second is Good Morning!: Quiet Time, Morning Watch, Meditation, and Early A.A. (http://dickb.com/goodmorn.shtml). The title of my book comes from Sam Shoemaker's first radio program by that name in which he explained morning meditation.

The third is Turning Point: A History of Early A.A. Spiritual Roots and Successes (http://dickb.com/turning.shtml). The most comprehensive review ever written about A.A.'s six major Biblical sources and authors. A landmark in A.A. historical writing.

Add to these three the massive annotated bibliography of all the books, articles, pamphlets, and manuscripts that formed the basis for A.A. ideas, principles, practices, and biblical basics: Making Known the Biblical History and Roots of Alcoholics Anonymous: A 16-Year Research, Writing, Publishing, and Fact-Dissemination Project (http://dickb.com/makingknown.shtml).

Point No. 3: To introduce you and others to the very important role Sam Shoemaker played in the development of Alcoholics Anonymous, we would like to make available the following special offer good through November 15, 2008: You may purchase a box of 16 new copies of New Light on Alcoholism: God, Sam Shoemaker, and A.A. for the price of only $10.00 per book, plus $25.00 for Shipping and Handling: Total = $185.00. You could distribute these books yourself to friends and acquaintances or let us distribute them on your behalf (with recognition or anonymously) to people who would benefit from having one or more copies of this important book.

If you would like to take advantage of this special offer, by November 15, 2008, please send your check or money order payable to “Dick B.”, along with your name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address--or your credit card information [account number, expiration date, billing address and telephone number associated with the card, shipping address (if different from the billing address), and email address]--to Dick B., PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837. We’ll send you this box by U.S. Postal Service Media Mail immediately.