E111: Pt 1 of 2 - The Story of Writing the Big Book Is More Amazing Than You Ever Knew With Bill Schaberg, Author of Writing the Big Book
Episode description
Bill Schaberg has arguably written the definitive history of how the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous was written. Bill produced “Writing The Big Book,” and his wife calls it, “the other big book,” because it’s 650 pages, before the appendixes. Bill completed the book after 7 years of research from the source material. Bill is a rare book collector and seller and it all started with his purchase of Jim Burwell’s copy of the multilith copy of the original Big Book.
In Part 1 of the interview with Bill Schaberg, we discuss:
- The genesis of the why he wrote the book
- Bill W’s realization of why a book was written
- Bill W’s original plan to help alcoholics recover
- Hank Pankhurst - the founder that drank and how there would be no Big Book without him
- The Oxford Group - how the originals got sober
- Bill Schaberg’s controversial take on who should be on the AA Mount Rushmore
Check out Bill Schaberg's site writingthebigbook.com where you can pick up his book, Writing the Big Book.
Learn more about Hank Parkhurst at hankparkhurst.com
📫 Get more honest conversations about sobriety delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to The Sober Friends Dispatch, our weekly newsletter where we go beyond the podcast to share real strategies for alcohol-free living. Join our community by clicking here.