Nine decades ago in the middle of the Great Depression, two broken men, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith — both “raging alcoholics” — met at a time of great personal crisis for each. Bill, a Wall Street analyst, had maintained a fragile abstinence from drinking for a few months but felt suddenly at risk of relapse while on a disappointing business trip. His “epiphany” was that only by reaching out to help another alcoholic could he safeguard his own sobriety. The man he contacted (through a concerned friend), Dr. Bob, a local physician, was at that moment drunk and had passed out under the dining room table. Their actual first meeting, the following day, would lay the foundation for Alcoholics Anonymous, a remarkable service organization that has helped the lives of tens of millions of alcoholics.

AA’s basic text, known informally as “The Big Book”, has sold more 30 million copies in English alone. This audio documentary explores the history of AA’s founding in June 1935, including excerpts from films and a play reconstructing the events. We cover the development of the famous Twelve Steps of recovery, which established a blueprint for people, young and old, who are trapped in addiction – and are looking for a way out. And we hear the voices of people who participated in the astounding growth of AA into a worldwide fellowship, now operating in estimated 180 countries. We also listen to a Stanford Univ. psychiatry professor who discusses recent research validating the effectiveness of AA.

I was, in fact, a child crying in the dark. And I said as you have said… now I will do anything to get well… anything to get well.”

—Bill Wilson (known as”Bill W”), Co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous

One of the key discoveries, if you will, of Bill Wilson, and early members of Alcoholics Anonymous was that the message of recovery, which had always been delivered by professionals, or non-alcoholics, typically with little success, could be done with a much higher degree of success by one drunk talking to another drunk.”

—Bill S., Historian and AA member