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This story is one of only a handful of stories from the First Edition of the Big Book that was retained for the Second Edition. It’s about Joe D., an original member of the Akron Group, sometimes referred to AA number 5.
As was the case with a number of stories in the First Edition of the Big Book, Bill W. found it surprisingly difficult to obtain written stories from among the earliest members of Alcoholics Anonymous. Those that were received often needed major re-writing. So, in 1938 and early 1939, Bill and Dr. Bob asked Jim S., a member of the Akron Group to interview reluctant story-tellers and ghost-write their personal stories. Jim was newspaper man of considerable talent and repute. It is said that his involvement in listening to and then ghost writing the Akron stories, got the job done and helped keep Jim stay sober at the same time. Incidentally, Bill W. later noted that Jim’s ghost writing was responsible for at least a dozen First Edition stories submitted from Akron.
With regard to The European Drinker, Jim sat down with Joe D. to hear a recitation of his story, only to find that Joe was a somewhat reluctant story-teller. Many years later, Jim referred to Joe D., as an example of how difficult it was to drag enough material out of his fellow AAs to create an engaging story for the Big Book. So though this is Joe D’s story, we have Jim S. to thank for its readability.
This story was printed in the First through Third Editions of the Big Book, but not in the Fourth Edition. If you listen to the First Edition version from an earlier episode, and then listen to this version, you’ll notice that the story was significantly edited and shortened for the Second Edition. True to the spirit of the Big Book Podcast, this story is presented exactly as published in the Second Edition.
Howard L, sober since January 1, 1988, presents this inspired reading of the Big Book and encourages listeners to revisit earlier podcast episodes that feature the main chapters and stories in the First Edition of the Big Book. Enjoy listening on our website, BigBookPodcast.com, or download and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a minute, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also join our facebook group, Big Book Podcast Listeners, where you can share your thoughts and experiences with fellow listeners.