The Hard Times That Birthed the Fellowship – Gail L.

About This Speaker Tape

Akron, Ohio, the rubber capital of the world. A half-gallon of wine, a can of beer, and a cigarette in hand—that is the qualifying picture of Gail L. before the wreckage stopped. A retired school teacher and historian, Gail traces the "slender threads" that bound the early days of the fellowship, from the high-society parlors of the Seiberlings to the boardroom of the Rockefellers.

She speaks of the "alcoholic squad" and the "drunk squad," men who were "shaken" and could not sit still for the quiet guidance of the Oxford Group. Gail describes a world of "down-and-uppers" where the only yardsticks were the Four Absolutes: honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love. From a surrender in a train car to the "flying blind" period before the Big Book, she captures the gritty reality of early sobriety—the "pussy footing" and the failures. It is a history of low-bottom drunks in fancy chairs, relying on a Higher Power to keep the message from getting garbled.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Gail L. opens with photos of her drinking days and her sobriety date: May 13, 1978.
• 5:15 Discussion of the early archives and the struggle to reconcile the Traditions with the desire to own property.
• 12:40 The 'Four Absolutes' (Honesty, Purity, Unselfishness, Love) and how they served as the yardstick in Akron.
• 18:20 The story of Bill W. calling Reverend Tunks and the 'slender threads' leading to the meeting with Dr. Bob.
• 25:10 The 'Alcoholic Squad' in Akron and the 'Drunk Squad' in New York; the early days of 'flying blind' without literature.
• 32:45 Laughter: The 'unholy' way the Big Book was funded, including the 'racket' of selling stock to other drunks.
• 41:10 The development of the 12 Steps and the conflict between the 'Higher Power-bitten' religious and the agnostics.
• 52:30 The failure of the Gabriel Heater radio broadcast and the 'twelve postcards' in the post office box.
• 58:15 The Rockefeller dinner and the decision to keep the program a work of goodwill rather than a funded foundation.