*~*AACRONYMS*~*
*~*^Just For Today!^*~*
"In 1949 the American Psychiatric Association did exactly the same thing [recognizing A.A. as a valid aid for alcoholics]. I [Bill W.] read a paper at its annual meeting in Montreal. I wound up by describing the spiritual experience as we understand it in A.A. As I read, I doubted if even a handful of the audience could possibly agree with the views expressed in my paper. To my astonishment there was a sustained round of applause. But this was not at all a tribute to me or to the contents of my paper; it was instead a tribute to Alcoholics Anonymous, a tribute to a way of life which had worked for alcoholics when other approaches had failed. This generous response was evidence that our friends the psychiatrists were being much more tolerant of us than we had been of them. If we ourselves became more open-minded, then far greater co-operation with this profession would be assured.
"The Association promptly confirmed the view of its members in Montreal. My paper was carried in the American Journal of Psychiatry and we were permitted to reprint it in a pamphlet, now entitled Alcoholism the Illness.* Our standing with the psychiatric profession has increased greatly since that time.
"*Later retitled Three Talks to Medical Societies
by Bill W., this pamphlet also includes Bill's paper before the Medical
Society of the State of New York."
2001 AAWS, Inc.; Alcoholics
Anonymous Comes of Age, pg.
205
*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*