13 Facts About Bill W

Bill W was born at his parents' home and business, the Mount Aeolus Inn and Tavern.

Bill W's paternal grandfather, William C Wilson, was an alcoholic.

Bill W dealt with a serious bout of depression at the age of seventeen, following the death of his first love, Bertha Bamford, who died of complications from surgery.

Bill W entered Norwich University, but depression and panic attacks forced him to leave during his second semester.

Bill W failed to graduate from law school because he was too drunk to pick up his diploma.

Bill W was eventually told that he would either die from his alcoholism or have to be locked up permanently due to Wernicke encephalopathy.

Bill W never drank again for the remainder of his life.

Bill W called phone numbers in a church directory and eventually secured an introduction to Bob Smith, an alcoholic Oxford Group member.

Bill W incorporated the principles of nine of the Twelve Traditions, in his foreword to the original edition; later, Traditions One, Two, and Ten were clearly specified when all twelve statements were published.

Bill W continued to smoke while dependent on an oxygen tank in the late 1960s.

Bill W judged that the reports were traceable to a single person, Tom Powers, a formerly close friend of Wilson's with whom he had a falling-out in the mid-1950s.

Bill W thought he might have found something that could make a big difference to the lives of many who still suffered.

Bill W was depicted in a 2010 TV movie based on Lois' life, When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story, adapted from a 2005 book of the same name written by William G Borchert.