ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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To my parents, Frances and Louis, thank you both for everything. Dad, though you are no longer with us, you will live forever in my thoughts. To my children, Marissa and Micah, I love you both with all my heart. May you never have to go through what I went through until I finally got the message of recovery in 1975. To my sister Wendy, her husband Jeffrey and their son Jason, thank you for all your love and support. To Steven, Linda, Jonathan and William Cohen, mere words cannot express my appreciation and love. To Ernest Kurtz, Ph.D., for all your help and guidance as "mentor" on this journey into the world of writing. All the members of the Washingtonville Tuesday Night Recover Or Die Group, the best A.A. Group on the planet. To Roger Wetz who introduced me to Clarence, that debt cannot ever be repaid. To Dick B. for his assistance in helping edit my manuscript. To Joan Soveroski Brown, the love of my life and best friend - without you, the stars would be just ordinary lights in the sky.
To the dozens of other "special" people I have met as I "trudged the road," and who have helped me along the way. Some are "civilians," and some are members of A.A. You are all my friends. It would take another book to thank you all and if I have left anyone out please forgive me.
Edward R. A., Liz B., Larry B., Alan Beder, Charlie Bishop, Jr., Mary Darrah, Helen dePrado, Richard Dunn, D.D., Steve and Sue F., Marjorie H., Earl H., Bill Komisar, Gail L., Paul L., Frank Mauser, Merton M., III., Michael O'Hara, Ingrid O., Wally P., Bill Pittman, David Aaron Roth, Grace Snyder (Clarence's widow went home to be with her beloved Clarence on March 9,1998), Buddy T., Mauri Waldman, Bill White, Dan and Denise Whitmore, Lois Wilson, Sue Smith Windows and Nell Wing.
A further debt of gratitude is owed to all of the archivists, historians, researchers, collectors and members of the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous who hold A.A.'s history dear to their hearts. No acknowledgement would be complete without mentioning some of the other "friends" and "founders" of Alcoholics Anonymous: Frank N.D. Buchman, Ruth Hock, Henry G. Parkhurst, Henrietta Seiberling, Samuel M. Shoemaker, Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith, T. Henry and Clarace Williams and William G. Wilson.
Unless otherwise noted, quotes by Clarence H. Snyder were taken from a series of interviews conducted by the author with Clarence in Casselberry, Florida and New York between April 1982 through February 1984. Other quotes by Clarence H. Snyder are taken from Archival Documents, audio and/or video recorded talks or transcripts of aforementioned talks made by Clarence H. Snyder from 1962-1983. Other quotes attributed to Clarence H. Snyder are likewise noted as such.
Any quotes by Lois W. were taken from audio taped interviews conducted by the author at her home in Bedford Hills, New York on August 21, 1988. Any quotes by Nell Wing (non-alcoholic) who was Bill W.'s secretary from 1947 until his death in 1971 and A.A.'s first Archivist were taken from a series of taped and telephone interviews conducted from 1988-1992 at her home in New York City or in the A.A. Archives Office in New York City. Quotes By Sue Smith-Windows (Dr. Bob's daughter) were taken from an interview conducted in October 1988 at her home in Akron, Ohio. Quotes by Mary C. Darrah were taken from conversations either on the telephone or in person in Ohio, West Virginia or Providence, Rhode Island. Other quotes were taken from various audio taped talks and/or transcripts of talks by long-term A.A. members or from original archival materials given to the author by Clarence H. Snyder or as noted below.
The author is indebted to the following archival repositories for their assistance and for allowing him to view archival materials relating to the history of Alcoholics Anonymous:
The Archives at the New York A.A. World Services Office
The Archives at the Stepping Stones Foundation in Bedford Hills, N.Y.
The Rockefeller Archives in Tarrytown, N.Y.
The Archives at the Cleveland, Ohio A.A. Central Service Office
The Chester H. Kirk Collection on Alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous housed at the Brown University Center for Alcoholism and Addiction Studies in Providence, Rhode Island
The Providence, Rhode Island Historical Society
A.A. Archival repositories located in Arizona, Arkansas, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia
Private collections of A.A. memorabilia owned by several A.A. members throughout the United States and Canada.
This book is dedicated to Him who reigns over us all and to the thousands of alcoholics who have recovered, and will recover by His loving mercy.
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