Anne's work with early wives was so effective that in 1938 during the preparation of the manuscript for Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill Wilson wrote these words to Dr. Bob:
My own feeling is that Anne should do the one [chapter] portraying the wife of an alcoholic.
Anne, however, declined the honor, possibly in deference to the feelings of Bill's nonalcoholic wife, Lois. In fact, a comparison of the Akron and New York records shows a discrepancy as to the actual authorship of the chapter "To Wives."
Akron records state that the chapter was written by Akron's Marie B., wife of Walt B., who first joined the fellowship in September 1935. (Late, Walter relapsed and became the first officially registered alcoholic patient whom Dr. Bob and Sister Ignatia hospitalized at St. Thomas in August 1939). However, of the chapter's actual authorship Lois recalled:
Bill wrote it and I was mad. I wasn't so much mad as hurt. I still don't know why Bill wrote it. I've never really gotten into it--why he insisted upon writing it. I said to him, "Well, do you want me to write it?" And he said no, he thought it should be in the same style as the rest of the book.
Bill found himself in a dilemma over the authorship of "To Wives" for three reasons: his suggestion to Dr. Bob that Anne write the chapter; his own wife's strong feelings that she should write it; and the sensitive relationships between Akronites and New Yorkers that arose during the writing of the book. He attempted to cover all the bases by accepting Marie B.'s version. This he revised for the obvious reason explained to Lois-- that the finished book needed continuity in his own literary style and form. His explanation seemed to solve A.A.'s problems and salved the hurt feelings at home.
page 121, paragraph 8 & page 122, paragraphs 1-3
SISTER IGNATIA, by Mary C. Darrah