reasons you will soon discover -— is alive and happy and is probably a
better
and
more popular doctor than ever before. What save his life and reputation?
What
force made him into a new man?
It was simply religion, brought home to him in a way he could use it. Simply
the new habit of living his religion, and the discovery that he could
utilize
the power of prayer.
We used to see Dr. X around a lot. He was cheery, straightforward, friendly,
and successful. His field was a particularly intricate form of surgery and
he
did well at it.
Then for quite a while we missed him. I saw his wife now and then, and
noticed—even a man can things like that—that she seemed a little shabby
and not
especially happy.
We began to hear ugly rumors. That's bad for any doctor. We heard he was
losing
his practice. When a doctor begins drinking, not many people are willing to
trust their own lives to his skill with a knife.
Last year I met Dr. X for the first time in several years. He was a new Dr.
X.
Straight as an Indian. Clean eyes. An honest I-can-lick-the-world- look in
his
face. He gripped my hand in a vise and said hello in a way that gave you
something to tie to.
We were at a party. Someone offered Dr. X a drink. Then I remembered what
had
happened to him and wondered what he would do.
"I don't drink" he said evenly. "Some men can take a drink or two drinks and
stop. I can't . I had that ability once, but not now. If I'd take as much as
a
swallow of alcohol now, I'd disappear-and you wouldn't see me for three
weeks."
From him and others I got his whole story, a bit here, a bit there. Here it
is.
He had been drinking for longer than anyone but his wife suspected. For a
while
he was able to keep the matter a secret. But he missed a couple of
appointments
and got into some trouble. First his competitors knew it. Then his friends
around the hospital got wise. Finally even his oldest patients began to
leave
him.
He had always been dignified and aloof, and when he was straight you
hesitated
to go up to him and tell him he was drinking too much. Usually he drank
alone,
silently, hungrily, in a sodden fashion of one who wants to forget. Just a
deadly, steady sopping up of the poison. It was ghastly. In his saner
moments he
must have known the way he was headed. But a stubborn pride-and pride pf the
sort in a wayward person is a terrible thing- held him from seeking help.
Finally a friend he trusted got him to attend a little meeting in a living
room
one evening. It was a simple affair. Not dress-up at all. Here was a factory
foreman who looked happier than almost anybody in town. When the time came
to
talk he told how he had been cured of drunkenness by prayer. His wife told
how
unbelievably happy their life was now. They didn't have much money-you could
see
that-but they had something that money alone had never brought them. They
had
love and self respect, and they had each other.
Dr. X was surprised to find that everyone in this little group had some sort
of
a fight to make and had won. He began to look at these people in a new way.
They
had been weak and now they were strong. Unconsciously he began to envy them.
He surprised himself by starting to say something. He admitted he had a
tremendous hunger for liquor. And sometimes it got him down. He found that
just
merely talking about his trouble seemed to bring relief. As long as you
conceal
your difficulties, no one can help you. But once you bring your trouble out
in
the open, you can invite help and encouragement from friends. And you can
benefit by the strengthening power of prayer.
Merely getting on his knees and asking for help wasn't the whole story of
Dr.
X's reformation. Many a drunk knows there's a wide difference between
promising
to straight and sticking to it!
What enabled him to hold fast to his resolution was the discovery that he,
who
had just started to climb back to sobriety and respectability, had the
ability
to help other desperate and disheartened drunks to live decent lives too.
In fact, that's a big part of the cure. When Dr. X gets an inebriate started
on
a new life of decency, he sees to it that the man gets on his feet now and
then
and talks to other people in the same predicament. Telling yourself and the
world that you're going to go straight helps you to remind your subconscious
mind that you are going straight.
There have been a lot of ex-drunks that have come within Dr. X's influence
since that fateful night he was turned back from a drunkard's grave.
Forty-three
of them, no less, owe their new lives to him. He'll leave a party or a
dinner,
almost leave an operation, to go and sit up all night with some drunk he
probably never saw before but who knows he needs help.
He has worked out a little system. Usually he puts the drunk to bed in a
hospital, where he can sleep off his liquor quietly but can't get any more.
There the sick man-for a drunk really is a sick man- receives regular care,
and
hot meals, and also some measure or discipline and restraint. There he has
privacy and time to think.
"But you can't do much for a man until he hits bottom and back up. Can you?"
I
asked.
"A man doesn't have to hit bottom, but he has to come close enough to see
where
he is going if he doesn't stop drinking" replied Dr. X quietly. "And he's
got to
want to be helped before with him or for him."
When a drunk in the hospital starts to sober up, Dr. X closes the door and
starts to talk to him.
"I know where you hide your bottles," he'll say. "I know every sneaky little
thing you do to get liquor when you're not supposed to have any. I've been
there
myself. And I want to tell you, my fine young friend, it's getting you
nowhere.
You're rotten. You're ashamed of yourself. Now let's do something about it."
So there in that white, silent hospital room they read the Bible together.
Then
they pray. Very simply. First the Doctor, then, falteringly, the man
himself. He
finds his voice gain in confidence. He finds it easy to talk to God, and
talk
out loud. He finds a huge load is lifted off his chest. He begins to feel he
could hold his head up again. He gets a fresh look at the man he might be.
The
whole idea becomes real and feasible to him. He becomes enthusiastic and
eager
about going straight. He promises to read the Bible, and Dr. X leaves him.
Then, like as not, this sick man slips up and badly. Success is not that
easy.
Those nerves that have been accustomed to bossing the mind and the body
can't be
straightened out without a last tough fight. The patient begs for just one
more
little last drink, and when the nurse refuses, he is angry at Dr. X and may
storm about and threaten to go home. Fortunately, the foresighted Dr. X had
carefully removed the patient's pants and shoes and locked them up in his
own
locker in the surgeons room of the hospital.
And then, because he knows the fight the sick man is going through, Dr. X
comes
back in time to bring new comfort and new cheer and to again call forth the
searching and ever available he;p of prayer. And in a couple of weeks the
man,
rested and refreshed and with the eyes alight as a result of decent living,
goes
home to his friends and his family that had almost given him up for dead.
"No, I don't dare let you tell about this," Dr. X said to me when I asked
him
for a signed interview.
"We can't publicize these cures. These men are outside the realm of every
day
medicine. They have tried everything and have been given up as hopeless. We
don't succeed every time ourselves. We can't brag. Every case is a new
battle."
"But if word got out that we can do anything at all for a drunk, then
derelicts
would come into this town by the TRAINLOAD. We couldn't handle them. We
couldn't
handle a dozen. Two is a lot. One at a time is plenty. I can't talk to one
of
these fellows for more than an hour or two without feeling spent and tired,
unless I talk like a parrot, and talking like a parrot wouldn't do them any
good."
"Do you remember when Christ turned around in the crowd and asked "Who
touched
me?" and some woman confessed she had touched his rove because she wanted to
be
cured? Christ felt some of his power pass out from that touch. It's the same
way
with helping people. You're giving something. It tires you.
"We fellows who are doing this sort of thing feel we have hold of something,
but
we don't dare use our names in connection with it. Look up the new book
Alcoholics Anonymous which we helped write. We studied around for a long
while
to find how we could tell our story without using our names. That book was
the
answer. It tells some actual stories -- my own among them -- but no names
are
given.
Even the publisher doesn't know our names."
"But Dr. X," I insisted, "Why not let these drunks pay you something for
what
you do for them? After all, they have been a burden to their friends, You
put
them back where they can earn a living again and live a decent life. You
deserve
any kind of fee you want to charge."
"No, we can't commercialize the idea," the doctor said firmly but kindly.
"That
would spoil everything. We've got to keep our work as a gift to anyone we
are
able to help.
"Moreover, I'm not sure we could set up a sanitarium and cure people
effectively
in any wholesale matter. I'm convinced this idea has to grow, one cure at a
time."
I tried to argue still further. "But Christ was willing to let folks invite
him
in for supper and the night" I suggested. "You and your wife have food to
buy,
and rent to pay, and overhead expenses in the way of taxes and insurance and
shoes for your daughter. It's your own fault if you don't let these reformed
drunks help pay their own way."
"I'm satisfied," he said with a quiet smile that permitted no debate. "My
wife
and I are happier than we have ever been in our lives. We can keep going
very
nicely as long as I get a few operations from time to time, as I am doing.
I'm
doing a good job of living, and am happy," he ended.
Then he handed me his final thought. "I have found that no one can be
permanently be happy unless he lives in harmony with the rules set down in
the
Good Book," he said. "Try it some time! You don't need to wait till you're
down
and out before you ask for help. There's help waiting for you right now, if
you
just ask God to help you."
- - - -
Message #4740, Sun Dec 2, 2007
From "diazeztone"
(eztone at hotmail.com)
There is one supposed article written by
Dr. Bob appearing in either "Your Faith" or
"Faith" magazine during the summer or fall
of 1939 that no one has been able to find
yet. It was supposed to be a really great
article. Even the library of Congress is
missing the issue of "Your Faith" that it
is rumored to be in.
That article is mentioned in "Dr. Bob and
the Good Oldtimers". Anybody know anything
about this?
This question is posed on gsowatch.aamo.info/
and has not been answered
thanks LD P
nw okla
aabibliography.com
eztone at hotmail
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++++Message 6961. . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas F. Marshall
From: Michael . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/25/2010 11:08:00 AM
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Hi all,
I'm trying to find out more about Thomas Francis Marshall and also
the book "Easy Does It: The Story of Mac."
(A lot of this is covered in post #4997.)
Dr. Silkworth's father was enamored with Marshall and Marshall believed
"crisis,
reform and conversion" were necessary for the alcoholic to overcome drinking
...
sound familiar?
First question: Do we know who received royalties from the publication
of this book?
Secondly: I know Marshall was a member of Congress and all that, but
there were some interesting allusions in his death notice from the NY
Times.
In part it states: "Men who heard him speak at the age of twenty had
no doubt that he would live, if spared by Providence, to be one of the
master-spirits of the country. And, had he been true and just to himself and
to
the high and noble faculties vouchsafed to him by God, he would have
fulfilled
all the loftiest expectations entertained of him. But he met in early
manhood
with a keen and bitter disappointment, which, deeply stinging his sensitive,
impatient and proud nature, and blasting, as by a flash of lightning, what
he
regarded as his great life-hope, caused him to seek relief by quaffing at
the
poison-fount at which millions of gifted spirits have bowed and died."
........... "But THOMAS F. MARSHALL's spirit did not perish. His genius was
like
Greek fire, nothing could quench it. Though he never wholly overcame for any
great length of time, even by his most resolute and determined efforts, his
one
unfortunate habit, he became a very distinguished man."
What was his "keen and bitter disappointment"? Also, are we to
understand that he was an alcoholic? And that he was never able to
attain permanent sobriety? "He never overcame...his one unfortunate
habit...."
Marshall's biography "A handful of bitter herbs: Reminiscences
of Thomas Francis Marshall, 1801-1864, great Kentucky orator" is out
of print and hard to find.
Thanks,
Mike Margetis
Brunswick, MD
- - - -
Message #4997
From "Chris Budnick" (cbudnick at nc.rr.com)
Re: Hugh Reilly, Easy Does It: The Story of Mac
Below is the text from the Silkworth biography
by Dale Mitchell (p. 95 - 101) regarding
arguments for Silkworth writing Easy Does It.
As mentioned in the email from Jim, it does
indicate speculation about Bill Wilson having
authored the book. I had forgotten that point
from the Silkworth bio. It's a bit of a long
email.
- - - -
On May 26, 1950, a fictional account of an
alcoholic called Easy Does It: The Story of Mac
was published by P.]. Kenedy and Sons out of
New York City during Silkworth's last full
year at Knickerbocker Hospital. The author
used the pseudonym Hugh Reilly and, according
to the dustcover, "has resorted to a narrative
which but barely disguises his true experience."
Was this author, indeed, William Silkworth?
A number of facts lead to this very conclusion.
Easy Does It describes a treatment facility
and process that mirrors that of Knickerbocker
Hospital during the Silkworth management. It
outlines the program of Alcoholics Anonymous
to a degree of understanding that surpasses
that of most of the active members of the
fellowship. The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics
Anonymous and some of the then-unwritten
Traditions are explained to a level equal to
that of the Big Book. Easy Does It presents
facts, fictional characters that strongly
resemble important people within early M, and
medical descriptions unique to the Silkworth
treatment program. More important, the
alcoholic mind is dissected through the
conversations and thoughts of the main char-
acter, Mac.
Prior to Easy Does It, early AA was presented
in only a few publications, including the Big
Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and a few Bill
Wilson AA Grapevine articles. Some of the
information contained in Easy Does It cannot
be traced to any of these sources. The author
of this book must have lived within the inner
circles of the program and maintained firsthand
knowledge of specific Silkworth treatment
attitudes. Only one man could have known the
details outlined in Easy Does It - William
Silkworth himself.
The characters in the book spoke about the
exact same medical descriptions, analogies, and
quotations Silkworth used over the years in his
writings and speeches.
Silkworth's nurse, Teddy, is one of the fictional
characters in the book. The character matches
Teddy in vivid physical detail and personality.
The personality description even corresponds to
how Teddy described herself in the 1952 article
"I'm a Nurse in an Alcoholic Ward." Silkworth
himself could not have been better described in
physical detail and personality had his own wife
written the book. His glowing white hair, his
deep blue eyes, even the way he dressed are the
attributes of one of the characters.
The author held an uncanny knowledge of
alcoholism, the Silkworth writings, the allergy
theory, and the program specifics of Alcoholics
Anonymous. The book uses many phrases that
were coined by Silkworth and rarely used by
others. The book, which was well received,
focuses more on the physical and medical
presentation of alcoholism than the spiritual
requirements of recovery, yet the spiritual
components of recovery are also plainly
detailed. Although Silkworth's conversion
beliefs are left for secondary conversations
between the two main characters, conversion
indeed occurs in every case of recovery
presented. In accordance with the Silkworth
legacy, it is obvious the book lays the ground
for a firm base of medical understanding. A
presentation of Higher Power and references to
God are well placed within the book after the
medical descriptions. Had the book been written
with a purely AA focus, this might not have
occurred.
The only reasonable argument against Silkworth
authoring the book is that he was an extremely
private and humble man. It is said that
Silkworth would never write a book about
himself that contained such glowing praise for
his work. Silkworth always maintained his
distance from fame despite the important role he
played in the birth of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Why would he suddenly step out of character
and write a book acknowledging the intelligence
and knowledge of alcoholic treatment by a doctor
who was obviously himself?
We do know that he did nonetheless step out of
character and pen a glowing recommendation of
himself. The foreword to Easy Does It was
written and signed by 'William Duncan
Silkworth, Physician-in-Charge of the AA Wing,
Knickerbocker Hospital, New York." In this
short introduction, Silkworth writes, "The author
has long been a close student of the alcoholic
problem. He certainly does not write as an
amateur."
The story describes one of the main characters,
Dr. Goodrich, as "a man of exceptional mental
and spiritual nature." If it can only be accepted
that the Dr. Goodrich character is indeed Dr.
Silkworth, then it must be accepted that Silk-
worth was still writing a foreword to a book
that praised his own work.
In his closing statement of the foreword
Silkworth states, "It deals with a complex
subject, discussed from many angles, often
challenging, always vigorous and original." At
the time, Silkworth was widely respected as an
expert on alcoholism and for his Towns and
Knickerbocker treatment models for programs
and facilities all over the world. This
foreword was no small recommendation.
Silkworth endorsed only three books in his
writing over his many years: Alcoholics Anon-
ymous, The Varieties of Religious Experience,
and Easy Does It. This places Easy Does It
quite high on the suggested reading list from
a man generally married to science and Alco-
holics Anonymous.
The only other reasonable argument against
Silkworth as the author is that Bill Wilson was
the author. Next to Silkworth, no one else had
the experience at Towns and Knickerbocker
Hospitals aside from Bill Wilson. No one could
have more precisely described Alcoholics
Anonymous. No one could have understood the
medical facts presented in the book regarding
the allergy theory, and certainly, no one knew
the true story of Bill's spiritual awakening.
How then do we challenge this theory? First,
Bill was known to be gregarious and very
public. He wrote many articles and was
involved in the writing of two books about his
life and the history of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Not once did he shy from public praise, quite
the contrary. Why would Bill Wilson suddenly
decide to write a book on Alcoholics Anony-
mous and the life of Dr. Silkworth in an
anonymous fashion?
Second, Wilson regretted not properly thanking
Silkworth more directly, and more frequently,
long after Silkworth had died. He would not
have made these comments had he actually
written a book that did indeed provide such
praise for Silkworth.
When first informed about the possibility that
Silkworth authored Easy Does It by a resource-
ful woman named Susan in New Jersey, I set
out to prove her wrong. My very first phone
call made me begin to question my preconcep-
tions.
When I called Adelaide Silkworth, the wife of
Silkworth's nephew William Silkworth, the first
time, we spoke briefly about the project and my
desire to find out all I could about the doctor.
Her first response was "Are you going to tell
them about Easy Does It?"
The family has long believed Silkworth to be the
author of Easy Does It - a rumor that does not
start haphazardly in a family history. Adelaide
matter-of-factly talked about how she and her
husband have always known and talked openly
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