Bill Wilson was a defeated man in the early 1930's due to his alcoholic binging and was now at his wits end. He knew he was soon to be comitted to the mental hospital for good so he made some desperate choices. His close friend Ebby Thacher had reccomended he join a self-help anti-drinking community called The Oxford Group. Bill W. detested this group because it was based in religious awakening and not on intellectual principals. Bill W. had no choice at this point in his life because nothing else had worked. So Ebby got him to go to an Oxford Group meeting at Sam Shoemaker's Calvary House in New York. Bill was still drunk on the occassion he attended his first meeting where he was to "give himself to God". The members of the Oxford group quickly sent Bill W. to Charles Towns' Hospital in New York for detoxing (Bills 4th time within a year). Bill W. was very sick, weak, and going through dt's from alcohol withdrawl and was also heavily drugged up on a strange concoction of barbiturates. Bill was sort of ambushed by his concerned friend Ebby while at his most vulnerable.

A side note: A lesson to anyone struggling from addiction or trying to help an addict/alcoholic is that no one person will ever be the lone savoir. During the whole process of drying out and getting counseling and also moral support from others, this whole rehab-recovery period will be one where many people will be there at various times to aid the addict. The important aspect to recovery will be up to the individual to allow the recovery process to happen.

It is widely reported that Ebby led the posse that helped bring Bill W. to sobriety during a most horrible time in his alcoholic life. Getting an addict or alcoholic into sobriety is most easiest when they are at a severe low point and are motivated to seek help and relief. And it is never easy to bring an addict into recovery but there are many motivating factors that will help the process along, and knowing these factors can greatly help. The main reason that Bill W. abandoned the Oxford House was because of his wanting to work much more closely with all alcoholics and not just preach the religious aspect which was mostly the principals of The Oxford House. Also the Oxford House was heavily pro-Hitler during a time in the 1930's that Hitler was fastly becoming a demon and anti-jewish anti-black tyrant in the world. The Oxford House was also an exclusive club for only the rich and more well to do. Bill W. believed that helping alcoholics was a non-biased thing to do, and that a persons religion, race or financial status had no bearing on the fact that they were suffering and needed help. So Bill W. used The Oxford House as a model and modified it to what he felt was the proper way to help any and all alcoholics in need of sobriety. Bill Wilson was a man who although greatly flawed was a giant in the world of helping alcoholics find sobriety and then having them pass on that experience to share and help others too, hence the ongoing chains in the links of Alcoholics Anonymous. Just describing Bill Wilsons sincere sharing of love brings me to tear and reflect on the Giant that he really was. He done more than the most powerful politicians have ever done and since his death in 1971 he has helped millions of suffering addicts and alcoholics while resting peacefully in his final resting place. Thank you profoundly Bill W.