Welcome to Decoding the Big Book, a special limited series of the Sober Friends podcast.

Researched and sourced from writing the big book by William Sheaberg,

the purpose of each episode is to provide context and history for each chapter of the Big

Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, followed by a

reading of the chapter from the fourth edition. Each section is marked by chapters, so feel

free to skip ahead to what you're interested in and leave the rest. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous is a pivotal text in the history of addiction recovery.

The doctor's opinion section of the book is particularly significant as it provides the testimony

of a medical expert stating that the solutions outlined in the book are medically

sound. While writing the big book, Bill Wilson sought the approval of several medical organizations

to write a forward or preface endorsing the methods presented in the book as a program of action

for staying sober. The doctor's opinion is placed front and center of the book

because it is considered essential to understand the medical basis of alcoholism before embarking

on the journey to recovery. The first edition of the book had a few differences in the doctor's

opinion section compared to later editions. In the first section, the doctor's

opinion started on page one, while Bill's story began on its own page one. Later editions, the

doctor's opinion was moved to the Roman numerals with the forwards. The most significant difference

between the first edition and later ones is that Dr. Silkworth did not sign his name in the first edition.

He was listed as an anonymous doctor.

After the second edition, Dr. Silkworth gave permission to use his name as the doctor writing the opinion.

William Duncan Silkworth was a respected doctor in his time,

and his contribution to the big book was instrumental in establishing Alcoholics Anonymous

as a legitimate and effective program for recovery.

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