I had occasion this past weekend to watch a DVD of the Broadway production of a play co-authored by Stephen Bergman and Janet Surrey, that portrays the first meeting between Bill Wilson, a down on his luck stockbroker, and Dr. Bob Smith, a surgeon, both of whom were raging alcoholics. These two hapless individuals, who shared nothing more than the experience of losing nearly everything to alcoholism, and a desire to gain sobriety, stumbled across the key to what became the seed to the modern day recovery movement; one addict honestly seeing themselves through the eyes of another addict; fellowship. The time was 1935, before there were any steps or traditions, when treatment for alcoholism consisted of a trip to a sanitarium for detox with Karo Syrup, Nightshade and cold tomatoes, and when at least one popular theory chalked addiction up to bad toilet training.
This is a tale of resiliency. It shows firsthand the depth of the human spirit. It highlights how great discoveries are sometimes achieved, not through science, or research, and not by people who have already established themselves as great thinkers. Bill W. and Dr. Bob were flawed individuals who determined that confronting their demons was more successful when done with someone who also needed to confront theirs.
The play will open locally at the Illusion Theater in late September. I strongly recommend it to anyone whose life has been touched by addiction.