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The Language of the Heart the Language of the Heart THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART Bill W.’s Grapevine Writings The AA Grapevine, Inc. New York Several of Bill W.’s Grapevine articles (or excerpts from them) appear in AA Conference-approved pamphlets. “Problems Other Than Alcohol” has been reprinted as a pamphlet, and excerpts from the same article have also been published as a flyer. All the articles in the pamphlet “AA Tradition: How It Developed” were originally published in the Grapevine, and appear in Part One of this volume. Copyright©1988 by AA Grapevine, Inc., 475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115 All Rights Reserved. Second printing 2005 Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint the following: Letter to William Wilson from C. G. Jung, January 30, 1961. Copyright©1963 by Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. Reprinted by permission. Excerpts from AA Comes of Age (copyright© 1985) and Twelve Concepts for World Service (copyright © 1985) are reprinted with the permission of AA World Services, Inc. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 88-71930 ISBN 978-0-933685-91-8, Mobi: 978-0-933685-90-1, ePub:978-0- 933685-91-8 Printed in the United States of America As the most recent reprinting of our beloved Grapevine publication approached, we noticed that the timing coincided with the 25th anniversary of the original publication date. With over 335,000 copies sold since 1988, this book features virtually every article our co- founder Bill W. wrote for Grapevine. It’s an important historical document, walking us through the early days of Alcoholics Anonymous with writings as relevant today as they were when Bill wrote them decades ago. His essays and recollections of the early years of AA continue to be an inspiration for millions of members and a valuable guide that many AA groups use in their meetings today. AA Grapevine is pleased to be a part of this special occasion and is commemorating this wonderful benchmark with a special cover. Grapevine Editorial Staff CONTENTS FOREWORD INTRODUCTION PART ONE: 1944 -1950 Segment 1: The Shaping of the Traditions Modesty One Plank for Good Public Relations: August 1945 ‘Rules’ Dangerous but Unity Vital: September 1945 The Book Is Born: October 1945 A Tradition Born of Our Anonymity: January 1946 Our Anonymity Is Both Inspiration and Safety: March 1946 Twelve Suggested Points for AA Tradition: April 1946 Safe Use of Money: May 1946 Policy on Gift Funds: June 1946 The Individual in Relation to AA as a Group: July 1946 Who Is a Member of Alcoholics Anonymous?: August 1946 Will AA Ever Have a Personal Government?: January 1947 Dangers in Linking AA to Other Projects: March 1947 Clubs in AA: April 1947 Adequate Hospitalization: One Great Need: May 1947 Lack of Money Proved AA Boon: June 1947 Last Seven Years Have Made AA Self-Supporting: August 1947 Traditions Stressed in Memphis Talk: October 1947 Incorporations: Their Use and Misuse: November 1947 Tradition One: December 1947 Tradition Two: January 1948 Tradition Three: February 1948 Tradition Four: March 1948 Tradition Five: April 1948 Tradition Six: May 1948 Tradition Seven: June 1948 Tradition Eight: July 1948 Tradition Nine: August 1948 Tradition Ten: September 1948 Tradition Eleven: October 1948 Tradition Twelve: November 1948 A Request and an Apology: December 1948 A Suggestion for Thanksgiving: November 1949 Segment 2: Additional Writings from This Period Comments on Wylie Ideas: September 1944 A Date with Destiny: October 1944 Letter to the Mother of an Alcoholic: December 1944 Those ‘Goof Balls’: November 1945 Book Publication Proved Discouraging Venture: July 1947 Why Can’t We Join AA, Too?: October 1947 PART TWO: 1950-1958 Segment 1: AA Grows to Maturity We Approach Maturity: October 1949 We Came of Age: September 1950 AA Is Not Big Business: November 1950 Your Third Legacy: December 1950 To Serve Is to Live: June 1951 Services Make AA Tick: November 1951 The Vision of Tomorrow: January 1952 Our Final Great Decision: June 1954 A Letter to the Groups: July 1954 The Significance of St. Louis: April 1955 How AA’s World Services Grew, Part I: May 1955 How AA’s World Services Grew, Part II: June 1955 What Is the Third Legacy?: July 1955 Guardian of AA: Our General Service Conference: April 1958 Segment 2: Let’s Be Friendly with Our Friends The Psychiatrists: July 1957 The Physicians: August 1957 The Clergy: September 1957 Press, Radio, Television: October 1957 On the Alcoholism Front: March 1958 Segment 3: Additional Writings from This Period Salute to Canada: May 1951 Meet the Nonalcoholic Trustees: November 1951 A Fragment of History: Origin of the Twelve Steps: July 1953 Another Fragment of History: Sister Ignatia and Dr. Bob: February 1954 The Bill W. - Yale Correspondence: February 1978 Why Alcoholics Anonymous Is Anonymous: January 1955 Respecting Money: November 1957 Problems Other Than Alcohol: February 1958 Let’s Make Practical and Spiritual Sense: August 1958 PART THREE: 1958 -1970 Segment 1: In All Our Affairs The Greatest Gift of All: December 1957 The Next Frontier: Emotional Sobriety: January 1958 Take Step Eleven: June 1958 The Language of the Heart: July 1960 God As We Understand Him: The Dilemma of No Faith: April 1961 Humility for Today: June 1961 This Matter of Honesty: August 1961 This Matter of Fear: January 1962 What Is Acceptance?: March 1962 Where Willpower Comes In: May 1962 Spiritual Experiences: July 1962 The Bill W. - Carl Jung Letters: January 1963 Dr. Jung, Dr. Silkworth, and AA: January 1968 Segment 2: Looking Toward the Future Leadership in AA: Ever a Vital Need: April 1959 AA Communication Can Cross All Barriers: October 1959 After Twenty-Five Years: March 1960 What Is Freedom in AA?: May 1960 Let’s Keep It Simple—But How?: July 1960 AA Tomorrow: July 1960* Our Pioneers Overseas: October 1960 Freedom Under God: The Choice Is Ours: November 1960 The Shape of Things to Come: February 1961 The Far Reaches: October 1961 Again at the Crossroads: November 1961 Responsibility Is Our Theme: July 1965 The Guidance of AA’s World Affairs: January 1966 First World Service Meeting: October 1969 Segment 3: Additional Writings from This Period The Antidote for Fear: Prudence, Trust, and Faith: November 1959 Our Critics Can Be Our Benefactors: April 1963 A Message from Bill: May 1964 AA’s Tradition of Self-Support: October 1967 A Christmas Message: December 1970 Memorial Articles Anne S.: July 1949 Dr. Bob: A Tribute: January 1951 He Kept the Faith (Bill D.): November 1954 Dr. A. Weise Hammer: May 1957 To Father Ed—Godspeed!: June 1960 In Remembrance of Ebby: June 1966 In Memory of Harry: July 1966 For Sister Ignatia: August 1966 Samuel Shoemaker: February 1967 Bernard B. Smith: October 1970 Articles About Grapevine Editorial: The Shape of Things to Come: June 1944 The Grapevine: Past, Present, and Future: July 1945 What Is Our AA Grapevine?: December 1946 Through the AA Looking Glass: November 1950 The Grapevine and You and Me: June 1957 Let Us Read—and Thank God: October 1958 An Anniversary Letter: June 1959 Suggested Search Terms Terms are from the original print index FOREWORD Dear Friends, As you may know, Bill wrote quite extensively for the Grapevine over many years. It was a way for him to share his experience, strength and hope with the entire Fellowship. I think it is wonderful that so much of this work will now be available again—especially for the countless A.A.s who have come into the Fellowship since these articles were first published. I hope they will find them useful. Gratefully, INTRODUCTION Publication of The Language of the Heart brings together for the first time virtually every article written for AA Grapevine by Bill W., co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. Though several of his articles are available in reprint form, whether as pamphlets, AA books, or in later issues of the magazine, they have never before been published in one volume. In June 1944, Grapevine was established as a local newsletter through the individual efforts of six New York City AAs who were concerned about what seemed to be “a lack of understanding” among groups in the metropolitan area. Mailed by the six editors to all known groups in the U.S. and Canada, and sent free to AAs in the World War II armed forces, Grapevine soon caught on nationally. In 1945, by vote of the groups, it became the principal journal of the Fellowship as a whole, and since the January 1949 issue it has been known as the international journal of Alcoholics Anonymous. From the first issue of the eight-page newsletter, Bill W. was a prolific contributor, an enthusiastic advocate, and for many years a consulting editor. In spite of a grueling travel schedule and a copious correspondence, Bill could never find enough time to respond to all the many and varied demands of a Fellowship that was still in the process of formation, and in Grapevine he discovered an ideal vehicle of communication with the members and groups who clamored for his insights and experience. In more than 150 articles, written over a span of twenty-six years, Bill documented the painstaking process of trial and error that resulted in AA’s spiritual principles of Recovery, Unity, and Service, and articulated his vision of what the Fellowship could become. When the current Grapevine editors began to consider ways of grouping Bill’s articles in logical segments, it seemed at first a Herculean task—yet in the end it was not. Largely because of Bill’s own highly focused way of thinking and working, the articles virtually fell into place. They are arranged chronologically in three Parts, according to the primary AA concerns Bill was thinking and writing about during each period of time.
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