Bill W (2012) Documentary
 

I watched this last night...



Not the most riveting documentary I have seen but it did give insight into the founding of AA and the man himself with plenty of footage/audio/letters and interviews with himself and others.

Personally what I took from it was that for all his spirituality, support, drive, success, adoration, loving relationships, extensive use of entheogens etc the man was still fallible. He still suffered from bouts of depression in recovery. It made me realize that the struggle is indeed real, it doesn't matter who you are or that you haven't succeeded yet, it doesn't necessary mean we have failed either. I found it inspiring in that sense.

Anybody seen it?

I saw it and thought it o.k.

For a more in-depth look at the man I would recommend the Susan Cheever book "My Name is Bill"

Thanks. I read some of the reviews, some were mixed.

Theres a theatrical movie also 'My Name is Bill W' buy I haven't seen that one.

I saw the theatrical movie with James Garner and James Woods years ago. It was alright.
My Name Is Bill W. (TV Movie 1989) - IMDb

(Best flick I saw on the subject of alcoholism was "Drunks")

I'm a little too familiar with subject having lived with it for over half my life now! Save for a break of a few years.

Yeah I have encountered his name a few times while reading about LSD psychotherapy and the like, another brief obsession of mine.

He seemed like a good man? I mean, I definitely see us lot as people who need help as opposed to punishment. Then again, I would do wouldn't I...

I did watch this awhile back - Bill W struggled, yes.

I do attend AA and what I take from it today ( things change - go figure) is that it's kind of a cook book. Some dishes I really like, others - if I make them - I add some different spices.

There is no telling how many people's lives he and his friends changed and saved.
We should all be so inspirational :)

Having read he Cheever book Bill Wilson fit AA's description of the "dry drunk" Discontented, irritable, self-pitying, unhappy…he wasn't "sober", at least not what some in AA would imagine "sober" is.

Nevertheless, Bill Wilson was the driving force behind the creation and growth of AA, and the result is that millions of people are recovering from Alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, compulsive gambling, etc. There is no denying his contribution.

He truly deserves being named Time Magazine's top one hundred people of the last century

Interesting point you make there. A quick google of the words 'Bill W' and 'Dry Drunk' brings up some interesting links

A saying springs to mind "We often end up trying to teach that which we most need to learn ourself" Which can be true.

I even did a quick google of the words 'AA' and 'Conspiracy' for old times sake! (another past obsession/escape of mine). Plenty of links again, but I don't believe any of it.

If AA helps people quit drinking then its a noble endeavor. If I was still driving however, I would have surely went down this road! Thats the stinkin' thinkin' part right there, haha :)

Yup people of 40+ yrs SOBRIETY still get that messed up thinking every now and then.

I've seen both the "Bill W" documentary and the movie "My name is Bill W". Both of them were interesting and informative to me.

The best (at least to me) documentary on alcoholism that I've seen so far was Lipstick and Liquor. It's about women, but not really anything too specific for women vs men or anything too feminine, more just an emphasis on women characters suffering in silence and/or within their families. I really like how this film is done and builds up, there is a bit of suspense in it. It's available to rent for a few bucks on Amazon.

Thanks haennie, another one for the list. I hope your good

Funny, I was listening to Joe and Charlie today.
They talked about cooking and recipes as well.

So you taste a cake. You ask the person who made it, what is the recipe. He/She gives you the recipe. Now if you change it around, do 3 cups of sugar instead of 1, 2 table spoons of salt, instead of 4 and so on. You aint going to get the same cake.

So why on gods green earth would you gamble your life, and mix and match and wing it?

I learned the history of AA a very long time ago. But this movie would be good to get and watch, put it in my library.

A recipe? Sometimes you are trying to make the wrong thing and no matter how you try, it isn't going to work. Especially if you are out of flour and sugar. If you are out of flour and sugar, maybe what you could make instead is a nice pot of chicken soup.

LOL @ the conflicting recipe analogies, and fresh start I don't really get yours at all.

Anyone here who doesn't agree with AA's methods out of interest?

Lot of tall poppy syndrome around Bill Wilson.

Which is the way BW would have wanted it. Find your own way within AA. Wilson continued to add "spices" and for a time loved LSD urging everyone he knew to try it. ( My Name is Bill pg. 241.) He sought the help of a psychiatrist and later would extoll the virtues of niacin to anyone who would listen.

Some close to BW began to make a god of AA and sometimes a god of BW. After a while, because Bill was not a god, or even a saint, but a human being with his own struggles, these men became furious. (My Name is Bill pg. 244)

A bit on BW depression:

In the face of his depression, BW did something that was startlingly unconventional for the time, and especially unorthodox for the man who had written that the program of AA would rocket its followers into another dimension. Twice a week he visited psychiatrist Dr. Trebout, a fan of AA who understood that the "new happiness" promised in the 12-steps of AA did not necessarily preclude other psychological problems. (My Name is Bill Pg. 183)

After my grandfather got sober he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I've often thought which came first, his drinking or his disorder. But one thing is for sure it was never for lack of trying to do the right thing.

Tall Poppy syndrome is a very real phenomenon, especially where I am from - as a nation, we are renowned for it.

I looked at some Bill W/AA stuff online again today. Lots of people having bad things to say about AA, which is one thing. People today who are deriding the man himself however, that makes no sense to me.

Interesting point you make. Are there any saints left? I doubt it. We all have our struggles in life. He seemed reluctant to adopt that position based on what I seen anyway, though he wasn't very shy of the camera or microphone either mind.

Have you heard of the book 'Distilled Spirits'? Its about Wilson, Huxley and Gerald Heard. There was a little clip of Gerald Heard speaking about LSD which I rather enjoyed tbh :) I'm not familiar with the guy