Chapter 8's actual authorship has been widely speculated upon since it was first written in 1938. Many believe that Bill W.’s wife, Lois Wilson, may have written or contributed to the writing of this seminal chapter. Indeed, it might have made sense for her to do so. As she related in her memoirs “Lois Remembers”, published in 1979, during the initial four years of Bill’s sobriety, they “had begun to realize how distorted the relationships in families of alcoholics could be, how important it was for families to understand about alcoholism and to rearrange their own thinking.”

According to Lois, she had expected Bill to ask her to write the Chapter “To Wives”, and perhaps the following one, “The Family Afterward.” But when she shyly suggested it, “he said no; he thought the book, except for the stories, should all be written in the same style.”   

“I have never known why he didn’t want me to write about the wives,” Lois remembered, “and it hurt me.” When questioned about it, years after Bill’s death in 1971, Lois admitted it was a subject that still made her mad to think about Bill’s insistence on writing the chapter himself. But back in 1938, Lois said their lives were so full, she didn’t have time to think about it much.

Howard L, sober since January 1988, presents an inspired reading of the Big Book and encourages listeners to revisit earlier podcast episodes that feature the main chapters and stories in the First Edition of the Big Book. Enjoy listening on our website, BigBookPodcast.com, or download and subscribe to the podcast for free at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. If you have a minute, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Also join our facebook group, Big Book Podcast Listeners, where you can share your thoughts and experiences with fellow listeners.