The Story Behind the Stories In the First Three Editions

"On many a day I felt like throwing the book out the window" Bill W. wrote in AA Comes of Age, describing the process of writing the Big Book. As hard as the general text was to finish, the story section wasn't much easier. But Bill and others felt it was essential. "We would have to produce evidence in the form of living proof, written testimonials of our membership itself. It was felt also that the story section could identify us with the distant reader in a way that the text itself might not."