Courage to Change: The Christian Roots of the Twelve-Step Movement - Paperback

by Bill Pittman (Compiled by), Dick B (Compiled by)

The writings of the Reverend Sam Shoemaker, Episcopal minister, are examined in this volume in the light of their contribution to the principles of Twelve Step recovery.

Courage to Change deals with the influence of Sam Shoemaker on the early years of Alcoholics Anonymous, the writing of the Twelve Steps, and the book Alcoholics Anonymous. Bill Wilson proclaimed at the 1955 International AA Convention, "The early AA got its ideas of self-examination, acknowledgment of character defects, restitution for harm done, and working with others straight from the Oxford Group and directly from Sam Shoemaker." The writings of the Reverend Sam Shoemaker, Episcopal minister, are examined in this volume in the light of their contribution to the principles of Twelve Step recovery.

Author Biography

Bill holds advanced degrees in applied sociology and archival methods. Having worked in this field for over twenty years, he has also authored 15 books on the history of AA and 12-step recovery. He worked at the headquarters of Alcoholics Anonymous for five years. Bill's primary interest is the founding period of AA and the writing of their text in 1939.