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Unlike previous chapters, Chapter 10 was not written entirely by Bill Wilson. In fact, it was penned by Hank Parkhurst, a friend and business associate of Bill’s who got sober in 1935. In the annals of AA history, Hank played an integral role in the early days of the movement, and managed many of the business matters related to AA’s early growth, as well as the financing, publication, and promotion of the Big Book. Hank played such a pivotal role in the early days of AA and while the Big Book was being written, that Bill referred to him as his “right hand man”.
When it came to Chapter 10, aimed at large employers who had active alcoholics in their midst, Bill acknowledged the limits of his own experience in the corporate world, by deferring to Hank’s extensive background in management within major hierarchical corporations, including Standard Oil of New Jersey, where he had 6,600 salesmen under him. Bill realized Hank’s ability to speak to businesses and businessmen about alcoholism and recovery would be invaluable to the embracement and support of AA by corporate America.
It is interesting to note that Hank’s writing style was so different to Bill’s writing style up to that point in the Big Book, that Bill exercised his editorial authority by largely re-writing Hank’s original draft to match the uniformity of style and readability of the first 9 chapters. Bill also provided the opening statement of Chapter 10, introducing Hank (anonymously) as the author.
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.