“Slowly at first, then with sudden clarity, Dr. Bob began to understand. Bill had been able to control his drinking problem by the very means that Dr. Bob himself had been trying to use–but there was a difference. The spiritual approach was as useless as any other if you soaked it up like a sponge and kept it all to yourself. True, Bill had been preaching his message at any drunk who would listen; he had been unsuccessful until now, but the important thing was that by giving his knowledge away, he, himself, was sober!
“There was one more short binge for Dr. Bob after that talk. On June 10, 1935, he took his last drink, remaining sober until his death on November 15, 1950.”