Bobbie B. The Untold Story of A.A.'s "Fantastic Communicator"

A Window Into the Alcoholic Foundation Office in the 1940s

By: Gary Neidhardt

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

Length: 10 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and one of the “100 Persons of the Century” according to Time Magazine, described this person as being his “dear partner of our fabulous enterprise” He wrote that he had been served by this friend with “complete loyalty and devotion” He proclaimed that “few have contributed more to our success” than this individual. Who did he say should be remembered with “a tremendous debt of gratitude?”
Her first name was Margaret and her story is revealed for the first time in Bobbie B., The Untold Story of A.A.’s “Fantastic Communicator.” She was the most prolific letter writer in the history of Alcoholics Anonymous when letters truly mattered. As well as being Bill’s recovery partner, she wrote messages of hope in an era when the mail was essential to spreading the news of a fresh and robust way of recovering from alcoholism. She was one of only two A,A. National Secretaries in New York—that role was rotated out of existence. Her tenure was from March 1942 until June 1949 when the Fellowship was growing by two thirds most years. Bobbie composed thoughtfully crafted messages to struggling A.A. groups and newly sober individuals all over the world. These were times when the future of A.A. was in jeopardy and the problems were, as Bill Wilson wrote, “frightening beyond description.” She provided crucial guidance and saved lives. Most of her contributions were almost entirely lost to history—typical of someone whose actions were mainly behind the scenes—until now.
Bill and Bobbie formed a dedicated recovery team together. She ran A.A.’s Headquarters during periods when Bill was on the road for months at a time. During these trips, he would write her regularly. Many of his previously undocumented handwritten letters were discovered in 2020 after having been hidden away for almost seventy years. They reveal a rarely seen personal side of Bill. In these times, his visions of the future were often criticized. Bobbie was one of the few outlets he had to share his personal frustrations. These private letters show how he sometimes felt deeply depressed and without hope. A depressed Bill was considering resigning from active participation from AA in 1945, which would have left Bobbie alone as the only A.A. left at the Manhattan HQ. The lives of many A.A.s may have been in the balance. Many today don’t realize how fragile the future of A.A. was back then.
Sometimes, however, great accomplishments come at great cost. Bobbie became a workaholic and burned out from overwork. She worked too many long hours writing experience, strength and hope. Her compulsive nature to help everyone but herself resulted in an emotional turmoil that proved fatal in February 1953.
The very first General Service Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1951 “unanimously resolved to go on formal record, by letter, declaring deep appreciation to Bobbie B. for her years of faithful service as Secretary of the NY Office.” Here is an attempt to start reconciling a great and unintentional wrong: she has been almost entirely forgotten. There are thousands in A.A. that owe their sobriety to Bobbie and don’t know it. The time to tell her full story is long overdue.