My Name Is Bill - by Susan Cheever (Paperback)

About the Book

The definitive biography of Bill Wilson, a cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, is drawn from exclusive access to his personal letters and diaries, documents in the organization's archives, and hundreds of interviews.

Book Synopsis

The definitive biography of Bill Wilson, the man who established Alcoholics Anonymous, and the first to be written with access to documents in that organization's archives, by a noted author who is herself a recovering alcoholic.

In this definitive and groundbreaking biography, acclaimed author Susan Cheever offers a remarkably human portrait of a man whose life and work both influenced and saved the lives of millions of people. Drawing from personal letters, diaries, AA archives, interviews--and Cheever's own experiences with alcoholism--My Name Is Bill is the first fully documented, deeply felt account of Bill Wilson and Alcoholics Anonymous.

Review Quotes

"[A] wise, well-reported life story of the man who changed the way the world deals with addiction."
-- Chicago Sun-Times

"As the biography of one of the most humane and beneficial Americans who ever lived, it is a national treasure."
-- Kurt Vonnegut

"Distinctive...and telling."
-- The New York Times Book Review

"Susan Cheever...decants the ups and downs of a remarkable man [and] does so in her distinctive style: succinct chapters, pithy profiles and telling detail...even more important are the insights and empathy so credibly her own as a reformed drinker who attended meetings of AA with her father, novelist John Cheever."
-- The New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Susan Cheever is the bestselling author of thirteen previous books, including five novels and the memoirs Note Found in a Bottle and Home Before Dark. Her work has been nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award and won the Boston Globe Winship Medal. She is a Guggenheim Fellow, a member of the Corporation of Yaddo, and a member of the Author's Guild Council. She teaches in the Bennington College M.F.A. program. She lives in New York City with her family.