“That” Verdict of Science
There are surely many “verdicts of science” but this one belongs to us - thankfully…
Returning to “The Language of the Heart”
“Two or three weeks later, December 11th to be exact, I staggered into the Charles B. Towns Hospital, that famous drying-out emporium on Central Park West, New York City. I’d been there before, so I knew and already loved the doctor in charge - Dr. Silkworth. It was he who was soon to contribute a very great idea without which AA could never have succeeded. For years he had been proclaiming alcoholism an illness, an obsession of the mind coupled with an allergy of the body. By now I knew this meant me.”
Bill didn’t think himself too important, did he? :) “Famous” drying out emporium? Then, placing a “very great idea” and “by now I knew this meant me” within the same thought? C’mon Bill, lol…
Seriously - the obsession coupled with an allergy. Followed with;
“I also understood what a fatal combination these twin ogres could be. Of course, I’d once hoped to be among the small percentage of victims who now and then escape their vengeance. But this outside hope was now gone.”
Ogres? Vengeance? Victim? Outside hope gone? Bill sure has a way with words…
“I was about to hit bottom. That verdict of science - the obsession that condemned me to drink and the allergy that condemned me to die - was about to do the trick. That’s where medical science, personified by this benign little doctor, began to fit in.”
There it is - condemned, no matter which way I look at it - condemned. Yet, it was also the start of an answer…
“Held in the hands of one alcoholic talking to the next, this double-edged truth was a sledgehammer which could shatter the tough alcoholic’s ego at depth and lay him wide open to the grace of God.”
Ego deflation, at depth!
Tags: Alcoholic ego, Alcoholic Obsession, Alcoholic pride, Dr.-SilkworthRelated Stories
POSTED IN: AA History, Did You Know, Personal
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