Bill W. A Strange Salvation: A Biographical Novel Based on Key Moments in the Life of Bill Wilson, the Alcoholics Anonymous Founder, and a Probing of His Mysterious 11-year Depression

"Bill W., A Strange Salvation" delves into the enigmatic life of Alcoholics Anonymous founder, Bill Wilson, exploring his prolonged depression despite his monumental achievement. The book presents an imaginative yet fact-based study of Wilson's life, offering insights not just for those in recovery, but for all. It speculatively examines why Wilson couldn't delve deeper into spirituality and suggests his depression might have been a critical salvation. Through a blend of biography and creative interpretation, it introduces Bill W. as a pivotal figure, providing new perspectives on his legacy.

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About the Author: Paul Hourihan
Paul Hourihan, an award-winning author, teacher and mystic, was born, raised, and educated in Boston where he earned an undergraduate degree at Harvard College and a doctorate in American literature from Boston University. His teaching career began in southern Ontario, Canada where his interests in mystical studies eventually led him to teach courses on literary mystics such as William Blake, Thoreau and Whitman and great illumined teachers such as Buddha, Christ, Ramakrishna, and their wisdom traditions.

After a life-transforming experience in his early thirties, his commitment to the spiritual path and the teachings of the world's great mystical traditions, particularly India's Vedanta philosophy continued for the remaining 45 years of his life. It was only in the closing period of his life that he began in earnest to write and begin to publish his compelling works. He passed away peacefully in 2001 in northern California where he lived with his wife Anna, who continues to carry on his work.

In this psychological study of Bill Wilson he brings us unique insights into AA and its founder, as well as the problem of addiction and the spiritual aspect of recovery.
After Bill Wilson's supreme achievement in founding Alcoholics Anonymous, why would he have suffered a serious depression that lasted more than a decade? This book attempts to throw light on the question, one that has never been answered and rarely asked. In doing so, it involves the reader in many other themes of vital relevance to everyone--not to those in recovery alone.

This in-depth psychological study of the AA founder is generally based on the facts of Wilson's life, but not restricted to the literal truth: the prerogative of the novel. Some biographical events in Wilson's history have been passed over in favor of an intensive, original recreation of its key moments, from childhood to early middle age, when the power of the depression was first felt. As a work of the imagination as this chiefly is, it is able to probe more deeply into the hidden life of its subject than non-fiction.

Also addressed is why Bill W. was prevented from going "beyond sobriety" and into deeper spiritual waters.

According to the author, Bill W.'s depression may have been his salvation, and saved him from a worse fate. "Bill W., A Strange Salvation" will introduce new readers to Bill Wilson--"the greatest social architect" in Aldous Huxley's words of his century--and one of the seminal voices of our age. It also provides a fresh look for those already familiar with his story.

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Available in the following formats: .epub, .mobi

Price: $8.50 USD

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