Wandering Through Chapter 3 - More About Alcoholism
Pages 30 - 43

Fred the accountant

"Fred is a partner in a well known accounting firm." ¹
Big Book - More About Alcoholism - page 39

In this chapter, Bill examines thought patterns in alcoholics that lead to relapse despite good intentions. He illustrates his points with case studies: Carpet Slippers Guy (page 32), Jim the car salesman (page 35), the Jay-Walker (page 37), and Fred the accountant (page 39).

Here begins the story of Fred, an accountant. We will be reading about Fred for the next five pages. The real "Fred" was Harry B. (Brick), an early New York AA member who shared his story, "A Different Slant," on page 252 in the first edition of the Big Book. Harry eventually served on the first board of trustees for the Alcoholic Foundation.

In Harry's story, published in the first edition, he tells that while in the hospital, detoxing from alcohol, a doctor told him of men who had recovered and called themselves Alcoholics Anonymous. The doctor offered to arrange for a visit from them. Not wanting to offend the doctor he agreed to the visit, hoping the doctor would forget to pass along the request.

"I was embarrassed when a chap called at my house one evening and told me about himself. He quickly sensed my slight resentment and made it plain to me that none of the crowd were missionaries, nor did they feel it their duty to try to help anyone who did not want help. I think I closed the talk by saying I was glad I was not an alcoholic and sorry he had been bothered by me. Within sixty days after leaving the hospital the second time, I was pounding at his door, willing to do anything to conquer the vicious thing that had conquered me."¹ In chapter 5 of the Big Book, on page 45, we will find the statement "Lack of power, that was our dilemma"¹ which echoes Fred's personal experiences he has just related to us. Fred's story is a metaphor to show that alcoholism is a progressive illness, and that willpower alone is insufficient to stop the insane, self-destructive cycle of addiction.

Footnotes for page 39

¹Quotes from the Big Book on listed on this page are from the public domain version, in the United States, of the 2^nd edition of the book Alcoholics Anonymous. Accessible at 12step.org