Editor’s Note: January 24 and 25 are the wedding anniversaries of Anne and Dr. Bob Smith and Lois and Anne Wilson. Last year we focused on Lois and Bill. This year Anne and Dr. Bob Smith. Enjoy. 

Most people in Akron know that Alcoholics Anonymous was founded here. What we may not fully appreciate is that Akron also helped launch family recovery—and, with it, the broader addiction recovery movement. That legacy is more relevant than ever, in Akron and around the world.

In the mid-1930s, two men were drinking themselves toward death. Their marriages were strained beyond comprehension. Work was impossible. Institutionalization—or worse—seemed inevitable.

One was Bill Wilson, a former Wall Street stock analyst. The other was Dr. Bob Smith, an Akron surgeon who relied on stimulants and alcohol just to function. When the two men met in Akron in 1935, neither could stay sober alone. Their meeting—now recognized as the founding moment of Alcoholics Anonymous—would change millions of lives.

But Akron’s role in recovery history goes deeper than that famous meeting.

Bill Wilson married Lois Burnham on January 24, 1918. Dr. Bob Smith married Anne Ripley on January 25, 1915. Long before AA existed, these two marriages were already grappling with addiction as a family disease. What ultimately saved these men was not simply sobriety, but marriages grounded in love, perseverance, and a growing understanding that addiction is an illness, not a moral failure.

Together, the Wilsons and the Smiths helped spark two intertwined movements: Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon Family Groups. One focused on recovery for individuals. The other recognized a radical truth for its time—families, too, need recovery.

That insight remains urgent today.

Addiction in Akron, as elsewhere, extends far beyond alcohol and drugs. Gambling platforms target young people. Credit card debt and online consumption quietly spiral. Compulsive work—often rewarded rather than questioned—erodes family life. Addiction thrives in isolation, while shame deepens and connection fades.

Recovery, however, is not a mystery. The path is well-worn, accessible, and remarkably effective when sustained. That path was first walked here in Akron.

I write not only as a historian of this movement, but as someone who has personally benefited from long-term recovery. Like many families touched by addiction, mine has experienced both devastation and healing. Recovery reshaped not just individual lives, but family systems across generations.

Over the years, I have seen the consequences when families lack access to understanding, support, and recovery—losses that continue to haunt communities. The intergenerational transmission of addiction has devastating consequences and deserves far more attention from our media, educators, employers, and faith communities.

The familiar origin story of AA begins with Bill Wilson’s spiritual awakening in 1934 and his meeting with Dr. Bob Smith here in Akron in 1935. On June 10 of that year, Dr. Bob took his last drink.

But the deeper lesson lies with Lois and Anne. Lois stayed through 17 years of Bill’s alcoholism. Anne endured 20 years of Dr. Bob’s decline. Each experienced her own spiritual awakening, leading to the creation of Al-Anon and later Alateen. Their insight—that healing happens in community—continues to restore families every day.

Anne Smith became known in Akron for a simple greeting she offered those seeking sobriety: “Keep coming back.”  After new members’ lives began to stabilize, Anne’s message was clear: “Make sure you go out of your way to help the newcomer.” 

At a time when addiction, loneliness, and division feel overwhelming, Akron’s quiet legacy offers a clear lesson: recovery is possible—and it often begins at home.

Tom Adams is a recovery advocate, blog writer for Critical Conversations and co-author with Joy Jones of A Marriage That Changed the World: Lois and Bill Wilson and the Addiction Recovery Movement.