Note: This week’s guest contributor is a friend and talented writer, editor, coach and spiritual director. Joy Jones and I have benefitted from her skilled editing of our book A Marriage that Changed the World. She shares about the book and her experience with it.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a powerful force for good in the US and around the world. Over the years, I’ve known and worked with many people whose lives have been positively transformed through their involvement with AA and other addiction recovery movements. 

Richard Rohr wrote a book about the spiritual aspects of AA called Breathing Under Water. (I edited the tenth-anniversary edition). He notes elsewhere that he believes “the spirituality of Alcoholics Anonymous…is going to go down as the significant and authentic American contribution to the history of spirituality.”

Over the past couple of years, through my editing work, I have been immersed in the story of Lois and Bill Wilson, two of the cofounders of AA and Al-Anon Family Groups, respectively. Today, I am pleased to announce that the book—A Marriage That Changed the World: Bill and Lois Wilson and the Addiction Recovery Movement by Tom Adams and Joy Jones—will be officially launched this Friday, January 24, on the 107^th anniversary of the Wilsons’ marriage.

My involvement in this project actually started back in 2018, when Tom Adams reached out to me about writer coaching. As a retired nonprofit executive and consultant, he was struggling with work-life balance and seeking support with his writing projects. Over the next few years, we worked together to envision and bring to life his website (which has graciously reposted a number of my blog entries), and discussed a number of other projects. All the while, this book was coming to life in the background.

In the summer of 2023, I met Joy Jones online and began editing the book. Over the past two years, I have learned so much about AA, Al-Anon, and the faith and tenacity of the Wilsons and other early recovery pioneers. I sometimes comment about being addicted to sugar, but the impact on my life is nothing like what Bill W., Dr. Bob, and others faced (and continue to face) in terms of the disruption and destruction of life, livelihoods, relationships, and more.

Fortunately, there is hope. AA, Al-Anon, and the many Twelve Step and other recovery programs for individuals and families truly help individuals with diverse kinds of addictions find recovery, “one day at a time.” Equally powerful, there is hope for interrupting the passing of addictions from generation to generation. 

I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute my editorial expertise to this project, and I celebrate its launch this week. If you’re available, register to join the authors and some additional contributors to this project at one of two virtual launch events this Friday, January 24! You can also preorder the ebook here or check back later if you wish the print edition.

Do you have an addiction-recovery story to share?This post first appeared on Shirin’s weekly blog. Visit to read more on related topi