Joy Jones and Tom Adams promoted their new book, 'A Marriage That Changed the World,' at an event last month in Greenbelt, Maryland. Their book about Bill and Lois Wilson, pioneers of the recovery movement, was decades in the making. Photo courtesy of Joy Jones

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Chances are you know someone with a drinking problem or other addiction. If they’ve sought help from a 12-step program, they have Bill and Lois Wilson to thank.

Bill Wilson co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935, and 16 years later, his wife, Lois, co-founded Al-Anon, a support group for people whose lives are affected by alcoholism. Both programs include 12 steps, which include making amends, meditating and helping others.

You can read their story in a new book, A Marriage That Changed the World: Lois & Bill Wilson and the Addiction Recovery Movement, by local writers Tom Adams and Joy Jones, published this spring.

So far, more than a dozen experts have endorsed the book, including Jeanne Phillips, better known as Dear Abby.

“Addiction has been mentioned in the ‘Dear Abby’ column practically since my mother began writing it,” Phillips writes in the book’s introduction. “Al-Anon and A.A. have been a blessing for many individuals and families. Those interested in learning more about this life-saving program should read this book.”

Last month, Adams and Jones hosted a screening of a documentary, “Bill W.,” at the Greenbelt Cinema, followed by a reading from their book about an influential couple who few people have heard of.

It started with two and grew

Wall Street investor Bill Wilson was an alcoholic who teamed up with another one, Dr. Robert Silkworth, to stay sober and teach others how to do so.

Alcoholics Anonymous started small, then grew after a Saturday Evening Post article was published in 1941. Today it has about two million participants in 180 countries.

The program is entirely free; there are no dues or fees. Its 12-step program has inspired others to apply a similar approach to different addictions, including drugs, food and gambling.

After enduring her husband’s habit for 17 years, Lois Wilson realized that A.A. principles could help spouses and children of alcoholics, too. So she and a friend, Anne Bingham, founded Al-Anon Family Groups.

“There is this powerful force that is changing the world, and it’s grossly underutilized because people don’t know about the program,” Adams said. The Wilsons’ marriage “changed the world because it gave hope to all these millions of people.”

Authors teamed up, too

Adams, a therapist who lives in Greenbelt, Maryland, and Jones, a writer, met in a 12-step meeting years ago. Adams, who has been sober for 45 years, had long wanted to write a history of the Wilsons’ dual role in the recovery movement.

“I had begun thinking about this book back in the ‘90s,” Adams said. “I set it aside until I retired. And when I retired, I was looking for a group where I could actually work on this book.”

So he called Jones, a seasoned author of six books, and she invited him to join her writer’s group. That gave him the nudge he needed.

“She encouraged me to write it,” Adams said. But he was better at research and needed her storyteller flair. “I knew that if Joy was on the team, we’d have a compelling story.”

Initially Jones “had no intention of helping him write the book,” she said. But she changed her mind, agreeing to co-author the book as long as it focused on the Wilsons’ marriage, since without Lois, Bill would not have been able to start A.A., and without Bill, Lois would not have started Al-Anon.

“It’s typically described as one man with a great idea making all the changes, when in fact many people — especially women — are doing some of the invisible work that helps to make that change take place,” Jones said. “So I was particularly impressed that Tom wanted to talk about the marriage, not just the man.”

Jones had an inkling that the book would be well received when she mentioned the draft at a 12-step meeting. “A woman passed me a note saying, ‘I’d like to read that book,’ and I had to explain, well, there is no book,” Jones remembered. “That’s when I really knew he was on to something.”

Through thick and thin

Unfortunately, like many marriages, the “marriage that changed the world” was complicated by miscarriage, infidelity and resentment. “I could imagine she would be frustrated with him from time to time, and he with her,” Jones said.

Yet they prayed together, read aloud to each other and traveled internationally. They also wrote love letters, which are preserved in their former home in upstate New York. Adams traveled there and to Manhattan to the A.A. archive during his eight years of research for the book.

Although Jones’ literary agent shopped the book to 60 publishers, not one made them a viable offer. So Adams formed Greenbelt Publishing and published the book himself.

The two announced the book on January 24, 2025, the Wilsons’ wedding anniversary, in a Zoom call attended by 600 people. They’re planning two other online events this month.

“One thing I would want readers to take away from the book is the idea that it’s not just one person who does all the heavy lifting,” Jones said. “It really is a village that is required to make good things happen.”

For information about the May 11 and May 30 book talks on Zoom, see thadams.com/the-wilson-book and click “upcoming events.”

To order a copy of A Marriage that Changed the World, go to Amazon.com or SteppingStones.org. If you want to stop drinking, visit aa-dc.org or call (202) 966-9115.