About the Alcoholic Husband — Early Alcoholics Anonymous Pamphlet
The Alcoholic Foundation | Early A.A. Family & Outreach Literature
About the Alcoholic Husband is an early Alcoholics Anonymous pamphlet created to carry the A.A. message beyond the alcoholic himself and directly into the home.
The text is drawn from “To Wives,” Chapter 8 of Alcoholics Anonymous, and was republished in pamphlet form as a practical piece of outreach literature for wives, relatives, and friends struggling to understand alcoholism and the behavior of the alcoholic in their lives.
The cover immediately addresses the questions confronting families:
“Why can’t we wives cure them? How can they be so thoughtless of the children? Why are they so blind about themselves?”
The pamphlet then presents the experience of the wives of Alcoholics Anonymous members and describes how greater understanding of alcoholism and A.A. could help families respond differently to the problem.
An Early A.A. Outreach Piece
This pamphlet represents an important period in the development of Alcoholics Anonymous literature. Before A.A. produced the extensive range of specialized literature available today, inexpensive pamphlets such as this were an important means of introducing A.A. to alcoholics, families, doctors, clergy, employers, and the general public.
The rear-cover information directs readers to The Alcoholic Foundation, P.O. Box 459, Grand Central Annex, New York 17, N.Y., identifying the organization that oversaw A.A.’s early general-service activities before the Foundation was renamed the General Service Board in 1954.
Later A.A. literature continued to describe The Alcoholic Husband as “A Message to Wives.” A 1957 General Service Office literature list offered the pamphlet for just ten cents, illustrating its original purpose as inexpensive, widely distributed outreach literature rather than a collectible publication.
The pamphlet remained part of A.A.’s literature program for decades. By 1975, A.A. had decided to combine and update The Alcoholic Husband and its companion pamphlet, The Alcoholic Wife, marking the eventual end of these separate publications.
Collector Significance
Today, early examples of About the Alcoholic Husband provide a tangible look at how Alcoholics Anonymous communicated with families during its formative years.
The connection to the First Edition Big Book through “To Wives,” the Alcoholic Foundation imprint, and its role in A.A.’s early family outreach make this a particularly interesting piece for collectors of early Alcoholics Anonymous pamphlets, Big Book-related literature, and the history of family recovery.
Pamphlet Details
Title: About the Alcoholic Husband
Organization: Alcoholics Anonymous
Issued by: The Alcoholic Foundation
Content: Adapted from “To Wives” in Alcoholics Anonymous
Period: Early A.A. publication; late 1940s/early 1950s era
Format: Stapled pamphlet
Subject: Alcoholism, Alcoholics Anonymous, marriage and family recovery
Condition
This example is in excellent condition for its age, with only minor edge wear visible.
The pamphlet remains clean and well preserved, particularly desirable for an ephemeral publication originally produced for inexpensive distribution and practical use.
Please review all photographs carefully for the condition and details of this individual copy.
