THE TWELFTH STEP by Thomas Randall - First Printing 1957

THE TWELFTH STEP: a novel by Thomas Randall

This is a First printing from 1957 with an original dust jacket.

More about the book from the dust jacket:

“THE TWELFTH STEP is Thomas Randall's first novel, and it is unique in the field of fiction. Mr. Randall has written a book in which all the major characters suffer under the common bond of alcoholism. It is this which brings them together at a hospital for alcoholics, and the author presents the dramatic effects of the interrelationships developing from their meeting. It is the powerful story of men and women forced to examine painfully their own minds and souls for the true motivation behind their actions. It is the story of their attempts to help themselves and others, of their struggle to establish new ideals and standards in the place of the weakened foundations on which their lives thus far have stood.

Thomas Randall, a member of Alcoholics Anonymous himself, is in a position to write with accuracy about his subject; but more important, he writes with a clear, purposeful style which is seldom found in a first novel. His characters stand out vividly and individually although each one comes to realize his dependence on the others:

Martin Gray—a civil-service worker in Boston, perceptive, self-educated, a man whose intense intellectual curiosity proves a barrier to happiness, and whose need to love and be of help to another offers him a solution.

Abbie Reese-33 years old, but already worn and dissipated; the total absence of love has twisted the direction of her life and forced her slowly to pros-titution.

David Le Grande a bartender with a prep-school education whose fears control him and dominate his life and whose frantic search for peace drives him further from it.

Helen Le Grande-wife to David, a woman in love with her husband, forced to watch his self-destruction.

Evelyn Johnson—an attractive, young, blonde housewife, imbued with a natural vitality which is confined by the unmapped boundaries of suburban life.

Ralph Hilton—a salesman of shoe lin-ings, a man of distinguished appearance, squeezed by circumstances into a mold which society has made for him, but who longs for simplicity.

Throughout the novel the strength and simplicity of Alcoholics Anonymous flows steadily. The uncomplicated philosophy and the calm spirituality are seen clearly in the true role which AA plays in the alcoholic's search for a genuine integrity.”

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THE AUTHOR

“Because the author is a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, the pseudonym Thomas Randall has been used in order to conform with the traditions of the fellowship. As he has pointed out in one of his letters, "The failure of one person in the public eye could do more than offset the success of Give thousand unknowns. Also, the retention of anonymity is a facet of humility which seems necessary for the recovered alcoholic." Speaking of yet another aspect of this sub-ject, he continues: "In the past few years there have been several well-known people who have chosen to disregard the tradition of anonymity by writing autobiographical works. These books have looked at alcoholism more from the viewpoint of an incident in a glamorous life. Complete honesty, of course, is impossible in autobiography. It is only with the cloak of anonymity which fiction affords that the subject can be covered in its entirety and without a stultifying sense of expediency and discretion."

Of the author's own life there are, therefore, few details which can be reported here. That his father was an alcoholic, and that the resulting separation of his parents caused him to be raised in an orphan asylum are important and general enough to be told. Having witnessed the terrible results of chronic drunkenness at an early age, he swore to himself that he would never drink. "But," in his words, "the child of an alcoholic is filled with fear and bewilderment, is torn between love and aversion, and this later on makes him susceptible to the initially unifying and ego-inflating effects of alcohol."

As an adult he roamed from one joh to another, working on construction jobs, at tree-moving, and landscaping, as a doorman, an artist's model, and during this time he was reading continuously. When he finally settled down for seven years with a job on a tugboat, he started to write and published several stories in avant garde magazines and made a few false starts with novels.

During World War Il his drinking problem became acute and increased gradually until several years ago when he was introduced to Alcoholics Anonymous. He is now living in New Hampshire with his family.“

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The book is in very good condition with minimal wear. There is no writing or markings in the book. The dust jacket has some light edge wear.

Please view all of the photos for the conditions.