“Today was a hard one. The pressure was great. Thank heaven you will never know what real alcoholism is like.” So wrote a despairing 34-year-old Bill Wilson to his devoted wife, Lois, as they battled Bill’s debilitating addiction to alcohol – just one of hundreds of personal letters Bill and Lois wrote to each other in a 60-year love story that helped give birth to the Twelve-Step recovery program.
“Bill & Lois Wilson: In Their Own Words” is the life and love story of Alcoholics Anonymous’ co-founder and Al-Anon Family Groups’ co-founder, which led to today’s life saving worldwide Twelve-Step fellowships. Recovery Ministries of the Episcopal Church New Hampshire, in cooperation with Stepping Stones – Historic Home of Bill & Lois Wilson, will present this unique stage presentation on Friday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. in Reynolds Hall, 52 Concord St., Peterborough. There is no charge for admission. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for open seating.
Drawing from more than 100,000 items in the Stepping Stones Foundation Archives, four actors use only words written or recorded by Bill and Lois to lead the audience through the couple’s young love, hopeful early life together, Bill’s descent into addiction and, ultimately, redemption and triumph as Bill connected with others to create the Twelve Steps that have shaped addiction treatment for 84 years. Lois, as co-founder of Al-Anon in 1951, helped the loved ones of alcoholics. Historic visual images and music, including a recording of Bill playing the violin, are integral parts of the presentation.
Stepping Stones in Katonah, New York, is the home where Bill and Lois lived and worked from 1941 until their deaths in 1971 and 1988, respectively. Today, the Stepping Stones Foundation inspires recovery by preserving for the public the historic home and archives of the Wilsons. The Foundation maintains and offers tours of the home, 15,000 objects, the Wilsons’ papers, and several acres of gardens and grounds.
“Bill & Lois Wilson: In their Own Words,” was developed in 2010 and presented in New York, Connecticut and California. The play was compiled, edited and staged by Laurie Heffner Lewis, who spearheaded and is staging this special New Hampshire performance. The Peterborough performance will feature Meg Rogers as Young Lois, Jake H. Lewis as Young Bill, Christine Howe as Older Lois, and Lauron Lewis as Older Bill. Basing a play exclusively on the Wilson’s own writings from the Stepping Stones Archives was the idea of former Stepping Stones executive director Annah Perch.
“We’re excited to be presenting this work for a New Hampshire audience,” said Rev. Sandi Albom of Episcopal Recovery Ministries of NH. “The story of Bill and Lois’ struggles and ultimate triumph creates a powerful witness – both for people in the recovery movement and also for people who may have limited knowledge about what AA and Al-Anon are all about. Hearing the insights and revelations of both Bill & Lois in their own words creates a moving portrait of what is at the core of the recovery movement.”
The Sept. 27 performance is presented with permission from Stepping Stones Foundation. A free-will offering will be taken to benefit Episcopal Recovery Ministries of NH and Stepping Stones.