Bill's 18th and 21st Dinner Talks

Bill's 18th and 21st Dinner Talks
After bill had accumulated significant sobriety a celebratory dinner was held in New York City at which Bill gave an AA talk.
(Bill drank for 17 years and staying sober for an 17 years was a notable milestone not only to him but to Lois as well.)
Bill talks about the role that Ebby played in getting Bill interested in sobriety and the role of Doctor Silkworth in helping him stay sober.
Bill tells how the serenity and happiness he saw in his newly sober friend Ebby attracted him to sobriety.
"Well, luckily, Ebby used no evangelical pressure or anything like that on me. He just left me to think it all over. And think it over I did, and in no waking hour, for days after that, could I get the spectacle of this other alcoholic, my friend talking to me over that table. Yes I kept on drinking, but I kept on thinking too."
After his profound spiritual experience Bill thought he might be hallucinating, or crazy. Bill tells how Doctor Silkworth assured him that he was not crazy, and that he had experienced a transformative spiritual experience, nor a hallucination.
In the months and years to come Doctor Silkworth helped Bill by advising him on working with wet drunks and by contributing to the Big Book.
Bill's story is not one of solitary achievement, instead it's a testament to the people helping people aspect of Alcoholics Anonymous.