A.A.’s foundational manuscript coming home to Katonah

Notes and edits in the manuscript can be seen in this closeup. CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD 2026

By ROBERT BRUM 

The original manuscript for the publication that gave birth to the 12-step recovery movement is coming home to Stepping Stones in Katonah.

The document that would become “Alcoholics Anonymous” and is known as “The Big Book” to millions who’ve found recovery through its pages, will once again reside at the home where Bill Wilson, its primary author, and his wife, Al-Anon Family Groups co-founder Lois Wilson, lived from 1941 until their deaths.

The nonprofit foundation that owns Stepping Stones pulled together a group of donors just in time to raise nearly $2.4 million to win a July 1 auction at Christie’s New York.

After her husband died, Lois Wilson gave the manuscript, which she called “one of my most precious possessions,” to a close friend with the hope it would eventually be donated to A.A. But it later wound up being put up for sale, said Sally A. Corbett-Turco, Stepping Stones’ executive director.

The hand-edited version titled “Printer’s Copy/Working Draft Manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous,” led to the 1939 publication of the “Big Book,” listed by the Library of Congress as among “88 Books that Shaped America.”

Corbett-Turco called the document “the bedrock of A.A. and 12-step recovery as well as an important piece of world history. The manuscript has the final handwritten edits to the program of recovery that has proven lifesaving to millions of people. Around the clock, somewhere in the world, people are reading and studying the ‘Big Book,’ discovering hope in the path out of alcoholism found in the words first crafted in these pages.”

Input from doctors, clergy, friends and members was incorporated into the pre-publication, she noted. A key shift in tone was the wording change from “you” to “we” and “they” to “us,” representing the idea that A.A. is a “we” program — a fellowship composed of people with a common malady. 

“Just as today, early A.A. members shared their experience with others who had their common problem,” Turco-Corbett said. “They did not preach.”

The Stepping Stones Foundation’s representatives at the auction (left to right) Alisa Veverka, senior foundation assistant and events manager; Yanina Varley, deputy director for operations; Sharon Wolff, deputy director for archive & collection; Sally A. Corbett-Turco, executive director; Bill Barton, president, Board of Trustees; Sue Vairo, secretary, Board of Trustees; and Greg Tobin, interim director for advancement. COURTESY OF STEPPING STONES

The manuscript’s edits also played a significant role in establishing A.A. as welcoming people of any religion, any spiritual practice, or none at all. 

“A great example is the edit made to Step 11,” she said. “They changed the phrase ‘conscious contact with God’ to ‘conscious contact with God as we understood Him,’ so that members feel free to choose their own conception of a higher power.”   

The manuscript includes the “Twelve Steps” drafted by Wilson and published in the “Big Book,” which have been embraced by many other recovery programs including Gamblers Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous and Debtors Anonymous.

The foreword lays out A.A.’s key principle of anonymity; markups in later chapters reveal early members debating language, tone and how to describe a spiritual program without drifting into dogma, according to Christie’s.

“A great analogy is to think about if there were a version of the ‘Declaration of Independence’ where all of the founding fathers placed their edits and you can see the areas that were subject to debate and areas that were in agreement and the critical exact wording that they knew would be important,” Corbett-Turco said. “This is almost like that for Alcoholics Anonymous and more broadly 12-step recovery.”

The “Big Book” was written and edited primarily in Newark, N.J., Brooklyn and Akron, Ohio (hometown of A.A. co-founder Dr. Bob Smith). The first copy to come off the press is in Stepping Stones’ collection.

Before its publication, wrote A.A. historian Bill Schaberg, “there was no concrete formulation of their program of recovery, and, most especially, there were no clearly articulated Twelve Steps that drinkers could follow as a road map for getting and staying sober.”

The book, with a fifth edition currently in the works, has sold well over 30 million copies worldwide.

The manuscript was auctioned by the estate of Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, who died in 2025. Proceeds from the sale will be donated to philanthropic causes supported by Irsay, who publicly discussed his own struggles with addiction. 

Stepping Stones kept tabs on the manuscript as it changed hands over the years and learned about the auction only about a week beforehand. 

“We at first thought we were not a contender to go to auction, and were hopeful that perhaps it would end up with us someday, maybe someone else would get it at auction and would donate it someday,” Corbett-Turco said.

But a call-out to supporters across the country, donations from Stepping Stones board members and money from the organization itself put them in position to own the cherished artifact.

Stepping Stones, the Dutch Colonial Revival home in Katonah where Bill and Lois Wilson lived from 1941 until their deaths.  COURTESY OF STEPPING STONES

Corbett-Turco said the manuscript had not yet reached Katonah as the foundation consults with a conservator to determine how it will be housed and displayed. 

“We got together with caring people and raised funds to ensure that this foundational document will remain exactly where it should be at Stepping Stones in Katonah,” said Bill Barton, president of the nonprofit’s Board of Trustees.

The Wilsons’ Dutch Colonial Revival home on Oak Road, which has national landmark status, is home to a trove of some 111,000 writings, mementos and artifacts related to the Wilsons’ personal stories of recovery as well as the programs they helped form.

 “Wit’s End,” Bill’s writing cottage, and the desk where Lois helped form Al-Anon, are among the features that attract thousands of visitors each year. Many more experience Stepping Stones through its online tours, archive and collections.

The foundation is seeking donations for the care and presentation of the manuscript. Visit steppingstones.org for information and announcements.