Alcoholics Anonymous sues for return of 12-step manuscript

On a web page devoted to the auction, Profiles in History described it as “The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous” and “The Bible to Millions,” saying its 161 typed pages included handwritten edits by AA founders, including William Griffith Wilson, also known as Bill W. It said it had sold 30 million copies since 1939, been translated into 43 languages and has been ranked by the Library of Congress as a top non-fiction book that shaped America.

The auction house estimated it will sell for between $2 million and $3 million.

The lawsuit said the original working draft copy of the manuscript is “an original, historical document of unique importance.” It said it “indisputably belongs” to Alcoholics Anonymous after Barry Leach, who received it from Wilson’s widow, signed and notarized a letter in April 1979 saying it would belong to the organization upon his death. He died in 1985.

The lawsuit blamed “either extreme negligence or potentially wrongful actions” around the time of Leach’s death for it never reaching Alcoholics Anonymous.

As a result, it said, the manuscript was sold at auction in June 2004 at Sotheby’s to William A. Shenk for $1.57 million. The lawsuit said Roberts bought it at a Sotheby’s auction in 2007 for $850,000 at a time when Alcoholics Anonymous was not aware of Leach’s notarized letter.

The lawsuit said Roberts informed Alcoholics Anonymous on April 7 that he planned to sell the manuscript on June 8. A phone message left for Roberts was not immediately returned.

The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Alcoholics Anonymous sues for return of 12-step manuscript

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