Comments on: Children of the Healer (reviewed by Heidi Weston)

By: Dick B.

Dick B. — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 20:56:34 +0000

Just ran across this review again today through someone who visited my website. I have already expressed my views on Children of the Healer. And I regret that the reviewer here has so little understanding of the importance of this book to the history of Alcoholics Anonymous. Very little has been written about the background of either Dr. Bob (the Prince of all Twelfth-steppers) or his wife Anne (the Mother of A.A.). Given the fact that A.A. itself has never chosen to do the job adequately, this book by Smitty and Sue, as told to another, is another vital link in an untold history of the real origins and roots of the early Alcoholics Anonymous Christian Fellowship.
I’d find it sad if millions interested in the recovery movement were to miss out on this historical piece because of the review published on this site.

By: Dick B.

Dick B. — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:48:57 +0000

I knew Sue Smith Windows, Robert R. Smith, and Smitty’s first wife Betty quite well. And the first time I read Children of the Healer, I could almost hear the folks talking. This is because the language of the two kids was very unique and different in that it is reflected in the text of the book. I personally consider this book essential reading for those of us who really want to pull together all the details of the early Akron Christian fellowship. Thus Sue specifically calls attention to her mother’s journal–which gave rise to my title Anne Smith’s Journal 1933-1939. Sue specifically mentions the morning quiet time which her mother held each morning for early AAs and their families. She points to the reading of the Bible, prayer, seeking God’s guidance, and the elements of this practice which taught the pioneers so much about the Smith view of the power of God, the Bible, and healing. Smitty points to the fact that his mother was called the “Mother of A.A.” And one gets a real picture of the nurse-evangelist-teacher-cook-counselor status that Anne Smith occupied in the crowded Smith home. Regretably, A.A. literature is so deficient in historical research, details, and reports that one must turn to the many outside resources which fill in the blanks.

By: Lydia

Lydia — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 20:29:10 +0000

Thank you for this. I remember a retired English teacher at a meeting telling us about this book (Hi, Muriel), and she said it wasn’t written very well. I had forgotten about it until I read this review. No matter how it’s written, I’m sure it’s worth the time. I will be looking into it.