Shoemaker make his break with Buchman and the OG eventually, and for good reason–though Buchman, typically, lied about the rift afterwards, citing meaningless practical matters as the root.

For a fairer representation, and greater gratitude for AA’s break with the OG, read:

‘All I Could Never Be,’ by Beverly Nichols. May neo-OG sites refer to ‘The Fool Hath Said,’ Nichols glowing account of his infatuation with the Group. A year later, after learning that he had been deliberately deceived by the Group and suffering a near complete breakdown, Nichols had other things to say.

‘The Mystery of Moral Re Armament’ by Tom Driberg. Yes, Driberg may have been a fellow traveller and all that; but he did do his homework on Buchman, to the point of finding the original(s) of at least one of Buchman’s famous Amends letters. Also of interest to modern readers is the coded suggestion that Buchman may have been a self-loathing homosexual.

The OG was a kind of anti-AA. Obsessed with money, property and prestige, the Group discouraged Wilson’s work in New York and opposed AA’s existence as a free-standing entity. Please do not be fooled by the blandishments of fundamentalist infiltrators of AA. OUR primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to acheive sobriety. Leave evangelical empire building to the swamis and sociopaths.