In 1929, Bill Wilson, a famous New York stockbroker, crashes with the stock market, becoming a miserable drunk. Meanwhile, Dr. Bob Smith, a surgeon in Akron, has been an alcoholic for thirty years, often going into the operating room with a hangover. Both are isolated, alone, and on the brink of death. Through an astonishing series of events, the two men are brought together and, realizing that “the only thing that can keep a drunk sober is telling his story to another drunk,” forge a relationship. They help each other stay sober, and then pass on what they’ve learned to others. Nearly eight decades later, having never promoted itself, AA spans over 170 countries, with an estimated total of over 114,000 groups and more than two million members worldwide.