I’ve heard from Catholics I know in recovery that founder Bill W. almost became a Catholic and there was a priest he counted as one of his closest friends. Whether he eventually would have become Catholic is another story, but I found this detail interesting. Though I knew of his interest in the Catholic Church, I never knew the name of the priest who played such a significant role in his life until I came across a new biography titled “Father Ed” when I searched the Orbis Books website. The priest, Fr. Ed Dowing, was a Jesuit priest who grew up in St. Louis and served God’s people in the St. Louis area in the first half of the twentieth century (1898-1960). The author, Dawn Eden Goldstein has done a great deal of research that included reading his personal papers, interviewing people who knew him, and researching other areas that were pertinent to his life story. She has written a book that is both a biography as well as a labor of love on her part. It is evident to anyone who reads this book she truly admired her subject. She paints a vivid portrait of life in the United States during Fr. Ed’s lifetime as well as life in a Catholic home at that time. She shows how he was very much a product of his time while also being a head of his time. He was in many ways the typical priest you’d expect to meet, yet many of the people he ministered to and cared for were often those on the fringes of society. He was an early champion when it came to people battling addiction at a time it was viewed as a personal defect. He was also ahead of his time as far as Civil Rights were concerned. Something I found particularly insightful was her description of Jesuit training, especially the novitiate at that time, and how difficult it was for him. She also mentions disappointments he had in ministry, particularly his not being assigned to academic life, yet if he had been able to pursue an academic career, he may not have been able to help the many people who required his assistance. She also shows ways his vocation to the priesthood was nurtured in traditional and nontraditional ways. He was raised in a strong Catholic home that supported vacations, but he was not pegged as having a vocation to the priesthood by those closest to him, especially being called to the rigors of Jesuit life. He was an altar boy to a priest he admired who as considered a bit of a maverick. He also loved baseball, had a keen interest in politics, and people assumed he’d be a journalist. Yet when you see both the traditional nd nontraditional elements at play, you get a glimpse of the priest he later became. While the focus of the book is Fr. Ed, as it should be, she also has wonderful insights into Bill W. I knew the basic outline of Bill W.’s life prior to reading “Father Ed,” but she includes many details that show how he was an interesting and complex individual.

“Father Ed” should interest readers and have a broad audience. The strong connection between Fr. Ed and Bill W. will be of interest to people in recovery, especially those who are interested in the history of Alcoholics Anonymous. People interested in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States will find a fascinating story as well. As a Catholic priest, and knowing many Catholics today are defining themselves as disciples, this book will be of immense value. In Fr. Ed Dowling we see a person God worked through in a powerful way, a man who lived this vocation in spite of setbacks, someone who saw a need and responded to it, and someone who lived a life modeled after the “Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.”

Father Ed: The Story of Bill W's Spiritual Sponsor by Dawn Eden Goldstein is a book that made a difference about a man who made a difference. I purchased the book because many years ago I had read Dawn Eden Goldstein's earlier works, including record liner notes. Father Edward Dowling SJ was a 20th-century priest in the Society of Jesus, more popularly known as the Jesuits. I am an avid reader, and admittedly, sometimes find biographies tedious. That is not the case with Father Ed. From the start, I was enthralled. We read about a priest from a humble middle-class background who had a love of sports and writing. There is no doubt Edward Dowling had a calling to the Catholic priesthood from a young age. The author handily places the reader into the life and grit of an Irish-Catholic family in early 20th-century St. Louis. The reader then follows the trajectory of this man's life through an early career in journalism, his Jesuit education, his Jesuit seminary training, and a life devoted to easing the emotional pain of others, known and unknown. A man, who despite a painful and debilitating disease, always helped, even until his last days on earth. This is also the story of how Fr. Ed came to be the spiritual advisor to the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill Wilson. And, this is where the biography gets interesting. Bill Wilson may have conquered and kept at bay his addiction demons, but spiritually was a man adrift. A man who dabbled in spiritism, and other esoteric philosophies. The book details how Bill W had not only a relationship with Fr. Ed but had one with Bishop Fulton J Sheen, a Catholic Bishop of much influence in the mid-20th century. Bill W never became a Catholic. That said, we learn how Father Ed who had a gift of kindness and charity would correct, but never brow-beat. If Father Edward Dowling is never made a Catholic saint, in the least he should be installed in an American Catholic Hall of Fame.

Now, how this book influenced my life. Honestly, I purchased the book, as I indicated earlier because I was familiar with the author's previous writings. It was a captivating read that lead me to Ignatian Spirituality and my current Ignatian practices. I've read thousands of books, and it is the rare tome that leads me to a new way of viewing life and the world.

Father Ed: The Story of Bill W's Spiritual Sponsor by Dawn Eden Goldstein would make a fine selection for any Catholic Book Club or reading group. In closing, anyone considering the priesthood or religious life, not only Catholics, needs to read this book. This book was a thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening read.

My introduction to Fr. Ed Dowling was on page 572 in the Big Book of AA where he is quoted in The Religious View On AA. Reading "The Soul of Sponsorship" by Robert Fitzgerald SJ enlightened me on Fr. Ed as Bill Wilson's unofficial sponsor. As a Catholic belonging to a 12-step recovery program, it brought me comfort to learn about a Jesuit impacting Bill W, a non-Catholic, agnostic, and atheist in stages of his life. Now Dawn Eden Goldstein has written a captivating biography of Fr. Dowling beginning with his Irish-American roots, his formation as a Jesuit, and the trajectory his life took as a result of his own personal sufferings. Dawn's prose is so profound and her descriptions are so vivid; I would often pause because I knew I was wading into holy ground. I appreciated the fastidiousness of Dawn's research which brought depth and weight to this story. The way Dawn describes Fr. Ed's encounters with married couples, the homeless, his fellow Jesuits, suffering alcoholics, and the deep-seated love of his family brought this holy man off the pages and into my soul. Fr. Ed's story became a prayer for me. I have sent many copies to friends because my feeble description cannot capture the brilliance of Dawn's book and I want EVERYONE to know about this saintly, holy man. Thank you, Dawn, for lending your genius to this story that needed to be told!

This is such a well-researched biography it boggles the mind. Not only do we learn ABOUT Father Ed and Bill Wilson, but we learn FROM them, that's why I call it A User's Guide to Living Life on Life's Terms - because both men, faced with extraordinary challenges (as we all are in one way or another) found a way to do just that - live life on life's terms. It's been said "the school of experience is the best teacher" and it is, so we learn much from not only our own experience, but the experience of others - and Dawn Eden Goldstein animates the life experience of these two men in such a relatable and tangible way that the reader comes away with the feeling of having spent some personal time with them. Whether you have interest in AA or not, you'll gain valuable insights from this book; I certainly did.

Although written as a biography, this book is filled with much more insights regarding discernment and the spiritual life. The research done to provide the story of Fr. Ed is phenomenal, and the style of writing is such that it can be accessible and enjoyable for an incredibly wide variety of audience. Although the relationship with Bill W. and AA is highly emphasized, the pearls of spiritual wisdom scattered throughout are beneficial for all people, whether or not they have ever had involvement in AA, if they are striving to overcome some other difficulty/attachment in life, or if they simply are discerning ways to serve God in their lives. I truly believe this book has the ability to enlighten and inspire priests, religious, and laity alike!

Often history turns on small personal pivots like the encounter between Bill W and Fr Ed. I knew of Fr Ed from the Big Book yet did not know the “rest of the story,” and especially the Jesuit’s lifelong positive influence in Bill. Very well done biography. Interesting and inspirational.

In a seemingly endless news cycle of hateful words, stupid people and horrible acts perpetrated against the innocent, there is particular joy and relief in reading about a Catholic priest who, as it turns out, never molested or abused anyone and who, in fact, devoted his entire life to actually helping people in recovery—an accomplishment worthy of the treatment it receives in this thoughtfully written biography of Father Edward Dowling; an honest and meticulously researched life story that presents its subject not as an easy saint to be glorified and venerated, but as a principled man of prayer and action to be admired and emulated.

I read the book after seeing it advertised in two magazines. I am familiar with AA and the great work accomplished by those who work the program. I had no idea that a priest could have so much support and influence on troubled people who had been addicted to alcohol. His life was totally supportive of so many. An interesting thing in the book was reference to some old Catholic rules that thankfully no longer exist. One regarding black people, and the other regarding those who were divorced. Gratefully those items have been properly dealt with.

Goldstein has done a great service to all of the people who were loved by Fr. Ed and who loved him on return. I am praying for his help these days. The Queen's Work continues, and now he is free to teach us the way to live.life to the full.

Thanks, Fr. Ed. Thanks. Dawn!

Loverly AA history

Fr. Ed is such a relatable person you can’t help feeling that he would be your friend in another time. His work, not only with AA, is historically significant but more importantly inspiring. His understanding of the applicability of the 12 Steps extend far beyond alcohol making this book of interest to all.