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Mission Book Club Selects Spring 2023 Title

02/10/2023

The Office of Mission and Identity is offering a Spring Book Club on the book, "Fr. Ed, The Story of Bill W.’s Spiritual Sponsor," by Dawn Eden Goldstein. SLU faculty, staff and students can read about St. Louis and Saint Louis University of the early 20th century as it relates to the formation of a Jesuit whose influence touches millions of lives today.  

Fr. Ed is the first biography of Jesuit Father Edward Dowling (1898-1960), whose spiritual guidance transformed the life of Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson and helped him bring A.A. to international prominence. Although not an alcoholic himself, Father Ed came to devote his ministry to helping people in recovery - not only alcoholics but also people in troubled marriages (as a leader of the Cana Conference movement) and those suffering from nervous disorders.

He was also a champion of civil rights and social justice, and his interests presaged the agenda of the Catholic Church in the post-Vatican II era. There is no counting the millions of lives his ministry touched.  

“A long awaited and much-needed biography of one of the most influential, yet most unknown, spiritual figures of modern times. Anyone who has benefited from the insights of Alcoholics Anonymous, a program that led to millions of freer lives, owes a debt of gratitude to Dawn Eden Goldstein for her carefully researched and lovingly told story of Father Ed.  Highly recommended.”  said Fr. James Martin, S.J.

The opening session will be at noon on Tuesday, Feb. 28, on Zoom. Fr. David Suwalsky, S.J., Vice President for Mission and Identity will introduce readers to Fr. Ed and his formative years, and his connection to St. Louis and Saint Louis University. 

The closing luncheon session will be Wednesday, April 19, at noon at Boileau Hall, 38 N. Vandeventer Author Dawn Eden Goldstein will share her insights on the life of Fr. Ed that she discovered in the process of writing his biography. 

Register and receive your book by filling out the Google form.