James H. is truly a unique individual. He is ninety-five years old, sixty-six years sober, and one of the greatest "life-changers" of the past one hundred years.

Just like Bill Wilson, Dr. Bob Smith, and the other "Big Book" authors, James H. found God and sobriety in the Oxford Group. And, just like Bill Wilson, Dr. Bob Smith, and the other "Big Book" authors, James had his spiritual awakening as the direct result of taking the Oxford Group Four Steps of Surrender, Sharing, Restitution and Guidance.

James attended Oxford Group meetings with Bill Wilson in Frederick, MD from 1935-1937. The Oxford Group considered all addictions to be equally detrimental in terms of cutting a person off from God. There was no more emphasis on alcohol than there was on smoking, womanizing, or drug addiction. All of these behaviors left us in the dark relying on self-will, rather than God's will to solve our problems. The Group believed that self could not overcome self. Only God could remove our addictions and afflictions, provided we established an intimate two-way relationship with Him. In 1937, Bill left the Group to work full time with alcoholics.

As James explains it, when Bill Wilson left the Oxford he didn't take all the drunks with him. James remained in the Oxford Group, as did Rowland Hazard, Cebra Graves, Victor Kitchen, and Charles Clapp among others. In fact, Dr. Bob didn't leave the Group until 1940; almost a year after the "Big Book" was written.

James is the only person alive today who has first hand knowledge of the material Bill Wilson and the other "Big Book" authors used to write the book Alcoholics Anonymous. On numerous occasions, he has stated that the "Big Book" is Oxford Group literature written for a specific segment of the Oxford Group fellowship.