The untold story of founder of Al-Anon

Lois Wilson, the wife of the founder of AA, is the subject of a new biography. The book’s author visited Costa Mesa Sunday.Tucked away in a strip mall at the corner of Mesa Verde Drive East and Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa is a small gift store.

From the outside, the store, called The Latest Thing, appears to be nothing more than a typical gift shop. Inside, however, calming incense burns and whimsical trinkets sparkle on every shelf. Among the many books on the shelves, recovery and self-help volumes predominate.

The store, which emphasizes 12-step recovery, was the perfect place to host author William Borchert for a signing of his latest work, “The Lois Wilson Story: When Love Is Not Enough.” Borchert signed nearly 40 copies of his book, which was released Sept. 30, and discussed his experiences writing it to a small crowd on Sunday afternoon.

In his book, Borchert tells the story of Lois Wilson, wife of Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson.

Although much has been written about Bill Wilson -- including Borchert’s screenplay for the television movie “My Name is Bill W,” for which Borchert received an Emmy nomination -- Lois Wilson and her struggle with being married to an alcoholic have received little attention.

Years after her husband started AA and created the 12-step program, Lois Wilson co-founded Al-Anon, a 12-step organization for the spouses and family members of alcoholics.

Cindy T., a Newport Beach resident, has been attending Al-Anon meetings for three years. Like other members of AA and Al-Anon, she asked that her full name not be used.

“It’s given me an understanding of the disease,” she said of Al-Anon. “The first thing is to truly understand that it is a disease. The other thing I like about this program is it’s taught me to support sobriety.”

Bob Z. of Norwalk belongs to AA and has been attending meetings for 22 years. He said it’s easy for him not to drink.

“It’s a different lifestyle,” he said of sobriety. “The thought [of having a drink] comes and goes once in awhile, but the obsession is gone.”

Both Cindy and Bob attended Borchert’s book signing and bought multiple copies of the book for friends and relatives.

Borchert spent a lot of time with Lois Wilson before her death in 1988. While he was working on the screenplay about her husband, he taped interviews with her but never used them because the movie focused on Bill Wilson and the founding of AA. Borchert said he came across those tapes a few years ago and realized he needed to tell Lois Wilson’s story.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is [that] without Lois Wilson, there would not have been Alcoholics Anonymous,” he said. “This is the first biography of Lois Wilson, and it’s long overdue.... I felt this book needed to be written.”

Borchert said he is working on getting the Lois Wilson story made into a movie.

“It’s a great event because it’s about a woman who was there in the beginning,” Bob said. “There’s an awful lot of people that don’t realize what a historical event this is. A book has been written about a founder of an organization. Not much has been written about Lois Wilson.”

Copies of the book are available at The Latest Thing, 1525 Mesa Verde Drive East, suite 113, Costa Mesa. For more information, call (714) 754-7541 or visit www.latestthing.com.

For more information on the book and its author, visit www.thelois wilsonstory.com.

* LINDSAY SANDHAM is the news assistant. She can be reached at (714) 966-4625 or lindsay.

sandham@latimes.com.

20051024iou73fknDOUGLAS ZIMMERMAN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Author William Borchert prepares to sign copies of his book, “The Lois Wilson Story,” at a shop in Costa Mesa on Sunday.