Dawn Eden Goldstein - "Father Ed"

Dawn Eden Goldstein will discuss Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.'s Spiritual Sponser.

Presented in partnership with Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University Chicago.

This event will be held in person at Information Commons at Loyola University. 

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About the book: Father Ed is the first biography of Father Edward Dowling, SJ, whose guidance transformed Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson’s life and deepened the spirituality of the twelve-step movement.

Jesuit Father Ed Dowling (1898-1960) rescued Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson from debilitating depression and gave him the spiritual guidance he needed to bring AA to international prominence. Although not an alcoholic himself, he came to devote his ministry to helping people in recovery—not only alcoholics but also people in troubled marriages (as a co-founder of the Cana Conference) and those suffering from nervous disorders (as an early champion of Recovery, Inc., now known as Recovery International). He was also a champion of civil rights and social justice, and his interests presaged Society’s post-Vatican II priorities.

About the author: Dawn Eden Goldstein is the author of Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.'s Spiritual Sponsor and several other books, including The Thrill of the Chaste and My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints. Together, her books have sold more than 60,000 copies worldwide in ten languages.

Dr. Goldstein began her working life as a rock-and-roll historian and went on to editorial positions at the New York Post and the Daily News before publishing her first book in 2006. In 2016, she became the first woman to earn a doctorate in sacred theology from the University of St. Mary of the Lake. She has taught at universities and seminaries in the United States, England, and India. Today she lives in Washington, DC, where she is completing her studies for a license in canon law at the Catholic University of America.

This event is the 2023 Saint John Henry Newman Lecture, sponsored by the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University Chicago. Each year, the Hank Center invites a scholar to recount his or her discovery (or rediscovery) of the Catholic intellectual heritage in light of their ongoing scholarship.