When Love Is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story

Movie Review:
Genre: Drama, Biography
Runtime: 120 min
Release Date: 25 April 2010
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This movie is based on the true story of the enduring but troubled love between Lois Wilson (Ryder), co-founder of Al-Anon, and her alcoholic husband Bill Wilson (Pepper), co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. 

In 1914, Lois Burnham, a college-educated woman from an affluent family, met and fell in love with Bill Wilson, a young man of modest means. They married in 1918, and after his return from World War I, the two set out to build a life together. While Lois worked as a nurse, Bill struggled to find his niche. Lois believed that Bill was destined for greatness, and despite his increasing reliance on alcohol, she showered him with love and support. Eventually, Lois persuaded a friend’s husband to hire Bill at his financial firm. By 1927, Bill was working on Wall Street and the couple was living a luxurious lifestyle. But despite Lois’s valiant efforts to control his drinking, Bill’s addiction to alcohol spiraled out-of-control. Soon his job, their lifestyle and their dreams were all gone.

In 1935, after years of struggling to cover for Bill and trying desperately to manage his disease by herself, Lois finally saw him get and stay sober – not through her help, but from the support of a fellow alcoholic, Dr. Bob Smith.

As Bill and Bob attained lasting sobriety and co-founded Alcoholics Anonymous, Lois began to feel neglected. Bill got and stayed sober without her help, and she felt isolated and resentful. Lois soon discovered she was not alone in her isolation and anger, and that there was a vast number of people whose lives and relationships had been devastated because a loved one was an alcoholic or drug addict. To help herself, and others like her, she co-founded Al-Anon in 1951.

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