Page 213 - The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

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198 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
very much. But from our meeting, A.A. was born here
in Quebec.
The Fellowship started to grow, most particularly
following the publicity we got in the Gazette in the
spring of 1945. I will never forget the day that Mary
came to see me—she was the first woman to join our
Fellowship here. She was very shy and reserved, very
low-key. She had heard of the Fellowship through the
Gazette.
For the first year, all the meetings were held in my
home. There were people all over the house. The
wives of members used to come with their husbands,
though we didn’t allow them in our closed meetings.
They used to sit on the bed or in the kitchen, where
they would make coffee and snacks. I believe they
were wondering what would happen to us. Yet they
were as happy as we were.
The first two French Canadians to learn about A.A.
did so in the basement of my home. All French-speak-
ing meetings in existence today were born out of those
early meetings.
At the end of my first year of sobriety, my wife
agreed to leave her job after I found some work. I
thought that would be easy. All I had to do was go see
an employer and I’d be able to support my family in
a normal fashion. However, I looked for work for
many months. We didn’t have much money, and I was
spending the little we had going from one place to the
other, answering ads and meeting people. I was get­
ting more and more discouraged. One day, a member
said, “Dave, why don’t you apply at the aircraft fac­
tory? I know a fellow there who could help you.” So