Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson called St. Louis Jesuit Father Edward Dowling, "the greatest and most gentle soul to walk this planet." Although Father Ed was not himself an alcoholic, he opened his heart to alcoholics and other people with problems, including couples in strained marriages and people suffering from mental illness. Dawn Eden Goldstein, author of the Christopher Award-winning biography Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.'s Spiritual Sponsor, will share the life and message of this remarkable priest who inspired Bill W. to bring Ignatian spirituality into the practice of the Twelve Steps.
Press biography:
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 sixty thousand 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. After teaching at universities and seminaries in the United States, England, and India, she went back to school, obtaining a licentiate in canon law from the Catholic University of America. Today she is the Director of the Tribunal of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut.
