Robert Ebert outs himself

In one of the best articles I have read on personal recovery from alcoholism, "My Name is Roger, and I'm an alcoholic", Robert Ebert outs himself as an alcoholic explaining:

An A.A. meeting usually begins with a recovering alcoholic telling his "drunkalog," the story of his drinking days and how he eventually hit bottom. This blog entry will not be my drunkalog. What's said in the room, stays in the room. You may be wondering, in fact, why I'm violating the A.A. policy of anonymity and outing myself. A.A. is anonymous not because of shame but because of prudence; people who go public with their newly-found sobriety have an alarming tendency to relapse. Case studies: those pathetic celebrities who check into rehab and hold a press conference.

In my case, I haven't taken a drink for 30 years, and this is God's truth: Since the first A.A. meeting I attended, I have never wanted to. Since surgery in July of 2006 I have literally not been able to drink at all. Unless I go insane and start pouring booze into my g-tube, I believe I'm reasonably safe. So consider this blog entry what A.A. calls a "12th step," which means sharing the program with others. There's a chance somebody will read this and take the steps toward sobriety.

Yes, I believe A.A. works. It is free and everywhere and has no hierarchy, and no one in charge. It consists of the people gathered in that room at that time, many perhaps unknown to one another. The rooms are arranged by volunteers. I have attended meetings in church basements, school rooms, a court room, a hospital, a jail, banks, beaches, living rooms, the back rooms of restaurants, and on board the Queen Elizabeth II. There's usually coffee. Sometimes someone brings cookies. We sit around, we hear the speaker, and then those who want to comment do. Nobody has to speak. Rules are, you don't interrupt anyone, and you don't look for arguments. As we say, "don't take someone else's inventory."

I commented. along with hundreds of others. Roger has definitely struck a chord with many.

Notes & References:

Forty-two personal stories of recovery from alcoholism can be found in the AA Big Book available online at www.aa.org/bigbookonline/.

The website of Alcoholics Anonymous is www.aa.org

The link to the Big Book of AA is www.aa.org/bigbookonline/

The link to finding AA meetings is www.aa.org/lang/en/meeting_finder.cfm

The above websites are available in English, Español, and Français.

I'm back in Alaska ...

Once again I am back in Interior Alaska.This trip is for five weeks from the end of July to the beginning of September. It's an adrenalin pump ... meeting old friends, three of whom are among my few — I have more fingers — best frends.

In the span of the month from late May to late June before I started my trip, I was in the hospital three times. First time for emergency surgery to f ix a bowel obstruction. The surgeon removed ten inches of my small intestine. Two days after I was released from the hospital I was back in through the ER for possible internal bleeding. It took them five days to be sure I wasn't bleeding. Then a couple of weeks later I went back for scheduled surgery to clean out the gunk in my left carotid artery ... just like the anti-smoking ads have been showing on TV. And yes, I had smoked for over 30 years, quiting in 1985 as I got off my flight from Seattle to Anchorage.

Besides the stress of the operations, I am on dialysis. I had to arrange for dialysis in Fairbanks while I am here. That had its complications, and there is adjusting to new medical personnel at the Fairbanks clinic who are not as familiar with me as the staff at my home clinic.

But I didn't drink ... even though two of my best friends do. The other is in recovery like I am and we have a perpetual 12-step program underway whenever we are together.

AA works ... for this alcoholic. On April 1st it was 15 years since I had my last drink. And if I don't drink, I don't get drunk. Now why was that so hard to understand?

Notes & References:

Forty-two personal stories of recovery from alcoholism can be found in the AA Big Book available online at www.aa.org/bigbookonline/.

The website of Alcoholics Anonymous is www.aa.org

The link to the Big Book of AA is www.aa.org/bigbookonline/

The link to finding AA meetings is www.aa.org/lang/en/meeting_finder.cfm

The above websites are available in English, Español, and Français.