We who are in recovery and those who are just beginning are all good people. None of us prayed to be sick, none of us asked God for addiction.
   
The first gift I received was intervention. For some time, I had been drinking before going to work—fighting the nausea and gag reflex at the smell and taste—and drinking at work as well. My boss called me into the office—there sat the Rector of the parish, my Bishop, and our senior elected Lay Officer. My Bishop said, “I want you to go, do not worry about the cost, I want to see you well.” ...more

The atmosphere at CAB Health & Recovery Services and other holding facilities for people facing alcoholism and addiction that I have been in is full of fear. A “waiting for death” syndrome engulfs the people there. Call them patients, residents, inmates, or detainees, take your pick. There is one that reflects the perspective of your choosing. The experience is the same regardless of the label. I saw fear and dependence often during the six months I was in CAB in 1997 and 1998. ...more

When I arrived at the cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, Gene Mason was lying in his bed, conscious but sedated. He was suffering from complications after a six-way coronary bypass surgery – what Gene called his “triple double.” His blood pressure had been so high for so long that he had developed congestive heart failure, making it necessary for the operation.

Gene had really fallen apart this time, physically. ...more