Roger Ebert came out of the A.A. closet last week, with a long and fascinating essay about his experience in A.A. Lots of people loved it, and found it pretty educational. But what are the negative repercussions of this, asked some in the comments-as A.A. has no public spokespeople and it asks that media outlets keep members private and also (mildly) asks that members don't represent the organization publicly. (It seems like a fine point-but how well can an alcoholism treatment program be perceived if its spokespeople later kill people whilst driving drunk, say?) Of course, it's unlikely that Ebert will give people a bad impression of A.A., unless he goes on a stabbing spree or something later this year, which in any event would be kind of awesome, really-and yet he now finds himself in some pretty strange company, with people who've gone public to improve their reputations and/or careers... or just because they were too wasted to know better. Or because they had a tacky memoir to sell!
· DJ AM, who suddenly died on Friday, reportedly surrounded by crack pipes, was open in the press about being in A.A.; his time there clearly (and sadly) did not have the most satisfactory outcome. He just filmed a pilot for MTV about substance abuse interventions.
· Robin Williams, announced he was returning to AA when he fell off the wagon after twenty years of sobriety... not long before his second wife left him.
· Scott Proctor, the jerky Marlins pitcher who used to try to bean batters when he was on the Yankees. What a charmer.
· Stephen King also went public, and he is really pretty creepy. Ha, no, really, he's great! Scared. Don't hurt us, Stephen King!
· Like the first thing Jayson Blair did when he got busted at the Times for making things up and for stealing stories was announce that he was in A.A. now. When contacted by members to ask that he leave the organization out of his troubles, he replied that his case was different.
· There's Theo Fleury, the hockey player who has a memoir coming out shortly, who used to try to climb out of the penalty box to beat people.
· Oh yeah. Chris Farley. That ended well.
· A number of the schmucks on the Times' "Proof" blog, who ramble on and on about A.A. like it was their LiveJournal.
· Do we even have to talk about poor sweet Lindsay Lohan?
Some will see the Ebert essay as a corrective to the trashy tabloid ways that A.A. gets used by people. And sure, he is different! But there's one thing Ebert and Lohan and Blair have in common: they all think, rightly or wrongly, that they're acceptable spokespeople.
I was at that TACO Island in NoLita when they brought DJ AM out across the street. Shit was crazy.
I have no idea why I put taco in all caps.
MAYBE YOU SHOULD JOIN ALLCAPS ANONYMOUS; IT WORKED FOR ME!!!
You should have capitalized the whole thing, ATHF style: "This is no vacation - this is TACO ISLAND!"
The FOURTH rule of Moderation Management is not to drink and drive? What, pray tell, are the first three that take precedence over refraining from drunk driving in a program to help alcoholics drink less, but still drink?
See, this is why the USA needs a major public transit overhaul. Seriously.
When I speak at an AA meeting or to anyone about my sobriety--it is just that--MY SOBRIETY. The beauty of AA is that you take from it what you want. Anyone who attends, doesn't take the SUGGESTIONS to heart, can be refunded at any time, all of the misery, loneliness and hopelessness that brought them there in the first place.
The celebrities that talk about their involvement in AA are usually the ones who aren't actually involved in AA. It's more like they're trying to take a PR mulligan.
or reassure the producers and insurance companies that this time they really really will show up for work.
Yeah, actually yesterday someone was telling me about LiLo's latest drunken fit at some douchey club.
I smell bullshit.
Yes. "OMG, I got caught fucking my nanny. It's alcohol's fault. Rehab. AA."
That said, I think Ebert is an obvious exception. He doesn't need PR at this point.
My all-time fave: Isaiah Washington. "I used the F-word. I need to go to homophobe rehab, and then Alcoholics Anonymous."
OMG how can no politicians make your marvelous drunk FAIL list? Like NY rep John Sweeney who got his party booze from Abramoff. or ny congressman Vito Fossella? Paige diddler mark foley went to AA. Bob Ney said he would. Ditto Patrick Kennedy.
Oh yeah! I got distracted by something midway through this.
(That's what she said.)
wassatnow??? Is that a straights joke misused because it doesn't mean anything in gay culture?
Git 'er done!(?)
I am LIVING for the resurgence of this epigram!
Ebert is one of those great writers we tend to downplay because of his dayjob, which he also does very well. To me it sounds like he is trying to take stock of his life while he still can, and since he can no longer use his spoken voice, he's doing it only way he's able to, and it just so happens to be for a major newspaper.
Off-topic, but your point touched a nerve--Ebert is from my hometown, Champaign-Urbana, and he has always been quite fond and sentimental about it. He even set up a film festival there years back, and while he can't attend anymore, he still, as I understand it, has a good deal of hands-on oversight.
In any event, a couple months ago he wrote a lengthy paean on his blog about growing up in Urbana. I mean, I could write a story about C-U, too, because that little tanktown has its share of wonderful and strange, but Ebert's piece was definitely a stock-taking.
Which, these days, kind of creeps me out.
I am rarely inspired, yet I find the grace, good humor, and wisdom that Ebert has displayed throughout his medical battles quite inspirational.
It is way too early to obituarize -- is that even a word? -- Ebert. I have a soft spot for the man as well, though. When I was about 16 or so I sent letters to a dozen or so famous scribblers for advice on breaking into the writerly life. Only 2 responded. Ebert was one of them; his answer came via the mail within a week. His answer went along the lines of: "This may sound cynical, but do not change or alter the name Mwangaguhunga. It is memorable and will prove to be an advantage to a writer."
Love to love you, Ebert.
Withholding my opinion of AA, but I must admonish you for not doing this in proper listicle format.
(Disclaimer: I went to an SCA meeting. Once. In 1996.)
For the sword fights?
His date walked out on him earlier, needed a quick replacement. HI-O.
The A n' A has always been a bit of a red carpet in Hollywood.
Go to a meeting there and you might as well be at a club on the strip. At one meeting of the Young, Gifted and Strung Out you will find valets, bouncers and paparazzi. And old-timers with 45 days off Stella Artois--but still treating "back problems" with oxy and percocet.
I think the likelihood of Ebert going on a stabbing spree - what with him being totally incapacitated - is probably pretty low. Or, in his own words, "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."
Those of you who haven't been reading his blog really should. It's very well-written & funny, and with his effective "death sentence" looming over his head, he's really putting as much of himself as possible into every post.
"It is true that I am fat, but one day I will be thin, and she will still be the actress of 'I Know Who Killed Me."
Going to AA for a year and still drinking must be like being trapped between two circles of hell. It is also a great way to get lots of attention as other people spend every waking minute trying to save you. What a drag.