Alive & Free News Column

Play on addiction and recovery is about passing it on

The official birth of Alcoholics Anonymous dates back to June 10, 1935--the first day of permanent sobriety for AA cofounder, Dr. Bob. Long before that fateful day, Dr. Bob had researched alcoholism and vowed time and time again to stop drinking. Nothing worked until he met Bill W., an alcoholic who could "talk the talk" because he had walked the same path as Dr. Bob.

"He was the first living human being with whom I had ever talked, who knew what he was talking about in regard to alcoholism from actual experience. In other words, he talked my language," wrote Dr. Bob in 1939.

Connecting with other addicts who speak the same "language" has been a key to keeping millions of recovering people throughout the world clean and sober for almost 70 years. As Dr. Bob discovered, passing on what you learn in recovery is a way of paying a debt to those who taught you about recovery. "Every time I do it, I take out a little more insurance for myself against a possible slip," he wrote.

Staying sober by sharing stories is the philosophy that spawned "Visions," a one-act play about addiction and recovery performed by a volunteer cast and crew who are either recovering themselves or whose lives have been affected by addiction. Bob L., author, producer, and director of "Visions," wrote the play on his breaks at a New Jersey automotive plant. He sees the play as a medium for doing Twelve Step work, and reports that it has now been performed to more than 20,000 people at treatment and community centers, hospitals, shelters, and correction facilities in four eastern states. "Visions" was also performed in Washington, D.C., in the Rayburn Room of the House of Representatives and received the Presidential Points of Light Award in 2001.

The drama has also received accreditation from the Addiction Professional Certification Board of New Jersey and has been used in training at the West Virginia University Medical Center. Each performance involves a 20-member troupe, and several such troupes have formed over the years, with "Visions" volunteers now numbering about 300. As is customary in AA circles, no last names are used in the play's program, and no cast member accepts payment for performances.

The play is a collage of raw and wrenching scenes that show what it is like to be in active addiction. Among the characters is 50-year-old William, who transforms from successful salesman to homeless tramp as alcohol overtakes him. We watch Jim steal money from his wife's purse so he can buy drugs. We are introduced to Monique, a young hooker who is HIV positive from intravenous drug use. There is Joan, a victim of domestic violence, and her young son Bobby, who turns to drugs to escape the reality of his home. And there are others, each of whom piercingly portrays an aspect of addiction. To many in the audience, these actors are mirrors. To others, they are omens.

"I'll never forget our first show at Integrity House, a residential treatment facility in New Jersey," said Bob L. "After the performance, a man came up to me, crying, and spoke about the harm he had caused his family. Then a woman came and hugged me and we wept together in joy and gratitude. That reaction has continued over the years."

"Visions" is a cautionary tale, but it is also a tale of hope. In the first scenes we hear Bob Dylan singing, "I see my light come shining/From the west unto the east/Any day now, any day now/I shall be released," and we are given a ray of hope that these too-real characters will move into the light of recovery. Our hope is realized when we see them come together at a Twelve Step meeting in a scene that could have come from the "Visions" creator's own experience.

"When I walked into the rooms of a Twelve Step meeting feeling less than human, it was the recovering addict and alcoholic who greeted me with kindness and compassion," said Bob L. "There were no great speeches, but there were pats on the back, a hand squeeze, a hug, a smile. They loved me before I could learn to love myself. I learned that what they saw in me, they saw in themselves. Visions' volunteers do that too when they reach out to audiences. They understand that the opportunity to serve is a privilege."

--Published January 10, 2005