Famous Addicts  

I really liked reading your discussion. I can certainly agree and am glad you wrote about how not all addicts are homeless and dirty. The fact that yes, some addicts are everyday people who look like they have it all together.

I, myself never used any drugs or had problems with drinking. However, I was married to someone who was clean and sober for 7 years when I met him. This man that I fell in love with was my everything. And then one day, I unfortunately had to meet the other side to him. He had relapsed. Prior to the relapse I was fortunate enough to be invited to meeting he was going to lead. And little did I know how much of an honor that was. And then I knew, he really loved me.
This is a man from a very successful family, he himself had a successful past. This man had been in the army, was a neo-natal nurse, and a case manager at a local rehab facility. He was a great husband, father and step-father. But unfortunately had this terrible disease that never goes away, but can resurface at anytime. You just never know when the demons will surface. The best we can do, is be there for our loved ones.
I not only dealt with this struggle with my husband, but it also touched members of my blood relatives. We are a family with strong religious ways, and like you said, it touches all walks of life. There is not one class of people that addiction doesn't touch. It's sad, but true.

And of course, some of our greatest literature has come from addicts. Coleridge loved his Laundanum, as did most of the Romantics. James Joyce and Dylan Thomas were outrageously alcoholic. And then, of course, there's William S Burroughs, who almost drank himself to death on repeated occasions, not to mention his semi-autobiography 'Junkie', about his heroin habit.

when i was an addict i actually had more money than i do now. there are many people who have been addicts and ben successful but people hear that someone is an addict and instantly assume that they are homeless and will mug their own mothers just for a 10bag this is often not the case