Alcoholism is a Sign of Greatness | Sober and Unashamed

Maybe we’ve been looking at this all wrong. Maybe by shrouding in shame people who become addicted to the soothing properties of alcohol, we are stifling potential and ignoring the greatness hiding in plain sight. Maybe as we look away in disgust and disapproval, we are emboldening the stigma. As alcoholics, maybe our own behavior — like tucking our tails between our legs and slinking into a church basement — maybe that keeps us buried under the crushing weight of an embarrassing diagnosis.

Maybe we’ve got it all backwards. Misunderstandings happen, you know.

Do you realize how many wildly successful dyslexics there are in the big, bad world? Google it — you might be amazed. But why does this information shock us? It’s quite logical, really. If, as a child, you overcome a neurological challenge that makes reading difficult, as an adult, you are predisposed to overcoming challenges. While the rest of us complain about the first hardships we face as grown-ups, dyslexics are already solving problems and leaving us in their dust.

Maybe the truth is just as obvious with us alcoholics.

I know a lot of people who are trying to climb out of addiction. Like me, many of them are simply not satisfied with the status quo. We seek answers to the challenges of the human condition with a…