In Twelve Step mutual-help groups around the world, recovering alcoholics and drug addicts are frequently reminded that they have a "cunning, baffling, and powerful" disease that can affect anyone at any time. Millions of men and women--rich and poor, young and old, educated and illiterate--struggle one day at a time to hold their addictions at bay. This realization helps us better understand how someone like William Cope Moyers, the son of revered broadcast journalist Bill Moyers, could descend into the hell of alcohol and other drug addiction.

In his new book, Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption (Viking Press, September 2006), Moyers lets readers see how alcohol and drugs can be stronger influences than an idyllic and privileged childhood, a good education, a promising career as a journalist and writer for CNN, and loving parents, wife, and children. By reading his personal story, readers gain a better understanding of addiction and better appreciate the hope of recovery.

He begins his memoir with a story in which a disciple asks a rabbi why the Torah says to place holy words on our hearts instead of in them. The disciple is told this is because our hearts are closed so the words must rest on top of our hearts until the heart finally breaks so the words can fall in.

This excerpt is an apt description of Moyers' journey, his failed attempts to get clean and sober, and the spiritual awakening that saved his life. Until he learned to "get out of God's way," he says he could not let the truth of the Twelve Steps and the wisdom of its followers seep into his cracked and broken heart and finally take hold. As he put it in a letter to his wife dated October 13, 2005:

"Eleven years ago yesterday, I finally understood what recovery was all about. Sitting still, experiencing the pain, anger, fear, sadness, joy, freedom, and peace. Not on my agenda or my timelines. It only happened to me when I stopped trying to make it happen, when I gave up looking for it and allowed recovery to find me. . . ."

Some might call Moyers' book courageous, but he doesn't see it that way. "Maybe it's because I lived with such secrets and shame for so long, I feel it is easier to be honest. It's easier to be in the light than in the shadows," he said. Moyers not only lived in the shadows of crack cocaine and alcohol addictions, he lived in the shadows of his father. When William got arrested in his early 20s, the event made national news. And, in 1994, it was Bill Moyers who found his son in an Atlanta crack house after a four-day crack cocaine binge that nearly killed William.

"My father is huge in the book, as many fathers are to sons," said William. He includes letters from Bill Moyers in his book which he says are "a testament to a father's love for his son, a father's confusion with his son, and ultimately, a father's satisfaction with his son."

Contrary to his previous practices, William Moyers breaks anonymity in his book by talking about Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). "I had to reveal I'm in AA because to do otherwise would be a lie, and this book is the truth," he explained. "Not talking about my program of recovery would be like a marathon runner not talking about training. Although I'm breaking my anonymity, I protect the anonymity and confidentiality of others in the program. This is everybody's story: the still-suffering alcoholic, recovering people and families, and, hopefully, those who don't have a clue about my disease. I wrote this book to help smash the stigma of addiction and carry the message."

A big part of smashing the stigma comes with getting people to accept addiction as a disease like cancer. Six years ago, Moyers was diagnosed with skin cancer, so he can speak intimately about both diseases. "Both diseases are chronic, progressive, and life-threatening," he said. "Nobody deserves to get either one. Continuing care is an essential part of treatment, and reoccurrence of the disease is always a possibility. Yet public attitudes toward the victims of these diseases are as different as night and day. . . . Why is addiction the only disease without a ribbon of hope to wear out in public?"

The release of Moyers' book in September, 2006 coincides with National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. The theme for 2006 is "Join the Voices for Recovery: Build a Stronger, Healthier Community." Moyers' story of recovery and other testimonials help overcome the stigma of the disease and demonstrate that treatment and recovery do work.

To learn more about Recovery Month, visit http://www.recoverymonth.gov/. For more on Moyers' book, visit the our online bookstore or call 800-328-9000.

--Published September 4, 2006