Alcoholic Tells His Story To Meeting

Press, Volume C, Issue 29699, 18 December 1961, Page 14

Alcoholic Tells His Story To Meeting

“My name is lan, and I am an alcoholic,” said a big, well-spoken man of middle age to an audience of 200 in Christchurch on Saturday evening when describing how he recovered from chronic alcoholism. The meeting was held for the public by local groups of Alcoholics Anonymous. Although he disagrees, lan is known to fellow alcoholics as the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous in New Zealand 15 years ago. Brought up in a gdod home

where “the emphasis was on material things.” lan took a university degree and became manager of a big concern. “In the space of three years I reversed that situation.” he said. “From manager of a big concern I found myself committed to the island at Auckland.”

He said he started to drinkat the age of 19, and continued without signs of alcoholism for 12 years. When the disease began to affect him he undertook treatment that took him to Harley street specialists in London. He was committed to the institution when he returned.

"After release 1 managed to stay sober for a while on the basis of fear—fear that they would put me back in again: but I was soon on the same track again.” he said.

With his wife he moved to the South Island to try the “geographical cure.” "The trouble with the geographical cure is that we take ourselves with us,” he said.

In the South Island his wife left him. He celebrated her return two months later by “going down tn the pub for a few drinks.” Voluntary Patient One day he went to Sunnyside Hospital and asked to be taken as a voluntary patient. “This was the best thing I ever did,” he said. “While there I read the story of Alcoholics Anonymous. It posed me the question: ‘Maybe you consider it too’." After coming out of hos-

pital lan corresponded with the secretary of the organisation in New York. “I was presented with the 12 suggested steps." he said. “I was ready to try to the limit of my understanding what Alcoholics Anonymous offered. I tried it, and I am Still applying it with success."

lan said he wanted to make it clear that although he maintained sobriety through the organisation he would remain an alcoholic in the Same way a diabetic remained a diabetic. He said he was pleased to hear that the age of members of Alcoholics Anonymous in New Zealand was dropping

The early days were the stage at which something had to be done. “We have members in their twenties now, and one member recently celebrated his twenty-first birthday in Alco-

holics Anonymous.” Women were not as common as men in the organisation. They came in the ratio of' about one to seven, he said.