A rare side of Russell Brand. And an important message for all who love someone who is struggling

[Horse with no Name]

with addiction.

http://www.russellbrand.tv/2011/07/for-amy/

>>>>>snip
When you love someone who suffers from the disease of addiction you await the phone call. There will be a phone call. The sincere hope is that the call will be from the addict themselves, telling you they’ve had enough, that they’re ready to stop, ready to try something new. Of course though, you fear the other call, the sad nocturnal chime from a friend or relative telling you it’s too late, she’s gone.

Frustratingly it’s not a call you can ever make it must be received. It is impossible to intervene.

>>>snip
I was myself at that time barely out of rehab and was thirstily seeking less complicated women so I barely reflected on the now glaringly obvious fact that Winehouse and I shared an affliction, the disease of addiction. All addicts, regardless of the substance or their social status share a consistent and obvious symptom; they’re not quite present when you talk to them. They communicate to you through a barely discernible but un-ignorable veil. Whether a homeless smack head troubling you for 50p for a cup of tea or a coked-up, pinstriped exec foaming off about his “speedboat” there is a toxic aura that prevents connection. They have about them the air of elsewhere, that they’re looking through you to somewhere else they’d rather be. And of course they are. The priority of any addict is to anaesthetise the pain of living to ease the passage of the day with some purchased relief.

>>>>snip
Now Amy Winehouse is dead, like many others whose unnecessary deaths have been retrospectively romanticised, at 27 years old. Whether this tragedy was preventable or not is now irrelevant. It is not preventable today. We have lost a beautiful and talented woman to this disease. Not all addicts have Amy’s incredible talent. Or Kurt’s or Jimi’s or Janis’s, some people just get the affliction. All we can do is adapt the way we view this condition, not as a crime or a romantic affectation but as a disease that will kill. We need to review the way society treats addicts, not as criminals but as sick people in need of care. We need to look at the way our government funds rehabilitation. It is cheaper to rehabilitate an addict than to send them to prison, so criminalisation doesn’t even make economic sense. Not all of us know someone with the incredible talent that Amy had but we all know drunks and junkies and they all need help and the help is out there. All they have to do is pick up the phone and make the call. Or not. Either way, there will be a phone call.

[Missy Vixen]

1. Besides knowing about addiction first-hand,

Russell Brand is an extremely talented writer.

And, yes, someday we will get a phone call, too. We hope our friend will choose recovery.

[Blue_In_AK]

2. That was very touching and very true.

I spent a lot of my life living with and around addicts, and I could have become addicted myself had my chemical makeup been different. Addiction is so destructive, not only of the addict but of everyone around him. I don't know what the answer is. For myself, I had to get away from that problem. It's just too hard for an ordinary human to deal with year after year after year.

I got a lot of those phone calls. Mostly they were to say "come bail me out." It sounds cold, but I was always relieved when he was behind bars. At least he wasn't hurting himself or anyone else.

[mzmolly]

3. That was a lovely, thought provking

tribute. Thanks for sharing. K and R.

[Kennah]

4. Wow. I mean, just, wow. Brilliant.

[Frank Cannon]

5. Best, most compassionate thing I've read on this tragic subject.

Today I learned that Russell Brand is a Renaissance man.

[Horse with no Name]

6. It blew me away.

So poignant. And so true.

[Ruby the Liberal]

7. Brilliant read. Thanks for the link. k&r

[Viva_La_Revolution]

8. I've become a big fan of his

very funny in character, but in straight interviews his intelligence and sincerity is obvious.

I'm a bigger fan after reading this. thanks for posting!

[girl gone mad]

9. I thought this was really touching.

Thanks for posting it.

I support David Lynch's foundation, too. Good to learn that transcendental meditation has been so beneficial for Russell Brand.

[progressoid]

10. k/r