Bill W. & Dr. Bob post-show discussion reveals extraordinary moments, courage

There were cheers and whistles Wednesday afternoon as the actors took their bows at the end of Bill W. and Dr. Bob. The majority of this matinee audience was filled with sober students, some whom had never been to a live theater production before. After the show, there was a Panel of Sober Students mediated by Dave Ettesvold, a chemical health teacher and sober activist, who opened the discussion with a group recitation of the Serenity Prayer.

Three students from three different schools shared their stories of addiction and recovery. When they mentioned their sober dates, the room burst into applause.

The first panelist talked about self-centeredness and how it was a sign of the disease. “I never would have thought I’d be grateful for going to jail,” he told everyone. “I never would have thought that I’d be grateful to go to meetings.” But, he told the audience, he was grateful because they helped him get better.  

The next student agreed.  As well as jail, he had been to 10 different schools, he said, and his life “was just fucked up.”  “Messed up,” Dave muttered.  “Messed up,” the student agreed. Sobriety wasn’t a quick and easy solution, but it was the first step on his path to finding a better life.

The third and final panelist began with an explanation of his addiction to alcohol and how it landed him in jail and a court-ordered recovery program.  “I gave myself two options,” he told the encouraging audience. “I either need to quit, or I need to end my life.”  When he went into treatment, he hadn’t wanted to be sober, but he then “looked around and saw other people who were happy, and I was miserable.  I wanted to do what they were doing.”  This student talked about pushing himself to step outside of his comfort zone, because if he stayed in his comfort zone, it would lead him back to drinking.  He talked about feeling embarrassed about asking someone to be his sponsor, and how hard it was to make amends with his mother “…and she’s  a scary  lady… and right this minute I’m feeling awkward up in front of you all.”  He finished by saying that the “play showed what the biggest part of the thing is -- just one alcoholic sharing with another alcoholic.”

Then came time for questions. Dave talked about the violence associated with using and asked how many of the students in the audience had had a gun pointed at them. Nearly one fourth of the audience raised their hands. One student asked the panelists if they didn’t drink, what did they do for fun? Hanging out with friends seemed to be the consensus, and Dave invited everyone to the upcoming sober picnic over Memorial Day weekend as a great place to spend time with other sober teens.  To the question of what the panelists liked about attending sober schools, someone in the audience yelled, “Because it’s sober!” One of the panelists replied that it was all about the community.  “There aren’t too many handshakes; it’s all hugs,” he told the audience. 

And what a great message for everyone to leave with. In this audience where many of the students had been to jail or in treatment, they were looking for a life of gratitude, open-mindedness, and the friendship of someone who could really understand.  What more can do any of us really aspire to?