Actor Rob Lowe, perhaps best known as of late for his role as “Chris” in “Parks and Rec,” recently took to social media to praise God and discuss his sobriety journey over the past three decades, speaking about how he overcame his addiction and encouraging others to start working towards overcoming theirs as well.
Posting about his sobriety journey on Instagram, Lowe said, “33 years ago today I found recovery and a tribe that has sustained me on my incredible, grateful journey. My life is full of love, family, God, opportunity, friends, work, dogs and fun. If you or someone you know is struggling with any form of addiction: hope and joy are waiting if you want it, and are willing to work for it!”
His son, Johnny Lowe, commented, “Proud of your recovery, opposite feeling about this selfie.” That was in reference to the selfie Lowe posted with the above caption, one that showed him with a serious face while swimming shirtless in the ocean.
This isn’t the first time Lowe has spoken about sobriety. He did so as well in a Variety interview, saying, “The only way to stay in recovery is to be honest with yourself on a minute-by-minute basis. No secrets, no double life. And you have to get real. That’s what acting is all about — being real and being honest.” He added, “The longer you are in recovery the more facile you are in getting honest. It really helps get you where you need to be [as an actor] a lot quicker.”
Continuing, he said, “Nothing can make you get sober except you wanting to do it. The threat of losing a marriage, losing a job, incarceration — you name the threat, it will not be enough to do it. It’s got to be in you. The reason that people don’t get sober 100% of the time when they go into programs is that people aren’t ready when they go to use the tools.”
Variety, in that report, added some context about his history of addiction before he started trying to stay sober, saying:
Lowe started to drink as a young teenager. When he was 13, the family moved from Dayton to a blue-collar section of Malibu. The neighborhood kids who befriended Rob and his younger brother, actor Chad Lowe, included brothers Chris and Sean Penn and Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez.
As Lowe pursued his acting ambitions, he inevitably began to move with a faster crowd. The industry’s general attitudes toward illicit drug use — cocaine specifically — were markedly different from what they are today.
Lowe, describing the situation, said, “This was just how the business was back then. Cocaine was the thing that successful people did. There was always that wonderful moment when as an active drug abuser you’d go on the set and figure out which department was selling the coke on the set. It was no different than craft services. Where are the Red Vines, and where is the great Peruvian blow? Those days are long, long, loooong gone.”
And so he managed to overcome his addictions, becoming sober and embarking on a wonderful life and career.
Featured image credit: By United States Navy – http://www.navy.mil/view_image.asp?id=8389, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=226708
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