Symptoms of Withdrawal
A candid interview with Christopher Kennedy Lawford

Christopher Kennedy Lawford is the keynote speaker for the Art of Recovery Expo. Saturday, September 24, 2005 at the Phoenix Civic Plaza. Admission is free and open to the public—10:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Christopher’s life’s struggles began at an early age, as  a product of the Washington, D.C. and Hollywood cultures, he battled drug and alcohol addiction. Today, Lawford has been sober for almost 20 years and enthusiastically encourages others to follow his path. "My story is one of survival and redemption. It is about asking questions, searching for the truth and finding the courage to be honest no matter the consequences, we need to reach out to individuals with respect and show them how to take back their right to choose a better way of life. To show them what can be done to heal the past, change the present and create the future."

What is your message to our younger generation who are faced with the challenges and curiosity of "trying" alcohol or drugs?
If you’re going to experiment and find that you get into trouble, be honest—know that it’s not a matter of morality or weakness and there’s a way back.

You were "born" into a family of celebrity and political power, what was it like growing up in this atmosphere?
I never realized how unique and privileged my circumstances were until later in life. My family was the only family I knew. Today I’m enormously grateful for the circumstances of my life and my family legacy.

Where did your addiction lead you and what happened when you hit bottom?
I hit bottom seven years after I picked up my first drug and bounced along that bottom for 10 years. Addiction is an ever-descending elevator. We have a choice when to get off…some of us never do.

Were you pressured to be a perfect child?
Absolutely not. My parents were far too preoccupied with their own lives to pressure me. I did feel pressure to succeed because of the accomplishments of my father and my uncles.

Was your family in denial about your addiction or did they try to help you get into treatment?
Like most families, it was difficult for them to deal with a relative in his active addiction. They tried to help and were there whenever I asked for help.

You’ve been clean and sober for 19 years, tell us how your life has turned around.
It’s difficult for somebody who has not been an addict and gotten clean and sober to understand the incredible transformation that takes place. It’s as if I’ve been reborn, had two separate and completely different lives. When I was using I thought I had a big interesting life, when the reality was, I couldn’t get off my couch to take my dog for a walk. Today I live more in a day than I lived in a month when I was using. I have kids who have never seen me drunk or stoned. I have a beautiful girlfriend whom I have an honest relationship with. I have a vital and vibrant career as a writer, actor and activist. None of this would be possible if I weren’t sober.

As a father of three, what message have you given your children and what advice can you offer concerned parents about the challenges their children face experimenting with substances?
Kids have their own God and their own path. Set reasonable boundaries. Share your experience, strength and hope and always give your kids a feeling they can trust that they can bring anything to you.

What is your view of the future of addiction education and treatment?
I believe we are at the dawn of an exciting and opportunistic time when it comes to addiction. It is clear that as a society we have put aside many of the constraints, which prevented open dialogue when it came to this issue. The critical question is whether we as a society are willing to spend the resources necessary to bring hope to those struggling with addiction. There’s enormous opportunity with the advances in brain science that may revolutionize treatment. We need people of prominence and power to demand that the public policy considerations remain on the front burner.

Do you see changes in society’s attitude towards addiction education and recovery?
I’m hopeful that society continues to move toward looking at this problem as medical and education issues and not as a legal issue.

What about the Art of Recovery Expo triggered your interest to participate?
Anytime people of conscience and good intention come together to bring awareness to one of society’s most pressing and chronic problems, it is worthy of everyone’s attention.

Tell us a little about your new book coming out.
My book Symptoms of Withdrawal will be released on September 27th, 2005. It’s an honest, funny and poignant recollection of my life growing up in my family as well as my life as an addict and in recovery. For additional information and updates on my book, go to www.SymptomsofWithdrawal.com

Advance praise from Norman Mailer and Frank McCourt.

"Books about famous American families usually land with a pious splat, or look to excavate a mud-hole, but this one is a beauty. The Kennedys have had more achievements and more God-sized disasters than most of us can ever know, but not one of the Kennedys has been a good writer. That verdict can now be altered. Christopher Lawford owns the most elusive of the qualities a young writer needs-he is in possession of a naturally good style. So, given as far as he chooses to go, he certainly tells it like it is. Three Cheers." - Norman Mailer

"Sing no sad songs for Christopher Kennedy Lawford. He has survived a childhood and young adulthood in certain suburbs of Camelot: Hollywood, New York, Hyannisport. You know the story of his star-crossed forebears: war deaths; assassinations; illness. You know how that generation multiplied and multiplied, how, despite the power, glamour and fame of the Kennedy clan, some were lost along the way. In this memoir Christopher recounts his wild journey through those suburbs, a journey that takes you to another level of the Kennedy saga. Sometimes in this narrative you might think you’ve taken an elevator to hell and you wonder how this young man survived at all. He did - and we are fortunate to have his story in prose that is jazzy, rocking, sometimes dark but, in the end, bright with hope. Pity the last line of the book can’t be quoted in family publications. What is that last line? Read for yourself." - Frank McCourt

Publishers Weekly calls Christopher "…writer of talent and grace." – Sara Nelson, Chief-in-Editor of PW.

"Classier than the usual tell-all: an honest account of a personal pilgrimage through privileged self-destruction." - Kirkus Reviews.