I have an admission to make, I have a certain addiction, one that I might not kick, one I don’t want to actually. What is it, what is my addiction? Television! not chick shows, soap operas, love stories or sappy stuff; I really love the stories of how people live their lives.
Not that I am a big reality TV watcher, I am not, however, Celebrity Rehab has me hooked almost as much as my other guilty pleasures (but that is another story.) Why would I enjoy this type of reality show? For one, I always hope for the underdog, wanting them to beat their worlds and rise to the top.. Not to mention watching the first few “train wreck stage” episodes, from there you get attached to the people, listen to their stories, their struggles then, cry with, and for them, hopefully, watch as they put an end to their struggles.
This morning I saw an article in CNN about one of the assistants on the show, Bob Forrest titled “Risen from the gutter, he whispers hope to Hollywood’s junkies.” Bob Forrest, wearing his fedora, is a constant on the show, counseling participants and involved in many aspects of patient recovery. The show mentions he is a recovering addict, clean 16 years, yet, until this article, I had no idea who, or to what extreme an addict, he actually was.
The CNN article has this statement regarding who Bob Forrest is:
“..He was one of the worst heroin junkies on the Hollywood club scene until he shocked everyone by getting sober in 1996. He says he delivered cocaine, crystal meth and heroin to some of the most famous people in the world. Helping addicts stay sober is his shot at redemption, or as Forrest puts it, “breaking even on some of the sh—y things I did in the past.””
I immediately read this piece and discovered Bob is called the “Addict Whisperer,” interesting, yet it sounds wrong somehow. He is past as a member of the band Thelonious Monster, a post punk group. (Wiki states the name is a pun on jazz musician Thelonious Monk.) The article is full of stories, the good and the bad; like the helicopter story told in the interview, which you might get a chuckle from, or not, depending.. his suicide attempt at the Pinkpop concert, held in the Netherlands, where Bob totally deconstructs, no chuckles here however.
How Bob’s childhood might have set him on this adulthood path, and potentially, created the addict he became is discussed in the story.. Like the sister mom (he found out, by accident, that his mother was actually his grandmother) or the death of his (grand)father at 15, which completely changed his lifestyle.
Bob’s life was a struggle; his journey is an interesting one to read. His story might make you reflective or sad, it might make your mind more open to the people around you and what they cope with daily or it might make you more understanding of someone in the thick of the struggle right now.
Take the time to read this CNN story about Bob Forrest, he certainly has had a lot of struggles but I have to give him credit for working towards giving back.. Way to go Bob.. you rock.
Now I want the story on Shelly Sprague… That one is certainly interesting as well.
