By Gail McCarthy
Sarah Allen Benton, author of "Understanding the High Functioning Alcoholic: Professional Views and Personal Thoughts," will appear in a segment of the Oprah Winfrey show to be aired Tuesday at 4 p.m.
The Gloucester-born Benton, 32, who was raised in New Bedford, received an e-mail from a producer of the show who read an article she wrote.
Now living in Boston, she works as a therapist at Emmanuel College, in addition to a number of other professional activities related to therapy and alcoholism, including a blog she runs on the Web site psychologytoday.com.
"He contacted me at the time about a potential show about mothers and drinking," said Benton. "It's always been my dream to be on that show in particular because I feel there is always a message. It's not just telling the story for the sake of the story. The point is to be able to help other people through these experiences. It's trying to find meaning in pain and meaning in struggle. I've always had such respect for the show. There's always a meaning to their message."
Benton is thrilled to take her message to millions of viewers.
"I've often felt this population doesn't get a lot of attention because their stories are not always dramatic and tragic. Their stories are often more subtle," said Benton.
The stories of high-functioning alcoholics may not be as sensational as the fall-down drunk. But this common stereotype of the bum-like character actually accounts for less than 10 percent of the estimated 18 million alcoholics in the nation.
Benton is striving to reach the majority of alcoholics who may be one's neighbor, business owners and professionals who hold jobs, raise families and have a respected place in society.
Benton — who always succeeded in her endeavors — knows this better than most, because she is a high-functioning alcoholic who has been recovering for the past five years.
She began drinking at age 14, and had black-outs from the start. Yet she thrived in school and succeeded on many levels. She attended the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she studied at its journalism school. She moved to Los Angeles where she built a career in television production for The Disney Channel. But she moved back to the East Coast and pursued a master's degree in counseling psychology at Northeastern University in Boston out of which she has entered a new profession, that of helping others understand the broader nature of alcoholism.
Her book started off as a memoir, after she reviewed some of her teenage journals when she became sober. She later connected with a publisher, and the book evolved into something bigger, integrating the latest research, as well as interviews with addiction experts and sober high-functioning alcoholics.
For more information and resources, visit www.highfunctioningalcoholic.com.
Gail McCarthy can be reached at gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com
