“Alcohol saved my life”, said Recovering Alcoholic Craig Ferguson

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craig_ferguson112 soul grabbing minutes of why I love Craig Ferguson, or one of the reasons I love him. I have linked to those 12 minutes at the bottom of this post. It’s part of his story of his return to sanity minus the alcohol. Despite that, at one point in this fantastic monologue about working toward redemption, he says, “Alcohol saved my life”.

I grew up with alcoholism permeating many aspects of my life, but I was lucky to escape becoming personally enslaved by it. Not that I escaped the repercussions of those around me that did.  I grew up hating what it did to various family members, but I didn’t blame the alcohol itself. I was aware that there were far more people able to take a drink without the devastating results, and so what I didn’t understand was why my family couldn’t.

I would come to a greater understanding of that when I, and fortunately, some of my family members, turned to help to deal with this still somewhat mysterious puzzle.  I’ve had the privilege of attending several various group functions where I listened to all kinds of personal journeys from here to hell and back. They are always heartbreaking, but then inspiring, and in the end, uplifting.

I was very taken with another of these stories which is the one Craig Ferguson told on his own TV show, The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson back in 2007.  I didn’t see it then, but I was introduced to it recently via blogger, Vodka & Vows.  It’s pure Craig – brutally honest, warmly compassionate, and funny as hell.

Every story we hear is a path to understanding one another.  I hope you’ll find this one interesting and enlightening while enjoying the entertainment of his delivery. It includes a message that serves anybody really, about how we all need to really see each other and maybe look for a little more compassion within ourselves when it comes to judgment.

So, take a short break, grab a coffee, and watch this video titled, “Craig Ferguson Speaks From The Heart”.  Take it back to the start if the video begins midway.

Update:  I’ve been warned that some areas are unable to open the link below.  If that is the case for you, go onto youtube.com and do a search for “Craig Ferguson Speaks From The Heart”.  You may also have to make sure to manually place the button to the start of the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZVWIELHQQY#t=354

RL

20 thoughts on ““Alcohol saved my life”, said Recovering Alcoholic Craig Ferguson”

    • Thank you Bruce. I have watched it now maybe nine times, and I still hear something new in it. I love this kind of wisdom, and I can’t help but love these people who burned through hell and lived to share the tale in this way. :Lord knows it helps when I start to trail down the road of Morose Avenue. See you soon.

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  2. I don’t get to see Craig Ferguson often, but he always, always makes me laugh, even when dealing with something as serious as alcoholism. Every word he said was the unvarnished truth, and he made me laugh the whole time I was nodding my head and going, “Yep, that’s exactly right.” (Of course, I will confess I would listen to Craig Ferguson read the phone book, because his accent is so wonderful, and he’s cute as heck, too.) This is worth remembering, especially that very last line. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

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  3. Yep, we love the guy for all the same reasons, and yes, that last line is oh, so Craig.. Oh my, do you think Ned will mind that we have a crush on another funny man? LOL
    I really admire how Craig manages to meander through life; he’s another who, despite great suffering has never lost the lightness in his heart. I also watched his eulogy to his father which of course, had me laughing and crying. Just a beautiful soul.

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    • Ned will just have to suck it up and soldier on. We can’t confine our crushes to ONE funny man, after all. I mean, can we say “fantasy life,” boys and girls? I already have a perfectly good REAL-life man. I’ll not be denied my crushes and fantasies all over the place! 😀

      I’m a sucker for a Scotsman. Not only do they have the loveliest accents on the planet, but…there’s that whole KILT thing goin’ on over there. I mean, hello? Men in KILTS! OH, be still my heart! (Okay, enough of that kind of talk. At my age, I could keel right over!)

      You know, I find nothing makes a person funnier than having faced down adversity and learned to laugh at it. The funniest things in the world have tragedy somewhere at the heart of them. Except for clowns, of course. As Ned pointed out once. Clowns are intrinsically evil and not funny at all…so they don’t count. Because really, who do you know that thinks they’re funny, anyway? So that makes my point, I guess.

      And btw, in case you missed it, in addition to a great accent and beautiful eyes, what about that Ferguson hair? Ya gotta love the guy, even if only from afar. (In my case, especially only from afar. One more restraining order, and they’ll put me away for good.)
      😀 Good night, lovely Robyn! May we be BFF’s forever, and have many a lovely chat about Craig (and others) over milk and cookies, right before the pillow fights, and all night movies. 😉

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  4. As usual, so wonderful to know more about you, Robyn. I am familiar with alcoholism and how it can negatively impact so many lives and how its effects can reverberate. Unfortunately, I’m off any kind of TV/video for 40 days– but will check out next month sometime. If only Orange is the New Black hadn’t just come out my TV fast would be such a breeze. 🙂

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    • Oh you poor thing, but I suppose this is some kind of tech detox thing? Well, when you do, maybe Craig’s chat will be even more meaningful. Seriously, it really resonated for me on a few levels. I hope you’ll find it worthy too. As for Orange is… I haven’t started watching that yet, but I have pals who tell me to get on that. Let me know what the TV/Video withdrawal treatment does for you. 🙂

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    • Thanks Paul – He is such a good man, but I guess that was hard won too. I really appreciated seeing this part of his world. He’s just so decent, to my mind, for breaking down the stigma that holds so many people back.

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  6. This is the first time I’ve heard of Craig Ferguson and the link didn’t work (it might be an international setting thingy) but I was so intrigued I searched YouTube and I found him. What a wise, funny man!! Laugh out loud funny and oozing compassion and been there for real know-how. Thank-you so much for this post, BlogWoman!! I agree – “every story we hear is a path to understanding one another”.

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    • Thanks so much Jill. I’m glad you enjoyed it too, and that you took the time to look for it when the link wouldn’t work. Good thinking. I will post a little note up there too, to do the search if the link doesn’t work for some people. Cheers.

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  7. Loved this Robyn! Alcoholism is all too familiar to me, having affected a number of people in my life. Recently, I have once again been dealing with the ups & downs of dealing with someone very dear to me & this wretched illness. Watching Craig discuss alcoholism with a humorous spin, all the while talking about a very serious topic, was well worth the 12 minutes!

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    • I’m so happy to hear this video did for you what it did for me. I didn’t even realize how much in need I was to hear it until I did. It seems to have struck a note with quite a number of people actually, so I suppose that proves his point that we all have to deal with this in some way. Nice to see you, Lynn.

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    • Isn’t it,though. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve watched it now, but it is one of the best stories I’ve got to hear about alcoholism so far. I am very fond of him for putting it all out there like that and helping to break up the shame mystic.

      Thanks for your visit and comment, you helped brighten up a quiet Sunday here.

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