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Focus on musicians’ sobriety hits the right notes
Re: “Some country musicians find clarity with sobriety. Here's their advice for others," Aug. 12.
We read with great interest your Sunday edition of The Tennessean on August 11, 2024, and applaud your comprehensive reporting on how alcohol impacts our community and the heart of what makes Music City great – its professionals in the music industry and the food and beverage industry. These individuals, who often face higher rates of addiction than others in our community, deserve this vital attention.
At Meharry Medical College, we recognize the importance of addressing alcohol use in our society, and we are proud to share that the official home for Dry January® USA is right here in Music City, located at Meharry.
Our institution has a long history of shining a spotlight on underrecognized and underserved health issues, and we are committed to supporting our musicians, food and beverage professionals, and all those in Music City as they reflect on their relationship with alcohol in a non-judgmental way.
We encourage future reporting to include this important resource, as it serves as a beacon of hope and support for those who are looking to make a change. For more on Meharry Medical College's leadership on this issue, please see Dr. Hildreth's coauthored guest opinion column at Tennessean.com/opinion.
Dr. Michael C. Caldwell, chief medical officer, Dry January® USA, Meharry Medical College, Nashville 37214
If you are living with substance use disorder, there is help for you
Devoting an entire Sunday issue to alcohol and drug addiction here in Nashville can only be described as y’all are doing God’s work.
We in the trenches of addiction can’t thank you enough. Here in Nashville’s programs of recovery, alcoholics and drug addicts need all the understanding, support and unconditional love they can get .
We have 100 AA meetings a week right here in town – morning, afternoon and evening, every part of town and many NA and Al-Anon meetings as well as detoxes if you need one. (We don’t recommend stopping cold turkey without medical help).
And of course we are lucky to have Cumberland Heights, the premiere rehab in the country.
As we say in Nashville AA: “We come from Yale to jail. From Penn State to the state pen. We are totally anonymous. No last names please.”
Nashville AA has help for anyone who wants our help, unfortunately we can’t help those who need help. The only requirement to join AA is a desire to stop drinking (or drugging).
We are a spiritual group, not a religious one.
“Try us for 90 days. If you don’t like it, we will gladly refund your misery”
Take the first step to a clean and sober life. Just Google AA meetings in Nashville . Or call the AA hotline at 800-934-9518. We have a seat waiting for you.
You don’t have to suffer alone. We know what you are going through. We’ve all been there before.
Steve Morris (sober for 35 years), Nashville 37205
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Country music artists who shared sobriety stories give hope to those living with addiction
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