It takes more than courage

Grant County Journal
It takes more than courage
January 24, 2011
Written by Janet Warren

It takes courage to admit you have a problem with alcohol. To overcome that problem, however, takes more than courage. It takes turning yourself inside out and examining everything you were trying to cover up by drinking. The same thing goes for any other addiction that has brought you to the brink of despair. Courage may be the first step, but accepting the truth about yourself and sharing it with others is what keeps your feet moving one in front of the other.
I am reading a book entitled “Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life,” co-written by Glenn Beck and Keith Ablow, M.D. No matter what you think about Beck’s political views, you have to admire the way he completely changed his life by admitting his alcohol and drug dependence and doing something about it. Dr. Ablow’s message boils down to this: “You can’t outdistance your past. The truth always wins. And you can be a far more powerful person the moment you embrace it.”
I met a woman this week who faced the truth and changed her life. Her name is Sally Johnson, and many of you who lived in Ephrata for the last 60 years know some of her story. Sally was raised by her aunt and uncle who were quite strict with her. She graduated a year early, at 16, from high school. By the time she was 20, she had a teaching certificate and a job. She taught English and Spanish in White Salmon, Washington. After a year, she decided she would never teach again until she was old and gray and in a wheelchair. She admitted she had quite a time disciplining those big country boys. Sally didn’t need to teach after that because she married Neil Johnson, who worked for his father’s successful business, and he wanted her to stay home.
Sally’s life sounds so normal for the 1950’s. Fast forward to recent history. Sally became friends with Paula VandenBos. One day while shopping in Paula’s store, Sally said quite loudly (probably more loudly than she intended since she has a significant hearing loss): “Paula, did you know I used to be the town drunk?” From that time on, Sally told bits and pieces of her story to Paula. So how does an intelligent girl with a good background get into so much trouble with her alcohol use? Paula encouraged Sally to write a book about it. Being encouraged to write a book and actually doing it are two different things, but Sally used the same fortitude that kept her sober for 33 years to write a book about it. It is called “Coming Back from Alcoholism” and is a short story about Sally’s life before, during, and after her “town drunk” days.
Sally and Neil started out socializing with a large crowd of drinkers. She never tried to cover up her drinking because it was socially acceptable. Both she and her husband were heavy drinkers, but they began to have marital problems in the early 1970’s and Sally’s alcohol use escalated along with her use of valium. Valium was so widely prescribed by doctors and used by housewives in the 60’s, the Rolling Stones even sang a song about it:
Kids are different today, I hear ev'ry mother say
Mother needs something today to calm her down
And though she's not really ill, there's a little yellow pill
She goes running for the shelter of a mother's little helper
And it helps her on her way, gets her through her busy day (1967).
Sally began having blackouts. Most nights she couldn’t remember how she got home. When she woke up in the mornings, she would look out her window to see if her car was there. If it wasn’t, she called her friend Jack at the wrecking yard, and he usually knew where she could find it. She admits she was a menace on the streets, and people would snicker about her escapades over the years. The Grant County Journal published a picture of her 1965 Mustang perched precariously on the bank of the West Canal. The State Patrol was investigating how that car got there. Sally couldn’t tell them, even though she was the one driving it. She didn’t even know how she got home that night. Finally, the City Attorney, Edward Allan, stopped turning a blind eye and gave Sally an ultimatum—either get into an alcohol treatment program or go to jail. When Sally told me this story she added, “I have been behind a lot of bars in my day, but never those kind!”
Getting into rehab was the beginning of a very long journey. Although, miraculously enough, she never drank again after her three weeks of treatment, the desire was still there. Her life had many downturns, yet she didn’t relapse. Glenn Beck said in his book, “When the president of the United States is mentioning you by name as an example of what is wrong with America, it’s hard not to start daydreaming about the deliciousness of Jack Daniels with a splash of Coke.” Sally may not have the same troubles as Beck, but she had plenty just as devastating to her. To this day, she speaks with fondness of her martinis and White Russians. She also knows she can never have one drink…ever. I asked her what kept her going all those years without turning to alcohol. She said simply, “I didn’t want my sons to be disappointed in me.”
Sally Johnson accepted the truth about herself 33 years ago. Now she tells the truth in her book. She dedicated the book to her friend, Paula VandenBos, who kept encouraging her to write it. There will be a book signing on Saturday, January 29th. Sally will be autographing copies from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at VandenBos Jewelry and Fine Gifts, 61 Basin Street. As I told Sally when I first met her, “It takes a very courageous woman to write a book like this.” Thank you, Sally, for telling the truth.