Meredith Baxter may be best known as for her role on the hit TV sitcom "Family Ties," but for many struggling with addiction, she's now a role model as well.
The actress, producer and author gave the keynote address at the 10th annual Fairbanks Circle of Hope Dinner at the JW Marriott in Indianapolis on Wednesday.
Baxter, who got sober 21 years ago, said although the details of her story may be unique, she believes others can relate to the universal aspects of substance abuse.
"The drinking was a symptom," she said. "The real disease was the way I processed my thinking and the extreme self-centeredness that I suffered from."
Baxter recounted for the crowd her first visit to a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous.
"I went into the room and I thought, 'Well, that never happened to me, and I never lost my home, and I was never in the gutter, so I'm not an alcoholic,'" she said. "But then I heard people talk about the internal devastation. I was shredded emotionally. I had not one other idea in my head. I identified with that and that's what I could say."
After her speech, Baxter signed copies of her newly released book, "Untied: A Memoir of Family, Fame and Floundering," which details her struggle with addiction, overcoming breast cancer and coming out as a lesbian in 2009.
She also makes claims of domestic abuse during her 15-year marriage to "Bridget Loves Bernie" co-star David Birney.
"I have a lot to tell people about domestic abuse and how not to carry that around as an albatross for the rest of your life, because I think we tend to," she said. "If you're like me, and a professional victim, that's what you tend to do, and it's really important to get out from underneath that."
Wednesday's event was aimed at raising money for the north side recovery treatment center's high school, Hope Academy, and educating the public about the realities of addiction and treatment.
AUK
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