eBulletin Original –

As a news anchor and reporter on television, Courtney Friel currently works for KTLA-TV in Los Angeles. She previously reported on entertainment news for the Fox News Channel. Sober for over a decade, Friel gives an uncensored look at her life of partying and eventual recovery in her new memoir, Tonight At 10: Kicking Booze and Breaking News. Her struggle to succeed in the news business paled in comparison to the battle against alcoholism and drug addiction she was secretly fighting. Courtney Friel also hosts the podcast “Keeping It Friel: Conversations On Recovery”

Addiction/Recovery eBulletin:

Would you compare being sober to freedom from a self-inflicted form of slavery? 

Courtney Friel:

I have never heard it compared that way, but I would say, yes, absolutely. I never realized how handcuffed I was to alcohol, cocaine, and pills until I got sober. The freedom that comes along with recovery is what I love most about being sober. You don’t have to have that glass of wine, and thus you’re not committed to that whole night of closing down a bar or creating unnecessary drama. You can show up for the people in your life at their parties or art openings or whatever the event happens to be. You can be there for a couple of hours, then say goodbye with a smile and go home to get a good night’s sleep. You wake up feeling refreshed, and you can work out in the morning.

MORE @AREB