Instantaneously last night, my monologue became a dialogue. And now people are talking to other people, and this site is becoming a conversation.
Few who comes to this site will be without experience of addiction once way or another. I hope that we demonstrate collectively that we can disagree yet learn from each other and respect each other's opinions. I've seen too many online communities die because people start talking at one another rather than with one another.
As much as Deirdre, Carrick and I are trying to keep up with every post and email, we're still a bit behind. And as much as we want to respond to everyone personally, we'll never be able to do so. But we're very happy to blend in, and become part of the greater wisdom of the group.
As for our own reaction to Dateline, Carrick spoke for all of us when she wrote:
I am so excited that the show brought out so many strong emotions in people and got a dialogue going, that was a major reason my family decided to share our story. I think I can safely say that we all approached the idea cautiously, but after tonight and seeing the reactions it is clear we made the right decision.
I think that Dateline did a wonderful job; I didn't leave the room mortified once! They were compassionate and as true to the story as an hour-long television show can be.
Reading some of the reactions, I think that this is an important point to make. We sent them something like 70 hours of tape and they whittled it down to 60 minutes. I wish there could have been more focus put on my recovery, my life now. However, as I said before, this is a sixty-minute show, over two years in the making. Taping could not go on forever — nothing was planned, no one planned on a Happy Ending, this was our life day to day....
You can read the rest of Carrick's comments, and those of many others, in the "Reaction to "Saving Carrick" discussion.