Actress headlines LCADA Way dinner

Pearls of Wisdom Recognition Dinner highlights addiction

Actress Mackenzie Phillips is the keynote speaker at this year’s The LCADA Way Pearls of Wisdom Recognition Dinner on Oct. 26 at the Emerald Event Center, 33040 Just Imagine Drive in Avon.

Phillips, known for her roles as Carol Morrison in the movie “American Graffiti,” and the rebellious teenager Julie Mora Cooper Horvath on the long running 1970s television sitcom “One Day at a Time,” also is an author and a recovery counselor in West Hollywood.

During a recent phone interview with The Morning Journal, Phillips, 57, said she struggled with addiction early in her life.

She said she now tries to help others through the difficulties of drug addiction.

“I was struggling with addiction, probably when I was around 18 years old or so,” Phillips said. “But you never know you have a problem. I felt I was ok and I didn’t think it was something I needed to be concerned about.”

Phillips said her addiction was the cause of her being fired twice from “One Day at a Time.”

“Everyone around me could see I had a problem,” she said. “It was so obvious to those around me, so it wasn’t a particular person in my life that pointed it out.

“I didn’t go to great lengths to conceal my addiction, and it showed.”

Phillips said it took her arrest on a felony charge to get her to realize she needed to get well.

“I was arrested for a felony due to possession in 2008,” she said. “That was a real wake-up call for me and I have been turning my life around ever since.”

Phillips now works as a recovery counselor and helps people who are going through the

same difficulties she went through.

“I had the life experience and I decided to go to school for it,” she said. “I have been a counselor for five years now and I love it.

“I work at Life Healing Center, out of West Hollywood, and I love being able to give back.”

Phillips said the hardest thing people will deal with,

in regards to addiction recovery, is the withdrawal.

“People just don’t want to deal with the setbacks that will occur physically,” she said. “When you stop taking a drug, whether it be heroin or opioids, your body will go through the worst feeling and it will start to affect the mind.

“You will struggle. But it is important to push yourself forward.”

Phillips said she is doing great today and she has been well for a long time.

“I don’t struggle anymore,”

she said. “I have been sober for about 10 years and the need is gone. I don’t feel the need to ever return to who I was.”

Phillips said she has come a long way and only wants to see others recover as she has.

“It is disheartening to see people struggle with addiction, and they come from all walks of life,” she said. “It really affects us all and the best thing to do is ask for help.

“It may be extremely hard, but ask others and

they will help you through it.”

The LCADA Way helps people in both Lorain and Medina counties who are suffering from addiction, said Joe Matuscak, director of marketing, development and communication The LCADA Way.

“It is a great honor to have Mackenzie Phillips as the keynote speaking,” Matuscak said. “Her experience will help to inspire those in our communities who are struggling with the same issues.”