King’s prayers to remain sober
AUTHOR Stephen King has revealed he kneels every morning and asks God for help to stay off drink and drugs.
And if he has stayed clean that day he kneels again before going to bed and gives his thanks.
King has been sober for 33 years. In the early 1970s he was addicted to alcohol, cocaine, valium, tranquilisers, cigarettes, cough medicine and mouthwash.
The King of Horror discussed his faith, his struggles with addiction and the car crash that nearly killed him in a rare interview with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
The 74-year-old told the head of the Church of England how he dislikes “institutionalised” religion which, he believes, is often more concerned with politics than spirituality.
Instead, his independent faith has been an important part of his struggle against addiction. He said: “I decided
I would accept the God of my understanding and keep it real simple: get down on your knees in the morning and ask for help to stay off drugs and alcohol for one day.”
The Shining author added: “I was promised that if I sobered up, I wouldn’t regret the past or fear of the future. And I don’t really fear the future.
“But there are many parts of my past I’m sorry that I regret.
“There are things that I would do differently if I had a chance to go back. And one of the things that I’m grateful for is that my grandchildren never saw me at my worst.”
During their halfhour conversation, Mr Welby spoke about growing up with alcoholic parents and losing his baby daughter, Johanna, nearly 40 years ago in a car crash. He said both his parents
were alcoholics, adding: “And it was an awfully dysfunctional upbringing.
“My mother is still alive. She’s 92. She’s been sober for half a century.and the person I thought was my father died of drugs and alcohol when I was 20.”
Six years ago a national newspaper identified Mr Welby’s real father as Sir Winston Churchill’s private secretary, Sir Anthony Montague Browne, who worked with his mother, Jane, when she was a secretary to the leader.
At the start of the interview, the Archbishop confessed he had never read a Stephen King novel until preparing for their chat.
He said: “Until I started preparing for the interview I had been scared to read your horror stories because I deal with such horror every day.
“But then I got the briefing notes and realised you wrote The Green Mile, which is one of my favourite films, and The Shawshank Redemption. So I have been reading The Green Mile and I’m gripped by it.”
The Archbishop Interviews, today, 1.30pm, BBC Radio 4 or BBC Sounds.