If you think you know Larry Kudlow, you need to listen to this interview.
The CNBC senior contributor had a poignant and personal reaction to the tragic news of Robin Williams' suicide. "There but for the grace of God go I," the syndicated radio host said.
Kudlow, appearing on WMAL's "Mornings on the Mall" in Washington, D.C., told my co-host Brian Wilson and me that he had attended the exact same addiction rehabilitation center, Minnesota's Hazeldon, that the Academy Award winning actor had been a patient of.
"With God's grace, i just had my 19th sober and clean anniversary," Kudlow said during the emotional interview. At various moments you could hear Kudlow fighting back tears as he explained how he had lost his first career due to cocaine and alcohol addiction.
"In a sense, I know a little bit about what he was going through, Kudlow said while reflecting on his days at Hazeldon. Kudlow recalled what one of the counselor's told him. "When you are alone, you use, and when you use you can't stop," he said. "It's all about asking for help and trusting God"
The former OMB official in the Reagan White House spoke eloquently about the power and effectiveness of 12-step programs and about the depression and emptiness often associated with the life of an addict, even one who, from the outside, seems so happy and full of life, as Williams so often had.
Toward the end of his riveting personal testimonial, Kudlow turned his attention to any addicts who might be listening to his voice and gave them guidance so they could avoid the tragedy that befell Williams:
It is my job, it has always been my principal job, to stay clean and sober every day. And the tragedy of the great Robin Williams brings that home. And that's what people should take away from that. There is a way out, you're never cured but you get a daily reprieve and you can live a new life and frankly, God will open doors you never dreamed possible. Doors close, but doors open, that's what I learned.