It was 10pm when my exhausted parents dropped me off at an addiction rehab in Wiltshire and sped off in their car, leaving me bewildered and wondering if I would ever be able to sort myself out. Granted, it wasn’t as glamorous an arrival as that of Britney Spears – who, it’s reported, travelled by private jet to check herself into an out-of-state treatment facility in the US following her drink-driving arrest in California last month – but I am sure the terrified, deep and empty feeling will be exactly the same.
I fumbled my way into the lofty entrance hall, which featured a waterfall. It looked like the setting for a lovely country-house vacation, with rolling hills outside, but it was anything but. I can still remember that feeling of dread as I was led into my shared room to meet my detoxing roommate and to get to grips with the full-on programme of recovery. It would start bright and early the next morning– typically, with a “Just for Today” meditation reading.
