Featured Interview With Scott Stevens
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
i’m a journalist, posting regularly on health and alcohol issues for online news services. I’m also a founding influencer at the world’s largest medical portal, HealthTap. Many popular alcohologists on air and on bookshelves have stellar credentials, but few have had to eat their own cooking. I have. I blend a little humor alongside my personal 86-proof-two-liters-a-day story and mix it with thorough research into alcoholism, sobriety, relapse and recovery.
I’ve had a ‘real’ job, too, as a former mutual fund industry executive. My books show that business acumen and bluntness. The three I’ve written: 2010’s What the Early Worm Gets, 2013’s Indie Book Awards finalist, Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, and 2015’s Adding Fire to the Fuel. I regularly address conferences around the country — including the REEL Recovery Film Festival — on the latest trends in the field of alcohol use disorders.
I’ve had some amazing life experiences, like meeting seven Presidents of the United States, flying with the Navy’s Blue Angels, piloting a Los Angeles Class nuclear submarine and driving a NASCAR at 140mph on a one-mile oval. All that after I got my Master’s in Public Affairs Journalism from the University of Illinois – Springfield. I own www.alcohologist.com (as well as the Alcohology app for Kindle and all Android devices). I’m from the Midwest… born and raised, lived around the U.S., and came back.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My seventh grade English teacher put the bug in my ear. Mrs. Roanhouse always encouraged the creative side right along with grammar and sentence structure dos and don’ts. By the time I was a H.S. junior, I knew I wanted to be a TV reporter and use my writing skill that way. Throughout the marketing career, I was still a voracious writer and reader. Now that I am back to journalism, I can say I am one of the few lucky ones who’s been able to hold his dream job … not once but TWICE!
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read classic psychology like Frankl and Jung, but I like unwinding with fiction that twists and turns. Deaver is the best at it.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
Adding Fire to the Fuel was an unexpected journey for me. There is so much stigma around addiction, alcoholism and treatment. I have lived through what an alcoholic lives through and have had the courage to get well again, so I know the alcoholic journey isn’t easy. And it has little to do with willpower and nothing to do with crummy morals. I took a hard look at stigma, why it happens and what to do about it. I challenge the public perceptions, but more importantly, I challenge those in and around recovery to step up and be PANonymous and avoid self-stigma.
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