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Your book came out in May 2022. Tell us about it.
I feel that Chaos to Clarity is an extension of my message. I was able to share my story of abuse and recovery. I developed negative coping mechanisms, which for me were alcohol, attention, and my negative relationship patterns. I was able to share candidly about my story and how I changed through my healing journey.
In the book, I share that once I hit my rock bottom, I made a choice to put down the drink, how the 12-step program helped me, and how I was able to move past a victim mentality. This is huge for a lot of people as a coping mechanism that is implemented when we are young, and we feel like the whole world is against us. I’m able to share how I got through it and the tools that helped me, along with building my spiritual practice, and the signs and guidance from the other side.
What other lessons do you incorporate in your book?
I want people to know the importance of breaking generational cycles, which has been huge in my family. I think a lot of people can relate to this aspect of the book. I share tools and action items in my book. I just really want to continue my efforts in helping people know that changing their life and moving into a place of happiness is possible. I want to help them figure out how to do it and to know they have to do the work to make the changes. One of my favorite tools that I received in the 12-step program is the saying “move a muscle, change a thought.” We know that a lot of people are ashamed of their past and their addiction. Where do you think you got the guts to bare your soul?
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We know that a lot of people are ashamed of their past and their addiction. Where do you think you got the guts to bare your soul?
I think I’ve always had the strength because I’ve had to put up a lot of walls just to survive. I’ve always been very strong in my ability to move on from painful situations. When I first hit my rock bottom and was going through my first year of sobriety, I was riddled with shame. I was riddled with guilt from my past of the people that I had hurt. But once I started my spiritual journey, and started healing and realizing that my past does not define me and that my past is not my fault, I was able to gather more strength to start telling my story.
It took a while for me to be honest with my story because I was feeling so much shame. I wanted to protect myself and I wanted to protect my family, but I knew the only way that I could really help people was to truly be transparent with my story. People could relate to me and hopefully be able to learn from the experiences I’ve gone through. Because the only way that we can help anyone else is by being genuine, authentic, and transparent with our truth.
Related: Everyone’s Favorite TV Mom Patricia Heaton on Reinvention and Why She Quit Drinking in her 60s
Talk about celebrating seven years of sobriety.
I live a life just so full of gratitude, and that’s where it starts really. You put down the drink to stop masking the pain, but once you start shifting into a grateful mindset and doing the practices and implementing the tools every day; it’s just really magical how life changes.
Marci Hopkins interviews “Everybody Loves Raymond” star Patricia Heaton on “Wake Up With Marci.”
Courtesy of Marci Hopkins/”Wake Up With Marci”
What else do you want to say about National Recovery Month?
Once I was able to put down the drink and work the 12-step program my life changed. There are so many miracles in sobriety, so I share my story of abuse, alcoholism, and sobriety through personal stories.
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Let’s talk about a few of your celebrity guests, starting with those who are involved in recovery.
Well, Patricia Heaton shared about her sobriety and recovery, and so that was a very special interview for me because she was so open. I shared this with you before, I felt like it was just two girlfriends talking, and she was sharing with me that once her projects had stopped, she was spending a lot of time at home, and this was even during the pandemic, that she noticed that her drinking started elevating.
She shared how much she was drinking, and that she realized that it was inhibiting her from really living a full life. Now that she’s in her 50s and she had so much more life to live, she was sharing how much fuller her life is since she decided to put down the drink. Then she was asking me about my rock bottom and how that happened to me. She shared at the end that the years that I’ve been in recovery give her continued hope for herself. That was pretty significant for me.
You have had many celebrity guests on your show who share a great deal about their personal stories.
I love that my celebrity guests who have had daunting and tragic things happen that create so much fear in our lives, are eager to share how they have overcome them and now they’re trying to help others, if it should happen to them or if there’s something that’s preventative.
A split screen with Marci Hopkins top left, Shalena Bryan, and Candace Cameron Bure bottom center during an interview on Wake Up With Marci. Photo Courtesy of Marci Hopkins/Wake Up With Marci.
Such as?
Well, I love Sheryl Crow. Sheryl had breast cancer and she is now trying to bring awareness about the importance of getting mammograms. I love that she’s trying to bring awareness to mammograms because this is prevention; if you find out early on, you can survive.
She has a documentary that has come out about her story, and she’s just really trying to be transparent in her story also. To let other people know that celebrities are human, and they go through the same things that others go through. And I think that they tell their stories so they can be seen through a human lens.
This good friend of Candace Cameron Bure started a foundation called Skip1.org , and the idea of the foundation is to encourage others to skip getting that cup of coffee, skip buying that new dress, and maybe go into your closet and maybe find another dress, and to help those in need.
Another wonderful recent guest was John Stamos . He was on my show during Men’s Health Month and spoke about men eating better and helping themselves to be more aware of how they’re treating themselves so they can live a better life. He is also very comedic and brought a lot of humor to the interview.
What charities are you involved in and why is philanthropy important to you?
I’m on the board of the YWCA, and the focus is helping women’s empowerment. My aim is to help healingSPACE and it is very important to me because it helps those that have been sexually abused or raped. It’s helping women by providing free therapy, free hospital tests, and clothing. The help is there to help women get through a very tragic circumstance.
I am also dedicated to helping the orphans in Uganda; who have captured my heart. There is the Kumali Orphanage in Uganda. A woman named Justina was looking for help and found me on Facebook. A few other people and I helped to raise money for them to buy land and build a home with all of the essentials that we take for granted every day, including running water and a fully-functioning kitchen. Now they have a fully sustainable farm and clean water and it’s amazing and inspiring to be part of this!
Related: Interventionist Ken Seeley: You Can’t Recover from Addiction Alone
Is there a light at the end of the tunnel for each of us struggling with our own major issues? And how do you know?
There’s absolutely a light at the end of the tunnel. I know this because I am living proof of it today. I have never been more spiritually connected. I’ve never lived in more joy. I know that there’s more evolution and purpose for my life, and that will just continue to build on the happiness and joy that I am living today. The fulfillment for me is to give this to others through my story.
7 Top Tips from Marci Hopkins from her powerful new book
1 . Stay present. Stop living in the past and worrying about the future.
2. Live in gratitude. Find three things you are grateful for to move from a negative mindset into a positive mindset.
3. Forgive; (Forgiveness is for you). Move from being a victim and release the control the person or situation has had over your life.
4. Give back. This takes you out of yourself. It helps you to connect with others and feel good about yourself.
5. Believe in something bigger than yourself . i.e. a Higher power, Nature, Source, Spirit.
6. Meditate! Meditation helps with healing, intuition, focus, and inner peace.
7. Celebrate things you are good at. And celebrate the small wins, this helps with self-confidence and self-love.
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