12 CAPITAL TIMES, November 15, 1989
ARTS & LEISURE
Pain of addiction,
joy of recovery
Sondra Kinsey
Capital Times Staff
The hidden pain of her "normal" early
family life led Elizabeth into the pit of
addiction to "everything but heroin." An
autobiography, "Elizabeth at 33" is
about that pain and her joy in recovery
after being "high every day for 13 years."
"I grew up in a typical little town and
came from a normal middle-class family,
close-knit and loving," Elizabeth says
ironically, adding, "We'd all gather at my
grandmother's house for Sunday dinners,
known as one-shot, two-shot, three-shot,
four-shot dinners. It was my mother's
medicine."
Written and performed by Elizabeth
Hissner, the 60-minute play evoked a
lively question-and-answer session from
the audience in the packed Gallery
Lounge Nov. 1.
Asked what made her get sober, the
now vivacious Hissner said she was just
dead inside.
"Everything was crumbling," she
said.
During the play, Elizabeth says that
toward the end of her addiction, all her
clothes were black.
"I had been going to my own funeral
for years," she says. When she got
sober she threw away all her black
things.
"Where there is no
compromise for quality"
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Presented by Open Stage Of
Harrisburg, a non-profit organization,
the play was brought to Penn State
Harrisburg as part of the current drug and
alcohol awareness campaign.
Hissner said she has performed the
play about 20 times for women's
groups, for juvenile offenders, for staff
training in substance abuse, in prisons,
in hospitals, and in rehabilitation
centers.
"Addicts are usually depicted in the
gutter with no hope," said director Don
Alsedek, a local resident. "We wanted to
show that addicts can and do lead
productive lives after the wonderful
journey of recovery."
Hissner is now the primary therapist
for the New Perspectives Addiction
Treatment Center's women's program in
Lebanon. She also provides education
and consultation for area schools and
community agencies, teaches classes for
drunk-driving offenders, and facilitates
intervention groups.
Hissner is a University Park graduate
in Administration of Justice. "The idea
then (while addicted) was to be a
lawyer," she said. In one part of the
play, she mentions how she used to
"pick fights" at school to deal with her
anger. Knowing her history and
More Elizabeth on 13
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