The desert sun burns through the back of the Vibe. I flinch and roll away from the glare. The temperature in the car is already unbearable. My mouth is gritty and there's clearly been a lightning strike to my chest. I open my eyes. I know where I am and I don't want to know where I am. The casino neon is acid turquoise against the mid-morning sun. I sit up. I'd parked the Vibe in what I thought would be the shade of a lank Saguaro. I was wrong.
I open the car doors and step out barefooted onto the scorching asphalt. I make myself stand there - penance. Once a good-bad Catholic girl, always a good-bad Catholic girl. I climb into the front seat and put my head down on my arms. I'm neither Catholic nor a girl. I'm a mother, grandmother, writer, political activist, NPR commentator,---a full-bore slot machine addict and the fun, as they say, has run out.
I wrote those words a few years ago. I'd come home from my first Gamblers Anonymous meeting in the Mojave and I knew it was time to face into my life. I wrote for days and when the writing showed me what had happened to me - or, more accurately, what I had happened to me - I began to put together a proposal for the book, She Bets Her Life. One of the first research calls I made was to the National Council on Problem Gambling. http://www.ncpgambling.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1
The director, Keith Whyte answered the phone. He'd read one of my other books, Bonelight: ruin and grace in the New Southwest and spotted the signs of my addiction in it. As soon as I told him I wanted to write a book about women and gambling addiction, he signed on as my strongest ally. Over the year that I wrote the book, he sent me research references, connected me with other women working on the problem and gave me pep talks when writing the dopamine chapter had me tearing my hair out - and having random urges to gamble.
I'll be teaching a writing workshop on Writing Through Addiction on Thursday, June 10 for the NCPG national conference on problem gambling in Portland, Oregon. Keith is throwing an author reception for me Friday evening, June 11 from 5:30-7 in the National Council on Problem Gambling suite at the conference hotel - Hilton Portland & Executive Tower, 921 SW Sixth Avenue. I'll be reading from She Bets Her Life, my new novel, Going Through Ghosts and Bonelight for the Saturday, June 12 morning plenary session, 9-10:30. The author reception and the plenary session are open to the public. NCPG has offered a screamin' deal to the general public. For $75, you will get Saturday's events, as well as continental breakfast, lunch and snacks throughout the day.
If you live in or within travel distance from Portland, I'd love to meet you face to face. I'll be glad to answer what questions I can and when I can't, give you leads on finding what you need to know. If you can't make the Recovery and Community Day, I am always glad to receive your questions and concerns at shebetsherlife@gmail.com. Love it if you'd pass this post on.
Thank you, Mary
Link to conference info: http://www.ncpgambling.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3824
Recovery and Community Day
Hilton Portland & Executive Tower 921 SW Sixth Avenue, Portland, OR 97204
Can a gambling addiction be passed down through generations? How can you be an advocate but maintain your anonymity? Want to learn about financial therapy tools for recovering gamblers? These questions are just a few of those addressed in the 18 sessions available to members of the public, especially those interested in recovery issues.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
National Council on Problem Gambling Annual Conference is the world’s oldest and largest conference dedicated to problem gambling issues. This multidisciplinary conference showcases presentations on developments in the problem gambling and gambling fields.
8:30 - 9:00AM
Funding Problem Gambling Services
9:00 – 10:30AM
"She Bets Her Life: a true story of gambling addiction" - Reading and discussion by Mary Sojourner
10:30 - 11:00AM
Compulsive Gambling: Treating the Mandated Client What Gambling Counselors Do – and Don’t
Variables Associated With Preference of Therapeutic Modality Among Clients at a University Problem Gambling Clinic
11:00 - 12:00PM
Music Makes the Difference: : Engaging Youth in Problem Gambling and Addiction Prevention
Discernment Process for Gamblers & Family Members
A Call to Action: Recommendations for policies and programs to address college gambling. A national report
NIATx Gambling Treatment Process Focus on Increasing Admissions
The intergenerational transmission of problem gambling: A new theoretical model
Impact of Gambling-Related Illegal Behaviors on Conceptualization and Treatment Outcome
12:00 - 1:30PM
Cadillac or Kia? Arts Based Youth Gambling Awareness for Every Budget
1:30 - 3:00PM
Responsible Gaming Check: Setting the Bar for ‘Responsible Gambling’ Programs
Advocacy Panel
Community based approach to addressing problem gambling in underserved and at risk groups
Self Exclusion Panel
Helpline Panel
Family Treatment Panel
3:00 - 3:30PM
Alcohol, Tobacco, & Gambling Advertising Below Three Feet
Gambling in the Workplace
Questioning the value of State Sponsored Problem Gambling Prevalence Studies in Connecticut
3:30 - 4:30PM
Money, Problem Gamblers & Recovery: Utilizing Financial Therapy Tools in Gambling Treatment
Pioneers in the Field
4:30 – 5:00PM
Looking Towards 2011: Where We’ve Been and where We’re Going
