Stephen King has said being sober for more than 30 years has allowed him to live a ‘more spiritual’ and ‘more moral’ life.
The American author, often described as the King of Horror, struggled with alcoholism and drug abuse during the 1970s before friends and family staged an intervention.
King, who has published more than 60 novels including The Shining, It and Pet Sematary, sought help and has remained sober since.
He has also seen numerous other works of his hit the small and big screen in adaptations, such as The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, Castle Rock and upcoming projects including a third screen adaptation of Salem’s Lot, set to feature Alfre Woodard, John Benjamin Hickey and Game of Thrones actor Pilou Asbæk, according to IMDb.
Speaking to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as part of BBC Radio 4’s The Archbishop Interviews series, he addressed the impact of his faith.
King, 74, who recently posted a rare photo of himself on social media in support of Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion, explained that he ‘doesn’t talk a lot about’ his past experiences with drugs and alcohol due to being part of a programme that’s ‘supposed to maintain anonymity at the level of press, radio and films’.
However, he shared that he had been sober for 33 years, and it had ‘become part of my life’.
He added: ‘It certainly allowed me to live a more spiritual life in many ways. It makes it easier to live a moral life. Because when you do something that’s rather sh*tty, you know that you’ve done it, and you have to talk about it a little bit.
‘Because the last thing that I want to do is to get drunk or to get stoned. And so part of my prayer is, please forgive me for what I did, because I don’t want to drink or drug anymore. And it works.’
King said sobriety and his experiences as an addict had influenced his relationships with his children and grandchildren, as they ‘know what works for me’ as well as ‘what works for them’.
With wife Tabitha, who is also an author and a poet, he is father to Joe Hill, 49, and Owen King, 45, both of whom he called ‘very successful writers in their own ways’, as well as daughter Naomi, who is a minister in the Universalist Church.
The bestselling writer also revealed that although he doesn’t fear the future, as he was ‘promised’ when he sobered up, there ‘are many parts of my past I’m sorry that I regret’
‘There are things that I would do differently if I had a chance to go back,’ he shared. ‘And one of the things that I’m grateful for is that my grandchildren never saw me at my worst.’
In 1999, King was hit by a van while out for a walk in his native Maine, leaving him with chronic pain even after a series of operations.
Reflecting on the impact the crash had on him King reasoned that ‘if you keep a chip on your shoulder, it’s going to give you a bad posture’.
He continued: ‘There’s no sense holding a grudge. There’s no sense being angry at people. Did I forgive Bryan Smith for hitting me? No. Did I hate him, did I want to get him, was I angry at him? No.
‘It was just basically that there was no great wheels of fate turning, he was just a bad driver. He lost control of his vehicle because a couple of dogs were fighting in the backseat over a cooler that had meat in it.’
The Archbishop Interviews airs at 1.30pm on Sunday on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
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