A Hero of Women’s History
[Editor’s note: This week’s “News from the Noteworthy” comes to us from Julie Dostal, executive director of The LEAF Council on Alcoholism and Addictions in Oneonta.]
It is indeed rare air to end up among the ranks of those whose work continues to save lives long after leaving this world. While I tend to use the word “hero” sparingly in order to preserve its specialness, I use it purposefully in this column. Marty Mann is a hero worthy of note, especially in women’s history month.
If I guess correctly, most people will not know her name. Many women in recovery from addiction are aware of the role she played in their personal sobriety.
Marty was a successful editor, photojournalist, and art critic. She traveled in well-heeled social circles and by all appearances had it made. However, the cold, unforgiving grips of the disease of alcoholism brought her to endless unsuccessful treatments, homelessness, and attempts at suicide.
I cannot imagine the horror of being a woman with alcoholism in the 1930s. There were terms like “defectives,” “inebriates,” and “drunkards” used as common descriptors for those who suffered. Women who struggled with addiction were labeled with far more demeaning terms and considered much harder to treat with less hope of recovery.
As a bright, intelligent, resourceful woman, Marty tried nearly every possible treatment over the years. An exasperated psychiatrist showed her literature about a small group of alcoholics finding success through a self-help group meeting at the home of a man by the name of Bill W. This changed everything.
Marty made her way to that group and found home; Marty found hope. She became the first woman to achieve sobriety through the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The story could easily have ended there, with Marty going back to her socialite circles and living from photo shoot to art opening. Thankfully, it did not. Marty became a woman with a mission.
In the years that followed, Mrs. Mann traveled the country to speak to groups and individuals about alcoholism as a disease and not a moral failing. She worked with doctors, elected leaders, and other influencers to drive home the message that the stigma associated with addiction had to be erased and replaced with a public health response.
Marty founded the organization that became National Council on Alcoholism (NCA), then later was named National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (NCADD). This organization was responsible for the development of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and modern Employee Assistance Programs. If you have an EAP at your place of work, you can tip your hat to Mrs. Mann.
There is clearly more to Mrs. Marty Mann than I can share in 600 words. And, Of course, there is a much more nuanced conversation to be had about the use of the word “alcoholic” and the early medicalization of alcoholism. As a culture, we understand vastly more than in those first days of stigma reduction and recovery advocacy. We’ll save that discussion for another time.
For me, her legacy will live as the trailblazer who forged the path for many women, like me, to find recovery in the aftermath of addiction. She made it possible to approach addiction as the public health issue that it is. Her work even helped to birth the organization that many of you know as LEAF.
What gratitude we feel that a strong, well-spoken, brave woman made it okay to talk about recovery from addiction while absolutely believing that through education and advocacy it can be prevented for the next generation.
You can find more about Marty’s journey and impact in the book, “A Biography of Mrs. Marty Mann: First Lady of Alcoholics Anonymous.”