Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
OREM — Sean Astin, who played Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings, was the keynote speaker at Utah Valley University's Conference on Addiction. The conference, held Friday, sold out to a crowd of over 500 attendees.
While Astin has never personally suffered from addiction, several members of his family have struggled with alcohol and drug problems. His mother, Patty Duke, was America's sweetheart in the 1960s, yet she wrestled with bipolar disorder and alcoholism. Astin learned to grow up quickly in a volatile home environment.
"It was just hard," he said in an interview with KSL. "The good news was that no matter how bad things got, I knew my parents loved me and the storms would pass."
Although his mother had her challenges, she still made it clear that she expected a lot from her son. "She wanted my life to stand as a symbol or maybe as a vindication of the period of time when people were judging her," Astin said. "Or saying she wasn't OK to be a mother."
Friends often thought Duke was too hard on her son, but Astin rose to meet those expectations and then some. When he landed the role of Samwise Gamgee, Duke was astounded and thrilled for him. Even though she had won an Oscar as best supporting actress for her role in "Miracle Worker," she and the rest of his family knew that this role in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy would be something bigger.
"You worked so hard," she kept saying to him. "You worked so hard for this."
And while Astin had to learn how to cope with his mother's illnesses, it was his parents, he said, who taught him a sense of mission and purpose in his life.
But Astin has also had to watch his younger brother, actor MacKenzie Astin, struggle with addiction. Sean offered a few suggestions to those who often feel helpless when it comes to helping their loved ones.
"The number one thing is to protect yourself at all times," he said. "The number two thing is to come to terms, before you try to do anything, with the reality that whatever you do might not work."
The experience of helping a loved one through addiction, he said, is "an endurance experience." Healing can take years and often resentment can foment, but it's critical to understand those resentments and work through them.
Otherwise, it can be really damaging if the truth comes out all at once. Yes, the problems do need to be addressed, he said, "but the timing should be considered carefully."
While Astin was the keynote speaker, the conference also hosted Carl Hart, an associate professor at Columbia University. His book, "High Price: A Neuroscientist's Journey of Self-Discovery That Challenges Everything You Know About Drugs and Society," was the 2014 winner of the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. His views on the relationship between addiction and the poverty/crime cycle can be found on TEDMED.
The conference also hosted breakout sessions on different interventions, ethical considerations, eye movement desensitization and preprocessing, issues with vaping, pornography and mindfulness-based treatments.
Toni Harris, assistant dean of the college of humanities and social science at UVU and chairman of the conference, said that while some students go to the conference, the majority of attendees come from the community. Mental health professionals, parents, families and juvenile justice authorities find the conference helpful and informative. This is their sixth annual conference. The college also hosts an annual conference on ADHD and autism. UVU's Conference on Autism will be held April 8, 2016.
"All the natural hardships and struggles that life brings, and all the joys too, mean, I think, that idea of determination I think was instilled in me before I can remember. The idea of having a sense of purpose and a sense of drive and mission, which I've always had in my life — I've had that before I can remember. I've always had that. It's apparent for anybody that knows me so when they're casting for the part that requires that quality, I think I'm an easy find," Astin said.
Becky Blackburn Griffin is the mother of five children and is a native of Price, Utah. She graduated from BYU's J. Reuben Clark Law School. Contact her at beckyblackburngriffin@gmail.com.
