Broken Again. A National Advocate for Drug Recovery Relapses.

Health|Broken Again. A National Advocate for Drug Recovery Relapses.

In “Broken,” a memoir published in 2006, William Cope Moyers wrote of his near fatal addiction to crack cocaine and his hard-fought recovery. The book proved to be a humble celebration about the potential for rehabilitation, and Mr. Moyers became a national champion for treatment and recovery.

But then his addiction returned.

In 2012, while widely sharing his story as a source of inspiration, Mr. Moyers was prescribed an opioid painkiller by a dentist after an oral surgery. Quickly, he began craving the pills and soon couldn’t stop taking them.

Now in his latest book, “Broken Open: What Painkillers Taught Me About Life and Recovery,” he describes how he could not shake his new addiction, even as he attended 12-step meetings, prayed and used other recovery tactics that had served him so well for decades.

In a recent conversation, Mr. Moyers discussed his struggles with addiction and what he has learned from them. He is the vice president of public affairs at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, a nonprofit addiction treatment provider based in Minnesota.

The setup for your new book is that you appeared to have things figured out. What’s that story in a nutshell?

In the ’80s and early ’90s, I’m hooked on substances — crack cocaine and alcohol. My life spirals downward. I hit my bottom, I climb up. What a story of redemption. I’m a national recovery advocate. I’ve got a wife and three children. I have a nice house in Saint Paul. I’m feeling comfortable in my own skin. And I’m a model of success that others aspire to embrace. What’s wrong with that?