The Guest House Experience 1956-1974

The Guest House Experience 1956-1974

A Study of the Results of Treating Catholic Clergy for Alcoholism

The a Guest House Sanitarium specialized in treating Catholic Clergy suffering from alcoholism. There were two locations indicated on the back cover: Lake Orion, Michigan, and Rochester, Minnesota.

The Guest House Experience:

All of the clergy who completed therapy at Guest House and who responded to this survey are certified alcoholics. Most of them have probably at one time or another heard Russell Smith say that once the diagnosis is made, the alcoholic "has only three possible outcomes: he can abstain, or he can destroy his brain, or he can see his life terminated by the
disease. Abstention, insanity or death are the only three options." Those who come away from the Guest House experience believing that they were correctly diagnosed as alcoholics, are firmly convinced that abstention from liquor is their option. Most of them never again take a drink, some suffer an occasional lapse, and a few just go on drinking.