Aussie country star Keith Urban has released a heart-felt message through his website to tell his story about his time in rehab.
In the message he talks opening about the difficulty of drying out, the support he was given by his wife Nicole Kidman, family and fans.Here is the transcript of the Urban message:
"Hi Everyone. Today is January the 18th, 2007. I just wanted to take a moment today to talk a bit about the last three months. On October 19, I checked into the Betty Ford Centre in Palm Springs, California. With the support of my wife and family and friends, for what I thought was going to be a thirty-day stay at Betty Ford".
"Now, there was no big, cataclysmic event that happened right before I went in. But, what it was, was a lot of small things that were happening in my life, and a lot of small moments that were starting to accumulate that were telling me very loud and clear that I was a long way from my program of recovery, and they were making my life unmanageable".
"I got to a point where I wanted to go in to treatment, so I went in on that date. It was far from an ideal time to go into treatment. I want to say that much too. While I was in there, of course, I had my birthday on October 26th, my record was released, I missed Thanksgiving, and all the holidays. So, it was a time that had a lot of consequences, that particular three months".
"The reason why it was so long, too, was just what I was learning as I stayed in there. That first thirty days I learned what they say in NARE, abstinence is the ticket into the movie; it's not the movie. So, learning about abstinence was one thing, but then there was all this other area of my life to start learning about. So, thirty days became sixty, sixty days became ninety, and with each week that passed, I found myself really learning to surrender especially with my career, with playing music, because it's what I've always done. I love playing guitar, I love touring, and I was going to be doing a lot of that right when I went in".
"But, I had amazing support from everybody while I was in there that helped. I can't even tell you guys how much that helped me. I felt very, very, loved, and I felt very supported, and made the time go by. I never felt alone. And, as I say, during that time, I started to learn a lot about myself, and how I got to be in this position that I'm in right now".
"And, it's hard to quantify what I learned in ninety days, but suffice to say, it's been one of the most impactful times of my whole life. And, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everybody out there that's watching this right now for your support. I got cards, I got letters, I got emails, when I finally got to my laptop, and I could retrieve them all. There was hundreds of emails, and I just didn't expect that kind of support, I truly didn't, and it helped so much. Especially through a lot of the lonely days which there was plenty of those in there. But, my wife stayed extraordinarily strong, and loving, and my friends and family were there, and man, it's just been really overwhelming. I feel so much gratitude, and it feels really good to have gone through it and be where I am right now. Because where I am right now is starting on that road to getting back to doing what I love which is playing music. And, I'm looking forward to coming to your town to see all you guys, and thank you personally for the support I've gotten, and I know I keep harping on that, but it's meant so much to me, and I wanted you guys to hear that from me personally".
"I look forward to seeing you guys very soon, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you, and God bless every one of you".
