Rob's Highs and Lowes

Rob Lowe has overcome addictions to sex and alcohol. He talks about how he has gone on to enjoy a successful career post recovery.

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By Camilla Davies

Rob Lowe Celebrates 23 Years Sober

As a teenager, Rob Lowe moved from Charlottesville, Virginia, to Malibu for high school – and kick started his movie career. The young, up-and-coming actor found himself moving in the right circles, and in no time his face was plastered all over the walls of teenage girl bedrooms around the world.

Lowe admits that early on in his career, he wasn't planning ahead. Luckily for him, unlike many of his Brat Pack contemporaries, he has managed to retain both his looks and his fame, and overcome the personal troubles which so often put him square and center in the media spotlight.

“Had I known in the eighties teen idol phase that I would be 50-years-old and enjoying this kind of diversity in my career, I would have been really happy," Lowe says. "But the other thing you learn is that you never know when the phone is going to ring, and if it's going to be something really special."

Rather than sitting around waiting for that call, Lowe has flexed his muscles outside of acting. 

"I’ve written two books,” he says. “You've got to find new stuff [to do]. People get lazy and they get scared. More than anything they get scared.”

'Scared' is an emotion Lowe has been very familiar with in the past. Famously stating that “sobriety saved my life,” Lowe turned away from his self-confessed “unlife” in his twenties and stopped drinking entirely. 

Post rehab and recovery, Lowe resurrected his acting career with The West Wing, followed byBrothers & Sisters. Now, he says that after years of playing parts “that anyone can play,” he’s finding his niche.

“I have a friend who is very successful in business, and his motto is 'Don't do what you can do. Do what only you can do.' First of all, you have to know what your specific, unique gift is and then you do that... every actor does that but every once in a while an actor plays a part that only they can play.

"Those are the parts that you want to look for,” he says. “I like to think that nobody could have doneBehind the Candelabra but me, nobody could have done JFK but me; nobody could have done Sex Tape but me.”

And when it comes to his TV roles?

“Sam Seaborn in West Wing; that's a part where I feel that whilst anybody else would have done it, it would have been markedly different. Not every part is going to be that way, and that is fine. But that's what I would love to try to continue.” 

Lowe’s latest big screen offering is the rom-com Sex Tape, also starring Jason Segal and Cameron Diaz. The film follows a married couple searching to spice up their lives, who wake up to find that the wild sex tape they made the night before has vanished. It's somewhat familiar territory for Lowe - in 1988 his own sex tape threatened to blow up his career when footage was circulated of him having sex with two girls, one of them only 16 years old.

Today, the actor flashes us a smile, saying that when he was offered a role in Sex Tape, his first thought was, “I can’t believe it’s taken this long!” He’s clearly made amends with his past.

“Comedies always need to be provocative and catch your attention in a way that dramas don't have to," he explains. "A movie called Sex Tape with a big legit mainstream movie star in it, Cameron Diaz: that's what we are talking about. When I heard Cameron was doing it I thought, 'I want to be in this.' And for anyone who remembers or cares [about the scandal], it will be a really cool wink to that.”

Back in the 80s, the sex tape scandal was Lowe’s much-needed trigger to sober up. “It was the beginning of it all,” he recalls, adding that “it took about a year from that to go - 'maybe you better get it figured out.'” He checked himself into rehab to conquer his addictions, and has since insisted that you have to be ready to give up your addiction before help can be found. He credits his wife Sheryl as "the opposite of an enabler," and he managed to turn his life around. 

“I got sober in 1991. So it's almost 24 years later. And that changed my life forever and everything good that I have is a result of that,” he says. Back behind the steering wheel, Lowe confirms that, yes, sobriety can be a laborious process – but one that he can personally cope with. “It's not a struggle for me. I see people struggle with it. I luckily was not a person that needed to struggle. I was done.”

Lowe is quick to mention that his sobriety hasn't changed him as a person. "That's no guarantee that tomorrow you are not going to read about me walking naked down the street!" he laughs. "It's a distinct possibility, but I am pretty sure it's not going to happen.”

Sobriety has also left his lust for life fully intact and the past 20 years has seen Lowe embrace opportunity after opportunity. “At my birthday party recently, when people were toasting me, my brother - who knows me better than anyone - remarked that I was always the one that was jumping off the highest high dive. Sometimes that's the good thing and other times it's not the good thing. But at least I know that I am always ready to go for it.”

Post recovery, Lowe has enjoyed a varied career, recently delighting fans as Chris Traeger, the health obsessed government auditor in Parks and Recreation. With big time actors – Kevin Spacey, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Kerry Washington, to name but a few - taking over the small screen, it seems that a move to TV is a smart one. 

“For sure, without question, the writing is better on TV pound for pound than movies because the businesses have changed so much. So all the great writers would rather work for TV, and they do. When I started on The West Wing, that was at a time when this was still a stigma, because movie stars didn't do TV. Now every movie star is desperate to find their True Detective.” 

Is it fair to say he was a pioneer in the small screen revolution?

“I was definitely there at the beginning,” he allows. “Kiefer Sutherland and William Petersen; both of those guys came back to me and said, 'Thank you. I saw what you were able to do, and I said yes to24,' and ‘I said yes to C.S.I.' I was never a brand snob. Whether it's a movie or TV or theatre, whether it's HBO or Showtime or Lifetime, none of it matters to me because none of it matters to the audience - particularly today.”

Regardless, Lowe explains how he’s all too familiar with the career trajectory of a Hollywood male:

“Men play teenagers and then in their twenties play dim-witted, dumb guys - you are in your twenties, who are you going to play? You are not playing the president or someone with cancer or someone going through a divorce. It's going to be boring. And then you get into an age where you just crush, if you are lucky enough to get the parts.”

Lowe found himself caught in the middling years longer than others - “because I probably look a decade younger than I am. I am 50 and I am getting the 40-year-old parts.” He may have joked in the past that his pretty-boy looks got in the way of serious roles, but Lowe's now adamant that any part he tries for is more than skin-deep. 

“If you look at the roles that I really like playing, there is nothing about them that is predicated on how I look one way or another: good-bad, fat-thin, hair-no hair, whatever they are just interesting parts, and that's what I am looking for.”

Over twenty years sober and having weathered some extreme ups and downs, present day Rob Lowe is healthy and vibrant. He’s gone from ‘winning’ a Golden Raspberry for Worst Actor way back in 1986 for St Elmo’s Fire, to taking home Screen Actor’s Guild Awards, and being nominated for multiple Golden Globes. The Rob Lowe who spoke to The Fix is living proof that overcoming addiction can open the door to the most successful stage of your life.

Women Are Not Powerless

Gabrielle Glaser tells The Fix that the rise of women's drinking in America isn't because they're alcoholics—and treating them that way, including by AA, could make it worse.

Simon and Schuster

By Hallie Hart Hodenfield

A Moderate Proposal on Moderation

AA Critic Lights Another Fire (includes new section)

Gabrielle Glaser opens Her Best-kept Secret: Why Women Drink—And How They Can Regain Control(published in paperbackthis month), with the words, “My name is Gabrielle, and I’m not an alcoholic.” This sentence neatly encapsulates the conclusions Glaser has come to about the rise of women’s drinking in America: these women are not alcoholics, in fact most people who call themselves alcoholics probably are not; Alcoholics Anonymous is predominantly unhelpful to women and in fact can worsen their problems; and the future lies in moderation, self-control, and a shift in the way we think about drinking.

Last summer Glaser sat down with me to talk about her book at the Algonquin Hotel, site of innumerable bouts of uncontrolled and immoderate drinking by epic wit Dorothy Parker, who (maybe) wrote about her own inability to curb her excesses: “I like to have a martini/ two at the very most/ After three I'm under the table/ after four I'm under my host.”

Perhaps Glaser has some alternative lessons to teach us about drinking that do not require us to forget what we would like to remember. Or remember what we would like to forget.

Why do you think drinking is on the rise among women in America?

The epidemiologists say it’s linked to college education. And there’s just so much anxiety that women have today. I think a lot of women are crawling out of their skin. I’m 49, but I didn’t recognize that I had that anxiety until I was in my early thirties, I didn’t even know what it was, I just thought that’s how I lived, and that experience of not being able to have enough air, I hear that all the time around me. There’s so much to worry about: we don’t turn off our machines, we’re always on our cell phones, the news is unrelentingly bad, there’s so much competition. I think that women feel that a lot more, it’s not that men don’t feel it, but a lot of it falls on to women.

What I’m hearing is that this anxiety, as well as the rise in drinking, are consequences of women catching up to men, and so there is an irony in that all this excessive drinking could be called a result of feminism.

Exactly, and that sounds like a really anti-feminist message, and I really worried about that a lot, and some people said, “You’re bringing us back to 1918.” No, I’m not bringing us back to 1918. I think it’s really important to understand that as much as we do, as much as we take on, as much as we are every bit as capable, this is one place in which we’re just not equal, and we can’t be. Even if there was a man who weighed the same, the physiological effects on a woman and a man are just not the same, that’s science. Also, more women are going into male fields, especially tech and banking – I had a source who was a young woman who worked at Google, and she said “That is the hardest-drinking place you can imagine.” What you saw on The Social Network, she said it happens every night. She said these kids are fabulously wealthy, they’re kids, they’re not grown-ups, and they drink like they’re in ancient Rome, and in order to be accepted, in order to become trusted as one of the guys, she said that for a long time she really felt like she had to keep up, including doing shots. 

What do you think is a good way both to combat this rise in drinking among women and not couch it in a way that is anti-feminist?

I think a part of our awareness is actually that we are different, and we need to understand that as such. Women report feeling much more anxious than do men. It’s not that men aren’t anxious, but women are treated and diagnosed with anxiety disorders far more than men. If you are feeling that anxiety, and you’re drinking because of that anxiety, it’s important to find other ways to help relax yourself. I think to recognize your triggers and what you can do personally is a very empowering message: You can take control. You can do something to change. If you’re a stay-at-home mom and you’ve got two kids and they’re in six different activities, well, why the hell are they in six different activities. Cut back. Do they need Tae Kwon Do and hockey? That’s one thing you can do. You can learn to say no more. You can learn to say no to your boss more. That’s a feminist message. Rather than drinking you can say “Hey!” We need to learn to speak up for ourselves a little bit more.

You don’t like the term alcoholic.

No. It’s like being a little bit pregnant. You can have a little bit of an alcohol problem, but you can’t be a little bit of an alcoholic, and I think it’s much more important to say “Ok, here’s somebody on the spectrum, they’re a 3, and here’s somebody on the spectrum, they’re a 6.” It doesn’t mean they’re actually physically dependent on alcohol. That’s why I prefer to use the term alcohol dependent. 

It seems that you think AA isn’t that effective, and you think it’s oppressive to women.

That’s what the research showed. AA is a group of people who have a similar narrative. First there’s the narrative of the founders, and then there’s the narrative of the people who are in the group. And if you match that narrative, and you see yourself in that narrative, and that’s helpful to you, that’s fantastic, and don’t read my book. But for the vast majority of people for whom AA doesn’t work, which is between 90 and 95% of the people who try it, then we need to be aware of other options. And there are so many other options that somehow don’t make it into public consciousness and popular culture.

And I think that’s because the narrative of AA is so dramatic. You can go and really feel like you’re a hopeless drunk, you go to meetings, your narrative turns around, you’re in recovery, you’re better, therefore it works. But what about the people outside that? Do I think it’s oppressive? Obviously if you’re in it, and you like it, then it’s not oppressive to you. Science has reported that many people find it oppressive. That’s what my reporting found. So, it’s not really what I think, but these are the data points. 

But with alcoholism in general, but in AA in particular, it’s so hard to come by actual statistics that have any validity. I mean that 95% of non-efficacy, I don’t know how that’s actually possible to measure.

That’s from the Quarterly Journal of Alcohol Studies. Don McIntyre wrote that study, and then the Cochrane Review found that it was less effective than other modalities, and certainly the combined study that the government spent 30 million dollars on found it to be the least effective.

If these other programs are so effective, why aren’t they taking hold in the public consciousness? Can it really only be because of the narrative?

No, I think it’s because of the system we have in place. The overwhelming majority of the rehabs that we have in this country are 12-step based, and certainly the insurance companies reimburse for 12-step. They’re only now starting to reimburse for other modalities, and furthermore, medical students, when they are exposed to any sort of addiction treatment it’s AA or NA. So, it’s kind of a cul de sac of thinking in which they’re not exposed to these other things. A doctor I know gives talks on the use of Naltrexone [an opioid antagonist, that can block the effects of certain drugs, including alcohol]. And she said, at Columbia University, nobody had heard of it. And it’s been around for fifty years. Nobody’s making money off of that drug, it’s a generic drug, so pharmaceutical reps aren’t coming into doctors’ offices. They are coming in with the extremely expensive, difficult-to-reimburse, injectable form of Naltrexone, which of course bumps up the compliance level, but it’s $1,000 a month. What insurance company’s going to pay for that? So, all of that combines to crowd out the other options, and notice of the other options. What do you think?

Halfway There—Three Options for Sober Living Homes

Sober halfway houses provide a place to start over, but how do you find the house that's the best fit for you?

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By Christopher Tepedino

Drugs and Violence Thrive in NJ Halfway Houses

Florida Sober Houses in the Crosshairs

The Mistress of 'Sober House'

Relapsing When You Have Longterm Sobriety

For a considerable amount of time, alcoholics and addicts in treatment were faced with a difficult decision—where to live after completing the treatment program. The decision was not just limited to those who lacked homes or families they could stay with. Rehabs regularly say one should avoid "people, places and things" that are associated with using, so those new to sobriety are urged to gain sober time in a safe environment.

Originally, the term "halfway house" was used for facilities that helped people transition from incarceration into society. For a period of time between six months to a year, former inmates, and later those in recovery, could live in a structured environment designed to provide a safe space while allowing the resident more freedom and responsibility. 

Then, because the term “Halfway house” began to pick up negative connotations, names were changed. Nowadays, transitional residences for recovering alcoholics and addicts are called "recovery houses," "sober houses," "clean and sober living residences," and so forth, in addition to halfway houses. The aim of these facilities is to provide time and structure needed for long-term sobriety.

The problem soon became apparent. With no regulating body and an organically growing service, no one could agree upon a set of rules or guidelines for sober living houses. The Oxford Group had its own rules and guiding principles, the National Association of Recovery Residences another, and soon the alcoholic and addict who was about to leave treatment faced a new problem: too many choices rather than too few.

What follows is a series of profiles which attempts to provide some clarity about the types of sober living houses that are available in the U.S. Two are in cities near the coast—Cary, North Carolina and Hollywood Beach, Florida. The other is in Champaign, Illinois—where a new sober living house is about to open via a not-for-profit organization.

C-U at Home and the Recovery House in Champaign

Melany Jackson has three major projects ongoing for C-U at Home, all of which are aimed at helping the homeless population in Champaign, Illinois. One in particular is the C-U at Home recovery house, a small residence set up for recovering addicts. The house residents include three newly recovering alcoholics and addicts and one recovery leader with a minimum of a year of sobriety. The men share in the expenses of the house, with a case manager handling their finances.

The requirements for the four men to get in the program were simple. They have to have "completed successfully a rehabilitation program and to be sober since that time,” Melany said. “This person is either working or will be working to find a job.”

The leader sets the tone for the house, the “fabric” of the house really, as Melany puts it. There’s the practical work, the scheduling of different household chores such as laundry, and more intangible items along the lines of “leading by commitment to recovery” and “the meetings [the resident] attends, the sponsor he interacts with, the daily devotions he completes.”

Melany anticipates that the leader will be a strong model of recovery for the other men in the house.

There are many rules of course. Some are lease-related and others are sorted out between the individuals and their case managers. There is a weekly house meeting and a weekly devotional, with a curfew set at night as well. Finally, there’s a zero tolerance policy for using. Break that rule and you are immediately asked to leave.

“We have a requirement that they are involved in a 12-step program, but that can be AA or NA or Healing Journey, Celebrate Recovery, or others. Each has to have a sponsor or mentor, someone who’s walking by them side-by-side through recovery.”

All men signed an agreement that they would live in the house for at least six months. Six to 12 months is the norm, at which time the men have potentially become self-sufficient enough—and have built up enough savings—to transition to a place of their own. And hopefully, one of the men will become the next leader of the house.

It’s a tight-knit group that will soon enter the C-U at Home’s recovery house and residents have some flexibility about how they grow in their recovery. What happens when the tables are turned and a national organization takes hold?

The Oxford House: Over 1,200 Houses and Counting

The Oxford House concept is simple in theory. “Oxford House is a concept in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. In its simplest form, an Oxford House describes a democratically run, self-supporting and drug free home.

“Each House represents a remarkably effective and low cost method of preventing relapse. This was the purpose of the first Oxford House established in 1975, and this purpose is served, day by day, house after house, in each of over 1,200 houses in the United States today.”

As far as national organizations of halfway houses go, it is huge in scope. But in terms of structure and rules, there is a paucity of both.

According to the Oxford House 2011 manual, “there is only one rule applicable to all Oxford Houses: i.e. membership is conditioned on not drinking.” Other rules have a tendency to develop from the membership of the house itself, the manual continues, but they should only come into being if they are absolutely necessary. More rules, less success, the manual implies.

Like the C-U at Home recovery house, Oxford House group members are required to put forth their share for expenses. Also like the C-U at Home recovery house, a weekly meeting is held with all residents in attendance.

As the saying goes in the manual, Oxford Houses are less like an institution and more like a family.

While Oxford House is not affiliated directly with Alcoholics Anonymous, some of its nine traditions are eerily similar to those used by the 12-step group and even Tradition Four of Oxford House states that “Oxford House is not affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous, organizationally or financially, but Oxford House members realize that only active participation in Alcoholics Anonymous offers assurance of continued sobriety.”

The screening process for new members seems to be scant, with an emphasis placed simply on not drinking and using and being committed to recovery by going to meetings on a regular basis. 

The subtext within Tradition Seven states that it “is inconsistent with the Oxford House system of democratic rule to have a professional manager of Oxford House. Likewise, it is inconsistent with the Oxford House concept to have a requirement placed on members to utilize the services of psychiatrists, doctors, or even the program of Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous except in very special circumstances.” 

In the guide for new Oxford Houses, there is a checklist to follow which includes how to manage money (setting up checking accounts, having an equal share of the expenses per person), how to maintain sobriety (frequently go to Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings), and a guide for officers, their responsibilities, serving terms, and so forth.

It’s both similar and dissimilar to the model C-U at Home uses, the major differences being the amount of people allowed at each - Oxford House is set up for 6-15 residents - and the emphasis on Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous as the only mode for recovery.

There doesn’t seem to be an emphasis on “graduating” from the Oxford House program or for the men or women to transition to their own places. The goal seems to be to create a community of recovery-minded alcoholics and addicts, with an emphasis on 12-step recovery.

The Three-Quarter Way House: The Final Stage of Transition

Harmony on the Beach is a blend of a halfway house and a three-quarter way house, all in Hollywood Beach, Florida, near Miami. It’s strictly for women and like the other two featured organizations has a strict no-tolerance policy for drinking and using. The rule is set in place for the benefit of the residents, the organization says.

Many seem to regard three-quarter way houses as the last rung on the ladder for transitioning from treatment to independent living, but Harmony offers structure, support, and community.

In service for 10 years, Harmony has developed its own set of rules that have been implemented over time and through experience. They include committing to six months of residency, passing drug screens, having a 30-day period of sobriety at the time of entry, attending regular Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings, paying rent, and adhering to curfew.

At Harmony, it comes down to respect - for residents, yourself, and sobriety in general.

While recovery from alcohol or drug addiction is its first priority, Harmony places an emphasis on holistic recovery, meaning building self-esteem, working on life skills, and increasing employment opportunities.

Similarities and Differences and What Kind Should You Choose?

All three organizations say they are committed to recovery, all three require some form of payment, and all stipulate a recovery program for their residents, whether that’s Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, or, in the case of C-U at Home, other options.

Oxford House, while the largest, has the purported fewest rules per house, with only one rule—don’t drink or use, no matter what—set in stone. It also differs in that it puts all emphasis for recovery on 12-step programs, particularly Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.

Harmony on the Beach combines 12-step recovery with life skills training, self-esteem building, and help with continuing education. It also has a curfew and random drug tests, as well as a 30-day sobriety period required for admission.

It’s difficult to determine which sober living facility will be the most successful as there are scant hard statistics to prove efficacy of halfway and three-quarter way houses. Even the definitions don’t generally help, as each organization has its own way of running things. While this is a broad overview, any potential sober living house should be carefully evaluated by the person leaving treatment, his or her professional team, and his or her loved ones.

Christopher Tepedino is a writer based in Champaign, Illinois. He last interviewed a sober man with leukemia.

Rich Mom Addicts Get Sobriety Coaches; Poor Moms Get Jail

In America, addiction is judged through the lens of class.

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By Lynn Stuart Parramore

08/01/14

Sobriety coaches rake in big bucks to keep one percenters off their substance of choice. A-listers are so busy, after all, and treatment centers are both time-consuming and detrimental to privacy. Even when the wealthy do benefit from these centers, their newfound sobriety often doesn’t outlast the first weekend home alone.

Enter one of the most lucrative jobs in the therapy business.

If you’re a celebrity like Lindsay Lohan, a trust-fund baby, or perhaps a Wall Streeter with a problem, your sobriety coach will accompany you to social events, sometimes posing as a yoga teacher or life coach, to keep you from popping a pill or snorting a line. She will pry the drink out of your fingers at weddings and polo matches. She will even move into your house to keep you from falling off the wagon.

A recent report in the New York Times, “Mothers Find a Helping Hand in Sobriety Coaches,” profiled wealthy Manhattan moms addicted to prescription painkillers and cocaine who finally got clean with the help of a paid personal sobriety trainer.

Citing the difficulties of being an urban mom striving to be thin, rich and successful, the Times story applauds these well-heeled women who have kicked the habit with the aid of a high-priced babysitter. Unlike the Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor, who comes for free, a $1,000-a-day pricetag for a coach is not unusual. Terms like the “new Pilates instructor” or the “new fashion statement” are often used to describe these gold-plated companions. The company Sober Champion offers to “stay with you 24/7, helping protect your investment in yourself. Just like a full-time guardian angel.”

The report features the tale of Tamara Mellon, founder of Jimmy Choos and mother of a toddler, who battled a serious coke habit unsuccessfully until she found recovery coach Martin Freeman, whom she keeps on retainer in case she needs to be talked out of a late-night craving.

The Times cheers these women for finding their guardian angels and kicking the habit. But what happens to moms with addictions in less affluent circumstances?

In Tennessee, 26-year-old Mallory Loyola, a meth addict, recently became the first person arrested under a new state law that classifies taking illegal drugs while pregnant as an assault. Instead of recovering from childbirth and receiving proper medical care, Loyola was hauled off to jail, where she was later released on bond.

If her baby had died, Loyola could have been charged with homicide under the law. 

Tennessee is not the only place where this madness is happening. Over-zealous Alabama prosecutors are also slapping drug-addicted mothers with criminal charges. If you were a pregnant mom with a drug problem, would you want to go to the doctor to care for yourself and your pregnancy if you feared criminal charges? I’m guessing no, so both you and your fetus will not receive proper care.

If you’re a rich mom, addiction is a health issue. If you’re poor, rural, or a person of color, addiction is a crime. Women at the lower rungs of the economic ladder can have their children taken away if they are found to be using drugs or are charged with child endangerment. They are branded as bad people who do not deserve our sympathy. The social stigma and fear of losing custody of their children will keep many of these women from getting the help they need. Many will wind up in prison, with their families ripped apart and their chances of getting a job, education, or decent housing destroyed.

Does Tamara Mellon of Jimmy Choo fame fear a visit from social services or cops after announcing that she is the coke-addicted mother of a toddler? Very doubtful. And she certainly doesn't have to worry about prison.

The number of women incarcerated in the U.S. has skyrocketed by over 800 percent over the last three decades, and two-thirds of them are locked up for nonviolent offenses, many of which are drug-related. The correctional system was never set up for substance abuse treatment. Many addicted women can still get access to drugs while incarcerated, and medical care is often notoriously bad. No sobriety coaches to be found.

This is just another example of America, the land of inequality, where a two-tiered justice system and wildly divergent social standards create a situation in which the same behavior will earn you either draconian punishment or gentle pampering, depending on the size of your bank account.

A Benefit to Help Fight Addiction 12pm to 8pm - Free Event! Donations will be accepted at the gate and at www.musicfest2014.org On the Campus of Christian Life Center 3100 Galloway Rd Bensalem, PA 19020 Our 2nd annual outdoor Conquering Grounds Music Fest to benefit our CLPRM Scholarship Fund, helping those struggling with addiction and coming out of prison.  This rain or shine event features...  9 Christian Artists/Bands 3 dynamic speakers AND 3 testimonies!  Lots of great food, vendors, prayer & fellowship Children's Play Area - Moonbounce, Playground, Face Painting ect.. ...all for a fantastic cause and all for F-R-E-E! Yep, you read that right...FREE!!! Jesus paid the price! Download the Event Schedule Here   Become a Sponsor and Download Form Here  We need YOUR support and will be taking donations at the gate!!  Don't miss this amazing Life Changing Event!  Also, visit www.musicfest2014.org to get ALL the details and even make a donation!  Invite your friends and family! SEE YOU there! Don't forget your Lawn Chairs or Blankets!! Paul Paoli Band Never Forsaken Dave Pettigrew And many others! City of Angels Recovery Radio The Conquering Addiction Hour with CLPRM Click Here to Listen to the Archives UPCOMING CAFE EVENT   August 9th The Peace Jam Band plus  John Ciambriello September 13th Conquering Grounds Outdoor Music Fest October 11th  Kinship plus Nai Music Ministry . November 8th Country Recording Artist and Pastor John Sines Jr. Plus  Four 24 December 6th Special Christmas Music Right To Become  MMMMMM Conquering Grounds Café, our monthly coffee house ministry, reaches out to individuals and families who have been affected by substance abuse. The Café serves up Christian bands, plus FREE beverages and baked goods in a laid-back atmosphere. ALL are invited to this FREE event! Thanks to Shoprite Bensalem and Hornbergers Bakery for their generous donation of baked good to Conquering Grounds.   RECOVERY RESOURCES Christian Life Prison and Recovery Ministries, Inc.  Transformations Treatment Center  Family Freedom Solutions  HillSide Recovery Center  Addictions Victorious Ambassadors for Christ COA Recovery Radio  City of Angels  The House of Adonai Liberty Ministries Lighthouse Network  Road To Recovery  Teen Challenge  CRC Health Group   Steps to Recovery  Kingdom Recovery Network Livengrin  Pyramid Healthcare  Follow Us Here Donate HERE to the Ministry  of CLPRM "My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare."  ~Psalm 25:15