CHARISSE STRAWBERRY OF NATIONAL COUNCIL OF ALCOHOLISM & DRUG
DEPENDENCE TALKS ABOUT HER HUSBAND DARRYL'S OWN ADDICTION

ANCHORS: KATIE COURIC

The nation feared the worst a few weeks ago when former New York
Yankee star Darryl Strawberry disappeared from a court-ordered drug
rehab program. Baseball fans remember Strawberry this way, as an
historic home-run hitter. But he's faced some personal battles in
recent years with alcohol, cocaine, and cancer. After being missing
for four days, Strawberry turned up at a Florida hospital and was
placed in custody after testing positive for cocaine use.

Darryl's wife Charisse continues to support her husband and has taken
on a new role as president of the Tampa Chapter of the National
Council of Alcoholism & Drug Dependence.

Charisse, good morning. Nice to see you.

Ms. CHARISSE STRAWBERRY (National Council of Alcoholism & Drug
Dependence): Thank you.

COURIC: You know, it's been a tough day in terms of talking about drug
addiction. We talked about Robert Downey Jr. in our last hour.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Mm-hmm.

COURIC: Now we're talking about Darryl. I mean, there's a pretty
powerful message here for young people who may be watching this show.
This is not stuff you want to mess with.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: No. I--I think for young people, it--you know,
hopefully they can learn from Darryl and Robert Downey Jr., you know,
the effects, and how powerful, you know, drugs are. For my own
personal experience, all I can say is that I just have my own story
with my husband, and how it's affected me. And it's a family disease,
and that's why I'm doing what I'm doing with the national council, is
trying to get the message out there for kids, for--you know, millions
of people that are like me that have been, you know, affected by
having somebody addicted in their life.

COURIC: And trying to make recovery a family affair, in a
way.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Right.

COURIC: On the other hand, the person really is alone in terms of
dealing with his or her addiction. When Darryl was missing for four
days, you didn't go out and look for him. How come? Did you want him
to come back--find his way alone or by himself or...

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Yeah. I think it was important for me to focus on
myself and my children, because I have three small children, and to
take care of--of them, and, you know, Darryl had to make the decision,
you know, to bring himself--I was worried. I was wondering, you know,
was he alive. But...

COURIC: In fact, his friend, Dwight Gooden, said there was a 50-50
chance that he'd be found dead.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Yeah, I guess there could have been, you know. But
this--relapse is part of recovery. Relapse is part of this disease.
So that was what was taking place. And I think I was--I knew that, so
I--I just had to try to take care of myself and my children.

COURIC: I know that you said in the past relapse is part of
recovery.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Mm-hmm.

COURIC: But how can you ever recover if you can't stop
relapsing?

Ms. STRAWBERRY: That is--that is the whole thing with the disease is
that it's baffling and cunning and very powerful. It's--it's--it's
progressive, it's chronic. So I believe that, you know, you have to
just continue with the treatment. You know, there are people that
don't recover, but hopefully Darryl will be able to recover.

COURIC: Right now, he's in a Tampa hospital...

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Mm-hmm.

COURIC: ...being treated for his colon cancer.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Right.

COURIC: He continues to get chemotherapy...

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Right.

COURIC: ...which I know has been quite tough on him.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Very.

COURIC: I can totally relate to that.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Right.

COURIC: He's also being treated for depression.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Right.

COURIC: How--how is he doing when--when you last spoke with
him?

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Well, you know, it's a day by day--you know, his moods
are up and down, you know. It's hard to be battling a lethal
combination, like I said before, of cancer, addiction and--and
depression. So I think for anybody to have one of those things, you
know, to battle, but to battle three and then not having baseball any
more, things like that. So it--it's hard. It's day by day.

COURIC: He--he is contending with a lot...

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Yeah.

COURIC: ...of different things. In fact, he said, I guess, when--when
this last incident happened, or you said, actually, he--it came at a
time when he was coming to grips with his demons.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Mm-hmm.

COURIC: Is that what you meant, all of his struggles?

Ms. STRAWBERRY: I think that--that he said that, but I--those are his
demons and all I can do is--is try to support him the best way I can,
take care of myself and my children, and try to get out the message of
recovery for families, also. And--and that's what I'm doing with
the--you know, I'm on a national speaking tour to be--to speak to
families about that this is a family disease, and there is hope and
strength for that.

COURIC: This is not--this was not his first parole violation. It was
his fourth.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Mm-hmm.

COURIC: And I know that he's back--due back in court on May
4th.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Right.

COURIC: He could face jail time, prison time.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Mm-hmm.

COURIC: Up to five years, possibly.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: I think--I--I, yeah.

COURIC: And you have said in the past you do not believe that is the
answer. On the other hand, people might say, 'Listen, he's had many
opportunities.'

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Right.

COURIC: 'It's time to pay the piper. Other people would face prison
time for this...'

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Mm-hmm.

COURIC: ...'kind of offense.' How do you deter people from--from doing
drugs if they're not faced with a stiff penalty, and what would you
say?

Ms. STRAWBERRY: I--I, you know, it's such a hard--it's a hard issue
for me to debate. I mean, personally, you know, this is my husband,
the father of my children, so it's hard for me to say, 'Yeah, you
know, prison, he's got to be punished,' and things like that. But
I--I think people who are addicted need treatment, continuous
treatment, because I don't think jail, to me, you're going to have the
same problem when you get out. So it's--I just--I don't know what the
answer is.

COURIC: You've been to hell and back and to hell again.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Mm-hmm.

COURIC: I mean, many times...

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Yeah.

COURIC: ...with Darryl Strawberry. And yet, you have been so loyal to
him and stood by him through all these years, through thick and thin.

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Mm-hmm.

COURIC: Do you ever say, 'Gosh, I just can't do this
anymore'?

Ms. STRAWBERRY: Sure, I--you know, I just--it's not easy. I mean, to
be real, I'm a person, I'm human. And it's not easy, but...

COURIC: Well, Charisse...

Ms. STRAWBERRY: ...you know, he's the father of my children, he's my
husband, and he's sick.