Celebrity News October 24, 2019
Cameron Douglas Opens Up on Hitting Rock Bottom and His Life Today
Cameron Douglas is speaking out about his drug addiction with the launch of his new book “Long Way Home.”
In the memoir, he opens up about his drug use, his time in prison, his family, and the road to recovery. Cameron sat down with “Extra's” Cheslie Kryst to talk about his life now.
It's been a long road back for Cameron after he spiraled out of control on drugs and landed in prison. He revealed to Cheslie when he knew he hit rock bottom: “I mean, there's so many times that I should have reached rock-bottom, but I feel like the moment, the impetus for the change… was when I received my second sentence, which essentially brought my time from five years to 10 years and I was in solitary at the time. I felt something inside of me sort of break and crack.”
He continued, “I sort of had two paths left open to me. One was a path that probably would have not allowed me to make it back. And the other was the path which gave me… a purpose… to make every day count in terms of putting myself in the best possible position, when I was released from prison, to attain my goals and start building a life for myself.”
Once he got out of prison, his stepmom Catherine Zeta-Jones helped him to repair his relationship with his dad, he said. “Catherine and I… we hit it off, you know, from the very beginning. I've always loved her dearly and she's always reciprocated that and been very supportive.”
Cameron added, “After coming home from prison, after all those years, my father was understandably a little bit standoffish, and I feel like it was, you know, at her sort of behest… that he kind of opened back up.”
He and his dad Michael are now in a good place, Cameron said. “He was really the initial motivating factor behind writing this book… which was something that I wrestled with for a while because, you know, my family is very private… And the reality is, is that I have a story to tell and hopefully that story can be helpful.”
Cameron's memoir brought them even closer together, he explained. “My father and I sitting down together and… being forced to speak about things together that we would probably never speak about on our own… it's been healing. So that's been a beautiful by-product of this process."
Douglas was also able to maintain his relationships with his siblings throughout his journey. He said his mom, Diandra Luker, “made a real concerted effort to nurture the relationship between me and my younger brothers and sisters from her. She used to drive close to 900 miles almost every other weekend to bring them to see me while they were young, and because of that we have a great bond today.”
He added, “Similarly with Dylan and Carys, Catherine and my father's children, they would come and visit from a young age and we have a fantastic relationship.”
So what's next for Cameron? He's busy raising his almost 2-year-old daughter, who is “definitely dramatic and has a good sense of humor, loves music and dancing. So she's a pleasure… but she's also seriously been a real teacher to me.”
Professionally he is “doing some writing, screenwriting and doing theater work, always working on the craft of acting. I'm trying to be very careful about what I do moving forward with my acting career.”
“My dad is a big supporter,” Cameron continued. “He believes in what I have to offer as an actor and my talent, and my dad is a no-nonsense kind of guy. So to have his support in that is great for me.”
“Long Way Home” is in bookstores now.