Former TV news anchor featured at conference on substance abuse

The governor’s 25th annual conference on substance abuse continues tomorrow in Des Moines. CNN reporter Susan Rook, a recovering alcoholic herself, says she’s proud to be with other people who share her experience.She says counselors and prevention specialists are saving lives, and people who recover become good members of a community. Rook says she’s a speaker now because she went through it. She cites personal experience, being a recovering drug and alcohol addict with over six years sobriety now. Rook’s presentation tomorrow will deal with her battles with addiction, and her work today with a nonprofit social-service agency. There are all kinds of ways for different people to find the “path” that’s right for them. Rook says she had a drug and alcohol overdose and CNN, her employer, sent her to a month of inpatient treatment, followed by two months of rehab. Tomorrow’s events include a high-school group performing music and dance they say is an alternative to drugs. More than 400 people are attending the governor’s conference on substance abuse.