Editorial Comment: Be Best, Bill

Greetings Readers;

It is with great pleasure I get to finish off the year with our annual tribute to Bill’s editorials. This is not just some 80’s sit-com ploy to keep our readers’ attention by re-running clips of the most watched episodes- it is a moment to show thanks for all that Bill shares by pouring out his thoughts 51 weeks a year…So let’s take a look back at 2019, make some sense out of it, and get ready for the twenties of the 21^st century.

In Memes (my personal favorite), Bill explains a joke, but he doesn’t explain the punch line, he explains why you laugh at something you thought was crass but then realize that the power of community comes in all shapes and sizes. Methamphetamines seem to have a strong showing this year and may be a prophetic warning for 2020 (On Meth 2.0;) - from the discussion of uninspiring pharmacotherapy and the importance of psychotherapies (Amphetamine Use Disorder and Medication Approaches) to the story of “Kyle” (A Recovery Without Joy) whose exasperation with methamphetamines is reminiscent of another must-read editorial that didn’t make the most-clicked list (Hyperkatifeia*). If you enjoy memoirs of the military (Willingness vs. Willfulness, …and for Veterans' Day) and the enlightening journey of recovery (The Other Community Recovery Groups, On Recovery Speakers*), this is Bill at his best. Overall, 2019 seemed to run a thread of religious undertones, wonderfully demonstrated in the editorial comment which connected 4/20 with Good Friday and Easter via a Passover pun. Wherever you are, our readership is a community full of people who accept that we are our brother’s keeper (Holidays and Holy Days).

From all of us at ASAM Weekly (Bill, Karen, Deedee, Bob, and me) thank you for reading and have a safe and Happy New Year.

Enjoy,

Nicholas Athanasiou, MD, MBA , FASAM

Senior Editor, ASAM Weekly

* included as personal favorites: