STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Jane Velez-Mitchell’s new book is "Addict Nation: An Intervention for America"
• In "Addict Nation," the HLN host says every American is hooked on something
• She notes that across society, acceptance of addictions changes with the times
• Watch "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell" every night at 7 p.m. on HLN

Editor’s note: Jane Velez-Mitchell is the host of HLN’s "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell." Below is an excerpt from her latest book, "Addict Nation: An Intervention for America." published by HCI Books

(CNN) — the other night I went to a charity event at a sprawling private home in the hills of Los Angeles. I parked in front of a house down the block, got out of the car, and found myself staring at a distinctive front door. With a start, I realized, "Hey, that’s the place I hit bottom fifteen years ago." Yep, it was through that fancy door that I was carried out of that house over someone’s shoulder … in an alcoholic blackout. I remembered the house only because a friend of mine had lived there and I had visited it often … until that wild, out-of-control night.

It was great to be confronted by that memory because it put in sharp relief how much better my life has become in the decade and a half that I’ve been sober. Standing there in the near darkness, those crazy years when my drinking was out of control sped through my mind like a movie stuck in fast