AA and to let it be known that she was both an alcoholic and an AA member. The disease model was widely questioned when she began her work. She advocated for recognition of alcoholism as an illness with roots in genetics and biology.
Narrator One: Marty Mann was married briefly in her 20’s but soon came out as a lesbian and lived openly for the rest of her life. Mann was her maiden name, and she used the Mrs. title to protect her privacy. Society’s prejudice against homosexuality was as strong as it was toward alcoholism during the 1940’s and 1950’s when she and the National Committee for Education on Alcoholism were struggling to survive. She had a high-profile life, but it seems that the McCarthyism of that time was balanced somewhat by the relative absence of tabloid journalism.
Narrator Two: Soon after she found sobriety, she had envisioned a program to educate the whole country about alcoholism as a disease much like she experienced with tuberculosis.. She was obsessed with eradicating the historic stigma attached to chronic inebriation. She joined forces with the Yale School of Alcohol Studies (now at Rutgers University), where significant scientific research into alcoholism was underway. Eventually her nationwide educational efforts led to the creation of a separate organization, the National Council on Alcoholism (now the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. This has been this country's most important educational, referral resource for alcoholics, their families and communities all across the country.
Narrator One: She found a wealthy donor, Brinkley Smithers, who was committed to her goals and generously supported her organization. Marty was intensely focused on her mission. More than one person said she was like a train coming down the track -- jump on or get out of the way. Her elegant appearance, captivating charm, intellect and breathtaking charisma swept people off their feet. In the early 1950’s, Edward R. Murrow, distinguished journalist of the fifties and sixties, selected Marty as one of the 10 greatest living Americans. During her life time she was known in the local, regional and national press circles
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