Buzz Aldrin’s Journey Home More Important Than His Journey To The Moon

Courtesy BuzzAldrin.com

One of the featured speakers on my recent cruise was Buzz Aldrin, the second man to step onto the moon.  Buzz has written a very interesting book about his experience, entitled Magnificent Desolation which was a term he used to describe the moon as he was standing on it.  His talk was timely since the 40^th anniversary of the moon landing – July 20^th, 2009 – was fast approaching. What I did not expect was how honest and detailed he spoke about his struggles in life.

Coming Back Down to Earth

Much of Buzz’s speech wasn’t just about the experience of the moon landing, but about how it effected him.  He was very open about how he had really struggled with his self esteem upon returning to earth.  What can top walking on the moon?  In any event, he slipped into depression and serious alcoholism.  He struggled with it for years.  Now he was talking, not only about how to deal with one of the most famous experiences in history, but how to handle his own demons.

30 Minutes With a Legend

They had a Friend of Bill W meeting on the ship and I told him I would like to go there and discuss our experiences with alcohol in greater detail.  It turned out nobody else was at the meeting, so I ended up with a 30 minute one-on-one conversation with him.  As a result of this, we exchanged books.  Now I can say that I am friend of the man who walked on the moon.

The Most Important “Journey”

During our discussion together, I told Buzz – and I firmly believe this—that the most important thing in his life was that he has become a famous role model for people who can recover from addictions, depression, and failure.  It turns out his journey home – though it took many long years—was much more important than his journey to the moon.

Tagged as: Addiction, alcoholism, Buzz Aldrin, gary gwilliam, Getting a Winning Verdict In My Personal Life, Magnificent Desolation, Man on the moon