This dynamic duo was recovering out loud before it was a hashtag. Books, television, comedy, live performance, video…podcasting—These two have been blazing the trail for modern recovery media.
They're the reigning Queens of Clean, the AfterParty Pair, the Twelve-Step Twins, The Detox Duo, Las Reinas de Recovery, the…ah, fu*k it…Gentleladies and Men…Anna and Danielle.
The principal motivation for my creativity.
Anna: I don’t know any other way to live.
Dani: Expressing myself and my strong opinions. Getting to know myself and my capabilities better.
The principal motivation for my sobriety.
Anna: I don’t have a fighting chance for happiness without it.
Dani: Liking and respecting myself sober. Not liking or respecting the person I was. The opportunity to grow and change in adulthood.
My favorite qualities in a person.
Anna: Humor. Intelligence. Fun. Bravery. Confidence. Honesty. Courage
Dani: Honesty, self-awareness, kindness, generosity, loyalty and having a sense of humor.
What I appreciate most about my friends.
Anna: See above.
Dani: Relating to each other. Being a good listener. Not taking things personally.
My main fault.
Anna: Impatient. Irritable. Left unchecked, driven by 100 forms of fear.
Dani: Not knowing how to set certain boundaries. Thinking that the world should be fair. Be easily annoyed by bullshit.
My favorite occupation.
Anna: The one I have.
Dani: What I do now—writing about addiction and recovery. I love my job.
My dream of happiness.
Anna: Gratitude for everything in my life without having to work so hard to have it.
Dani: Security—both emotinally and financially. Having a job that I love, a husband that I love and a home that I love. Spending as much time as possible with my dog, Benson.
My idea of misery.
Anna: Cocaine at 5 am. Birds chirping. Neighbors going to work. Ambien not working.
Dani: Having to wake up early every day and go to an job that I hate. Not making enough money. Having to eat fast food.
My greatest regret.
Anna: Not getting my adult life started earlier
Dani: There are a lot of painful things in my past but I can’t say I regret any of them because they brought me to where I am now. I suppose I wish my emotional recovery in sobriety had been quicker and I could have spared myself a lot of pain but that wasn’t really up to me. As my sponsor says, time take time.
My proudest moment.
Anna: The day I got the call from an investor about buying AfterParty.
Dani: There are two. The first was finding myself in a combative situation and not reacting. Truly understanding that what was happening wasn’tabout me. That was huge. I attribute it to six month of EMDR. The other was hosting the AVN Awards last year. It was the most fun I had a stand-up comedian and it felt like a dream come true.
Other than myself, who would I like to be?
Anna: Arianna Huffington wouldn’t be bad. Or just that person who has gratitude for her life without having to work so hard to have it.
Dani: Tina Fey. Not because I think she is talented but because she seems to effortless command respect and have a very high opinion of herself. While I don’t enjoy her work, I really respect who she is and what she has managed to accomplish.
Where I would like to live.
Anna: LA, where I do live. But it would be nice to spend part of the year in New York and another part somewhere warm, like Hawaii or Spain.
Dani: In a beautiful 5-bedroom home in my current neighborhood in Los Angeles. I love it here but if I want my life and family to expand, I can’t stay in a one bedroom apartment forever.
My favorite color.
My favorite authors.
Anna: Martin Amis. Philip Roth. Edward St. Aubyn.
Dani: David Sedaris and, of course, Anna David. Though I know she is laughing right now because she always teases me that I haven’t read any of her books. But book reading isn’t my thing. I like funny essays and shorts stories and I have read lots of those by her. I love her voice and am able to connect to it the way I connect to Sedaris.
My favorite poets.
Anna: Stephen Dunn. Mary Oliver.
Dani: I fucking HATE poetry.
My favorite composers/musicians.
Anna: From Beyonce to Rufus Wainright with much in between.
Dani: I am really into Charles Bradley and Lee Fields right now. But mostly I like bubblegum, top 40 dance music from the 80s, 90s and today.
My favorite creative people.
Anna: __________
Dani: I am not into art much at all. But my favorite clothing designer is Veronica M. I buy most of my clothes from her.
My hero(es).
Anna: __________
Dani: David Seadris, my first therapist, Detective Olivia Benson (even though she is a Lieutenant now)
My favorite food and drink.
Anna: Peanut butter. Soda water with a dash of cranberry (and lime).
Dani: My boyfriend’s Caesar salad and a soy latte, not at the same time.
My drug of (lack of) choice when I was using.
Anna: Cocaine. Ambien. Alcohol. Cigarettes.
Dani: Jack Daniels.
What I hate most of all.
Anna: The fact that the human mind naturally looks for what’s wrong and not what’s right. Societal double standards. Halitosis.
Dani: Networking.
The natural talent I'd like to be gifted with.
Anna: The ability to memorize things instantly and remember it all.
Dani: Networking.
How I want to die.
Anna: In my sleep.
Dani: In my sleep.
My present state of mind.
Anna: Learning.
Dani: Calm and grateful.
Faults for which I have the most indulgence.
Anna: If you’re charming and funny, I’ll indulge pretty much any fault you have.
Dani: __________
My favorite motto.
Anna
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
Dani
My ego is not my amigo.
ABOUT RECOVERY REVELATIONS™
Our Recovery Revelations Questionnaire is based on the questions of a late 19th century English "confessions album" later mistakenly attributed to French novelist, Marcel Proust. Vanity Fair uses a version for their Proust Questionnaire and James Lipton uses a variation on Inside the Actors' Studio.
You are encouraged to engage the interviewee(s) and explore their answers further in the comments.
If you'd like to be share your Recovery Revelations, please contact Chris for details.