Meet the Mooney's | Heroes for Today

REPRINTED FROM THE JANUARY 1995 ISSUE OF READER’S DIGEST
COPYRIGHT 1994 THE READER’S DIGEST ASSOCIATION, INC., PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. 10570 PRINTED IN U.S.A.

Willingway Hospital is a 40-bed facility in Statesboro, Ga., that specializes in treating alcoholism and drug addiction. Ranked among the country’s top 20 treatment centers, it has been called "The Betty Ford of the South." There would be no Willingway, however, if it weren’t for Dot and John Mooney and their family’s struggle against drug and alcohol abuse.

At 17, Dot got a job as a practical nurse—and began to party with Dr. John Mooney. Both were soon drinking heavily, and after they married in 1947, they also began taking amphetamines.

Dot was aware that she and John were in deep trouble, but John refused to face the facts. Her worst fears were realized when he was arrested for writing himself narcotics prescriptions.

When John’s six-month prison term was over, he was still unsure that he could control his addictions. Instead of heading for home, he rented a motel room. There, overwhelmed by depression, he fell on his knees and cried, "God help me!"

Suddenly his despair lifted, and he was filled with the joy he’d looked for—and never found—during all the years in a bottle. From that moment in November 1959, he no longer craved alcohol or drugs. The next day, he flew home to Dot and their three young sons.

In 1960 the Mooney's had their fourth child, a daughter. They were both alcohol- and drug-free now, and John, back in medical practice, began getting referrals from other doctors to treat their alcoholic patients. Under the crystal chandelier in their dining room, Dot set up three beds as a makeshift detox room.

Word spread about the house on Lee Street where "they take you in and love you like one of the family." Soon, with a loan, the Mooney’s began building a hospital on 11 nearby acres. Dot named it Willingway, from the old saying: "Where there’s a will, there’s a way."

Meanwhile, their will was tested to the fullest when three of the four Mooney children—Jimmy, Bobby and Carol Lind—also had to struggle with alcohol and drug addictions. John believed—and scientific research supports him—that his children had inherited a vulnerability to alcohol and drugs. With the support of their parents, all three conquered their addictions.

Today Dot, at 72, is actively involved in the hospital and remains its guiding spirit. John died in 1983 at age 73, and son Al filled his father’s place as medical director for 11 years. Jimmy is Willingway’s overall director, and Bobby is completing his residency in psychiatry at Willingway, after which he intends to become a member of its staff. Carol Lind is studying law, and hopes to work with alcoholics in some capacity.

The crystal chandelier that once hung in the family dining room now graces Willingway’s detox unit. "I’ll never change that," Dot vows. "John put it there because he wanted patients to feel they were part of a family. To me it symbolizes hope."

--Joy Darlington in Good Housekeeping