To Thine Own Self Be True: How Elizabeth Taylor’s Recovery Was Personal

September is National Recovery Month, and it serves as a yearly reminder that the path to healing is as individual as the people who walk it. For Elizabeth Taylor, that truth became the cornerstone of her own recovery journey, one that was as public as it was deeply personal.

Elizabeth’s family staged an intervention at a time when her struggle with alcohol and prescription drugs could no longer be ignored. The stakes were as high as they had ever been.  A matter of life or death but even in that moment of crisis, or possibly because of it she understood that no one else could choose recovery for her. While being confronted with this critical truth she quietly listened and took her loved one’s message into her heart.  She heard their pain, but also their love and then, she asked to have a moment alone. If she was going to commit to this journey, it had to be because she alone recognized the problem and was willing to change, not to appease others, not to save her image, but to save her life. Ultimately, she decided to do it for herself.

That sense of ownership became her guiding principle, as reflected in one of her favorite adages, “To thine own self be true.” This Shakespeare quote, one that she repeated to herself throughout her life, was not denial of her loved ones’ pain. In fact Elizabeth often expressed that the only thing she would change in her life if she could do it over was any hurt she caused others. For her, this saying represented her recognition that sustainable recovery only works when it comes from within.

However, the path was not without its complications. Chronic back pain, multiple hip replacement surgeries and the removal of a golf ball-sized brain tumor meant that in recovery Elizabeth was regularly confronted with the legitimate medical need to take doctor-prescribed opiates, her drug of choice. Recovery required not only vigilance but also rigorous honesty, always making sure to check her motives when offered medication, and leaning on humility, humor, and perspective to keep herself grounded. Where many would have pretended not to struggle, Elizabeth remained rigorously honest, never afraid to be entirely who she was at any given moment. She not only faced down addiction — she refused to let her recovery become a performance to satisfy others. 

For someone of her stature, staying humble was an understandable challenge. Fame has a way of distorting perspective, and in Elizabeth’s case, her every step was under scrutiny. She understood that her recovery, a process that is ideally anonymous and private, would inevitably become a matter of public record. Rather than hide from the truth, she seized control of the narrative, openly acknowledging her struggles on a large scale. In doing so, she transformed vulnerability into strength, becoming one of the first major stars to speak candidly about her experiences with addiction and subsequent treatment.  Elizabeth broke down barriers with her public admission and transformed something that was largely considered taboo at the time into a path to be recognized, supported, and even celebrated, as alcoholics and addicts get the help they need to live healthy and productive lives free of substances that would otherwise destroy them.

The example set by Elizabeth is a reminder that while love and support from others are essential, the decision to change must ultimately come from within. Recovery is not about living someone else’s version of your life; it’s about reclaiming your own reality, with all its messiness, beauty, and hard-earned truth.