ABSTRACT

It is a tradition in some twelve-step programs in America to give people celebrating anniversaries a medallion inscribed with the words, “To thine own self be true.” I have heard it said that this well-known line from Hamlet embodies the entire recovery program, and that nothing is more important than being true to oneself. Whether this is true or not, there can be no doubt that the words “To thine own self be true” speak to us across the centuries in an especially evocative way.