Josh Brolin describes how he finally got sober, says he’s having ‘more fun’ now

Josh Brolin opens up about his long road to sobriety.

“I was born to drink. I was born to drink. My mother drank exactly like I did and I was raised to be a man and drink like the male equivalent of my mother,” Brolin, 56, wrote in his new memoir, From under the trunkper Sunday Times.

According to the outlet, Brolin first tried marijuana at age 9 and dropped acid at age 13, leading him down a long road of substance abuse, particularly alcoholism.

A year after his mother died at the age of 55, his father, James Brolinpursued a romance with Barbra Streisand. Josh recalled that she was “just a little confused” by his behavior. When he walked into James and Streisand’s home and asked for a glass of red wine, Josh said the actress was blunt with her response. “But aren’t you a drunk?” Streisand, 82, asked.

Josh Brolin Says People Would Comment He’s James Brolin’s Son, But ‘Not In A Good Way’

Reflecting on the moment during an interview with the outlet on Sunday, Nov. 17, Josh said, “There’s nothing I ultimately value more in someone than an ability to just say it, regardless of the reaction.”

Josh, who had previously had periods of sobriety, said he tried to keep his drinking away from his two eldest children. But there was a moment when his drinking “crossed a line” and affected his eldest children. (Josh shares Trevor, 36, and Eden, 29, with his first wife, Alice Adair. After a marriage to Diane Lane, which ended in 2013, Josh tied the knot Kathryn Boyd. The couple share daughters Westlyn, 6, and Chapel, 3.)

“It was about taking care of animals and not being there to take care of an animal for a moment,” he said. After the outlet asked if one of his kids’ pets died, he replied, “No, but close. And I was like, ‘It’s because of me.'”

In 2013, Josh recalled waking up hungover outside his house and remembering a fight at a fast food drive-thru in Santa Monica. He picked himself up and went to his 99-year-old grandmother’s deathbed, where he was struck by the thought that he was midway through her life.

Josh Brolin says getting sober has helped him parent his younger kids: It’s an ‘open dialogue’

At that moment, he decided to be sober. “I knew it would be the last time I drank,” Josh said.

He went on to rehab and joined Alcoholics Anonymous. “I like getting older. It’s like a good excuse to finally say, ‘OK, don’t worry, you don’t have to spin all the time,'” he said.

Josh noted that he has “more fun” while sober. He added: “There’s nothing I’m going through that I’m absolutely sure wouldn’t be worse if I drank.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).