Elton John's career has led him to experiences most of us can't even fathom, but the real event that changed his life was on July 29, 1990 – when he decided to get sober.
On Monday (July 29), the iconic singer-songwriter celebrated his 29th sobriety birthday with an emotional Instagram post. "29 years ago today, I was a broken man. I finally summoned up the courage to say 3 words that would change my life: 'I need help'," he wrote alongside his newest Alcoholics Anonymous chip. "Thank-you to all the selfless people who have helped me on my journey through sobriety. I am eternally grateful."
The 72-year-old's road to sobriety has been well-documented, most recently in the biopic Rocketman. During an interview with Variety prior to the film's release, John opened up about the struggles he's faced, even while being sober. “I am a survivor,” he declared. “I’ve survived a lot of things. Life is full of pitfalls, even when you’re sober. I can deal with them now because I don’t have to run away and hide.”
One of the big things he's learned since getting sober is how to communicate. “What I couldn’t do when I was an addict was communicate, except when I was on cocaine I thought I could but I talked rubbish,” he said. “I have a confrontation problem which I don’t have any more because I learned if you don’t communicate and you don’t talk about things then you’re never going to find a solution.”
Check out John's heartfelt Instagram post below.
Photo: Getty Images