I’ve been to rehab—and, sadly, it didn’t look like that. This week,The New Yorker profiles Wonderland, a high-end drug and alcohol treatment center in West Hollywood that will set you back $48,000 a month for a shared room and $58,000 for a single room. (And don’t bother calling Blue Cross. Your insurance doesn’t cover it.)
The rise of luxury rehabs in California is a fascinating story, and writer Amanda Fortini does a good job taking readers inside the colorful, incestuous world of California-style celebrity recovery. My favorite quote from the piece, courtesy of Wonderland director Howard Samuels: “Half of this town is in (Twelve Step) meetings, and we’re saving seats for the other half.”
It reminds me of something a friend of mine in Boston once said. “(Recovery) is for those who want it, not those who need it. If it was for those who needed it, we’d hold our Twelve Step meetings in Fenway Park.”
The price of Wonderland (i.e., $48-58,000) is similar to the cost of high-end assisted living homes for senior citizens (e.g., The Nottingham in upper-NY, ~$34,000/month). I wonder what the average length of stay is in rehab? I wonder if I can buy it…