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Dana Finnegan

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Dana Finnegan
BornMay 8, 1932
New Jersey, U.S.
DiedNovember 2022 (aged 90)
Florida, U.S.
Occupation(s)Addiction specialist, alcoholism counselor
SpouseEmily Bush McNally

Dana Gillespie Finnegan (May 8, 1932 – November 2022) was an American therapist, alcoholism counselor and addiction specialist. In 1979, she was a founding member of the National Association of Lesbian and Gay Addiction Professionals (NALGAP), now known as NALGAP: The Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Addiction Professionals and Their Allies. She and her partner, Emily B. McNally, wrote an important text in their field.

Early life and education[edit]

Finnegan was raised in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, the daughter of George Bernard Finnegan Jr. and Elisabeth Bartlett Morgan Finnegan. Her father was a patent lawyer and a West Point graduate, as was her older brother Marcus.[1][2] She earned a master's degree in English from Stanford University, with a thesis titled "Christopher Marlowe: Dramatist of Transition" (1956).[3] She completed a Ph.D. in English literature at the University of Missouri, with a dissertation titled "The development of Marlowe's dramatic skills" (1969).

Career[edit]

Finnegan taught English at the University of Missouri and at Mary Washington College as a young woman. A recovering alcoholic herself,[4] she became an alcoholism counselor in the early 1970s, and co-director of Discovery Counseling Center in Millburn, New Jersey. She attended and later taught at the Rutgers Summer School of Alcohol Studies. In 1979, she was a founding member of the National Association of Lesbian and Gay Addiction Professionals (NALGAP).[5][6] Her book with Emily B. McNally, Dual Identities: Counseling Chemically Dependent Gay Men and Lesbians (1987, 2000) is considered an important text in their field.[4][5] It was revised again, with new editor Michael Shelton, as Fundamentals of LGBT Substance Use Disorders: Multiple Identities, Multiple Challenges (2016).[7]

Publications[edit]

  • "Working Together: The National Association of Gay Alcoholism Professionals" (1982, with Emily B. McNally)[8]
  • Dual Identities: Counseling Chemically Dependent Gay Men and Lesbians (1987, with Emily B. McNally)[9]
  • "Lesbian Recovering Alcoholics: A Qualitative Study of Identity Transformation— A Report on Research and Applications to Treatment" (1993, with Emily B. McNally)[10]
  • "The Lonely Journey: Lesbians and Gay Men Who Are Co-dependent" (1989, with Emily B. McNally)[11]
  • "The National Association of Lesbian and Gay Alcoholism Professionals (NALGAP): A Retrospective" (1995, with Emily B. McNally)[12]
  • "Defining God or a Higher Power: The Spiritual Center of Recovery" (1995, with Emily B. McNally)[13]
  • "Chemically Dependent Lesbians and Bisexual Women: Recovery from Many Traumas" (1996, with Emily B. McNally)[14]
  • "Chemical Dependency and Depression in Lesbians and Gay Men: What Helps?" (1996, with Emily B. McNally)[15]
  • Chemical dependency: Women at risk (1996, edited with Brenda L. Underhill)[16]
  • "Making Up for Lost Time: Chemically Dependent Lesbians in Later Midlife" (2000, with Emily B. McNally)[17]
  • Ollie, Ollie, In Free: A Memoir (2018)

Personal life[edit]

Finnegan met her longtime personal and professional partner, Emily Bush McNally, in 1974.[7] They were legally married in New York City in November 2012.[4] They lived together in Greenwich Village after 1980, and retired to Fort Myers, Florida.[18] Finnegan died in 2022, at the age of 90.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Marcus B. Finnegan Dies, Authority on Patent Law". Washington Post. 1979-04-16. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
  2. ^ "Marcus Bartlett Finnegan". West Point Class of 1949, In Memoriam. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  3. ^ Finnegan, Dana Gillespie (1956). Christopher Marlowe: Dramatist of Transition. Stanford University.
  4. ^ a b c Cohen, Bill (2017-08-21). "An Interview with Dana Finnegan and Emily McNally: Meet the married lesbian unsung pioneering heroes of LGBT substance abuse research and counseling". Medium. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  5. ^ a b c McCabe, Phil (2023-07-22). "Honoring the Life of Dana Finnegan". NALGAP. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
  6. ^ Lipman, Joanne (1981-08-02). "Little agreement on 'cause' of homosexuality". The Central New Jersey Home News. p. 42. Retrieved 2024-06-07 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b Shelton, Michael (2016-12-20). Fundamentals of LGBT Substance Use Disorders: Multiple Identities, Multiple Challenges. Columbia University Press. p. xiii. ISBN 978-1-939594-13-6.
  8. ^ McNally, Emily B.; Finnegan, Dana G. (1982-08-03). "Working Together:: The National Association of Gay Alcoholism Professionals". Journal of Homosexuality. 7 (4): 101–103. doi:10.1300/J082v07n04_11. ISSN 0091-8369.
  9. ^ Finnegan, Dana G., and Emily B. McNally. Dual identities: Counseling chemically dependent gay men and lesbians. Hazelden Publishing & Educational Services, 1987.
  10. ^ McNally, Emily B.; Finnegan, Dana G. (March 1993). "Lesbian Recovering Alcoholics: A Qualitative Study of Identity Transformation— A Report on Research and Applications to Treatment". Journal of Chemical Dependency Treatment. 5 (1): 93–103. doi:10.1300/J034v05n01_08. ISSN 0885-4734.
  11. ^ Finnegan, Dana G., and Emily B. McNally. "The lonely journey: Lesbians and gay men who are co-dependent." In Co-Dependency, pp. 121-134. Routledge, 2014.
  12. ^ Finnegan, Dana G.; McNally, Emily B. (1995-04-11). "The National Association of Lesbian and Gay Alcoholism Professionals (NALGAP):: A Retrospective". Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services. 2 (1): 83–90. doi:10.1300/J041v02n01_08. ISSN 1053-8720.
  13. ^ Finnegan, Dana G., and Emily B. McNally. "Defining God or a Higher Power: The spiritual center of recovery." In Spirituality and chemical dependency, pp. 39-48. Routledge, 2014.
  14. ^ Finnegan, Dana G.; McNally, Emily B. (1996-11-15). "Chemically Dependent Lesbians and Bisexual Women: Recovery from Many Traumas". Journal of Chemical Dependency Treatment. 6 (1–2): 87–107. doi:10.1300/J034v06n01_05. ISSN 0885-4734.
  15. ^ Finnegan, Dana G.; McNally, Emily B. (1996-06-03). "Chemical Dependency and Depression in Lesbians and Gay Men:: What Helps?". Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services. 4 (2): 115–129. doi:10.1300/J041v04n02_09. ISSN 1053-8720.
  16. ^ Underhill, Brenda L., ed. (1996). Chemical dependency: women at risk. New York: Haworth Pr. ISBN 978-0-7890-0001-9.
  17. ^ Finnegan, Dana G.; McNally, Emily B. (2000-08-24). "Making Up for Lost Time: Chemically Dependent Lesbians in Later Midlife". Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services. 11 (2–3): 105–118. doi:10.1300/J041v11n02_05. ISSN 1053-8720.
  18. ^ Marech, Rona (2005-02-28). "No closets here: Around the nation, housing options growing for aging gay, lesbian seniors". Leader-Telegram. p. 14. Retrieved 2024-06-07 – via Newspapers.com.
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