15 Lifechanging Books on Addiction and Recovery

best addiction memoirs

This is one of the best memoirs on alcohol recovery in my opinion. She highlights not only her relationship to alcohol, but also key takeaways from her many attempts to get sober. Reading her book is like sharing a cup of coffee with your wise best friend. She’s brilliant in writing and shares many actionable tips and strategies. When it comes to addiction and recovery, it’s important to recognize that it is a lifelong process that requires dedication and commitment. Achieving lasting sobriety takes vigilance, commitment, and motivation.

Achieve Sobriety at New Hampshire Men’s Rehab

best addiction memoirs

And the most agonizing part of that fight is turning your back on the one thing that provided relief, support, and comfort. As Steinberg puts it, “attending the autopsy of someone you love.” That’s pretty damn courageous. A completely inexperienced hiker decides to take on the Pacific Crest Trail — 2,653 miles from the Mojave Desert up trough Washington State — in the wake of losing her mother and her marriage. Cheryl Strayed’s story is incredible on its own, but add in her impeccable writing, and Wild is a true winner. Growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, Marjane Satrapi experienced the effects of war and political repression first-hand.

The 15 most powerful memoirs about addiction and recovery

It involves making healthy choices every day and staying true to one’s commitment to sobriety. This process requires individuals to address not only the physical aspects best alcoholic memoirs of addiction but also the emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of their lives. These powerful narratives offer hope, inspiration, and a path to healing.

Coffee Table & Recipe Books

best addiction memoirs

This Naked Mind by Annie Grace is one of the most loved sobriety books ever written. In it, Annie talks about her own experiences with addiction while keeping things deeply relatable to anyone who’s questioned alcohol’s role in their life. When it comes to addiction and recovery, books can serve as powerful resources that offer guidance, inspiration, and hope. Here are three lifechanging books that delve into the complexities of addiction and provide valuable insights for individuals seeking recovery. Having said that, I did—while reading Ditlevsen’s Dependency—occasionally need to put the book down and take a few deep breaths. Even the second time around I found it so viscerally powerful that at times I was overwhelmed.

  • She writes with deep emotion even when sharing factual research.
  • The book and the film follow David Sheff’s son, Nic Sheff, through his addiction journey.
  • Written with raw vulnerability, the pages of this book are filled with an honest look at her own relationship to alcohol.
  • Clegg’s manic spiral is related in a relentless present tense, in a prose that’s sparse and detached—and lit up by little flares of lyricism to conjure each hit.

Supporting a Loved One: Medication & Recovery

  • Karr arrived with a unique literary voice that combined rich Texan and burst of lyricism.
  • From his rough beginnings running around the streets of the South Bronx to achieving fabled heights of glory in Hollywood, following along with the remarkable seven-decade life well lived retold here is like walking with him for the journey.
  • I love her perspective on drinking as an act of counter-feminism—that in reality it actually dismantles our power, our pride, and our dignity as women, though we intended the opposite.
  • Mintz says it was a memoir he was never to write, only encouraged to do so after talking with the couple’s son, Sean Ono Lennon, at a party in 2023.
  • For every parent riddled with guilt, for anyone waking up in the shame cave (again), for every person who has had a messy struggle forward towards redemption… this book is for you.

I very much related to her always feeling “less than” in normal life, and only becoming confident and alive once she poured alcohol down her throat. Creating healthy boundaries https://ecosoberhouse.com/ is one of the most useful practices we can put into place in early sobriety. But what does that mean, exactly, and how do you go about establishing boundaries?

best addiction memoirs

best addiction memoirs

Now, in Shook One, he is working through these problems—many of which he traces back to cultural PTSD—with help from mentors, friends, and therapy. Through therapy, he’s figuring out how to get over the irrational fears that won’t take him anywhere positive. Here is Mark’s life childhood as the son of a struggling writer, as well as the world after Mark was released from a mental hospital.

best addiction memoirs

Negroland is her take on race, sex, and American culture in a world full of contradictions. In Kitchen Confidential, Chef Anthony Bourdain spilled all the dirty secrets he learned in 25 years of working in the culinary trade, chock full of sex, drugs, and drama. Restaurant kitchens are gritty and gross, but they’re where the best chefs get their start.

  • Here, we dig into some of the most influential memoirs of all time.
  • Chanel Miller was known only as Emily Doe as she battled her rapist, Brock Turner, in court.
  • The Dry Challenge can be especially helpful for people who drink socially, and are looking to take a structured step back to re-evaluate their habits.
  • In this memoir, the late Friends actor is open about his decades-long struggle with alcohol and opioid addiction.

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