11 Gripping Books About Alcoholism and Recovery

Living through recovery, however, taught her something powerful; that being able to live honestly, to feel the full weight of her emotions, was the luckiest thing in the world. Author Laura McKowen thought those who could drink casually were “lucky.” Her experience with alcohol, and the reckoning that forced her to come to terms with it, were anything but lucky. Choosing Therapy partners with leading mental health companies and is compensated for referrals by Monument. This book has been a valuable resource for codependents since first published in 1990. Melodie Beattie recounts her own experiences and recovery and how meditation helped. The book provides insights from the perspective of codependency. With real-life examples, it contains plenty of relatable codependent situations with advice on how to regain control. The information we provide while responding to comments is not intended to provide and does not constitute medical, legal, or other professional advice. The responses to comments on fitrecovery.com are designed to support, not replace, medical or psychiatric treatment. Please seek professional care if you believe you may have a condition.

Journalist Anne Dowsett Johnston dives deep into the research behind this trend alongside her own story of recovery, shedding light on industry and society that has taken advantage of women’s drinking. If you’re looking for guidance, a place to start, or just want to know you’re not alone in your journey, these books on alcoholism and sobriety may help. This recovery book explores modern methods, information, and techniques for treating addiction while promoting a holistic approach. In this book, also by Mr. Sheff, he shares insights to Sober House help increase awareness of the disease of addiction, as well as to serve as inspiration for anyone struggling with substance abuse. Alcohol addiction is primarily a biochemical disorder, one reinforced by neural pathways linking alcohol to desired states of mind. As a “disorder,” it shares a collection of common symptoms, including alcohol cravings and withdrawal for people who are physically dependent on alcohol. The premise of this book is that every living creature has evolved to seek mind-alteration from the natural world around us.

Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction – Maia Szalavitz

Caroline Knapp’s powerful memoir chronicles her twenty-year battle with alcoholism. She began drinking as a teen and used alcohol as a coping mechanism for the harsh realities of life. Knapp takes a critical look at her battle with addiction and gives insight on ways to fight it. It takes guts to admit that you have an addiction to drugs or alcohol . These twenty-six authors have shown incredible bravery and resilience in sharing their most painful experiences and deepest vulnerabilities in public as they recount their roads to recovery. Often, we hear the stories of people with addiction being redeemed by their children — but this is not that kind of story, which is precisely why we love it. It’s about a woman who longs to belong and find comfort in her new life with husband and baby but instead develops a gripping addiction to wine. This memoir tells of her painful descent from depression into drug addiction and, eventually, how she broke free. Despite its dark beginning, this is ultimately a hopeful book that inspires readers to root for her throughout. Wurtzel sadly passed away at the age of 52 in January of 2020.

In this audio, discover how Bryan went from hopeless certainty that drinking would eventually kill him, to absolute peace over the course of a single day…. When we aren’t posting here, we build programs to help people quit drinking. When we aren’t posting here, we build programs to help people quit drinking. This is a raw memoir that makes you feel like you’re there with the writer, through all her shame, all her hiding, and all her self-accusations of being a terrible mother because of her drinking. Her struggle is beautifully portrayed, and you also get to emerge with her on the other side once she regains her sobriety once more.

Loving Someone in Recovery: The Answers You Need When Your Partner Is Recovering from Addiction by Beverly Berg MFT, Ph.D.

A little different than the typical recovery memoir, Coulter tells her story through a series of short, engaging essays that are at times heartbreaking, at others hilarious. There’s still a huge amount of stigma around being a black woman in recovery, which makes Chaney Allen’s voice crucial in the recovery sphere. In fact, she was reportedly the first African American woman to publish an autobiography about the impact of discrimination in recovery and the various hurdles black people books about alcohol recovery have to overcome when they get sober. Learn more about Tempest’s unique approach to alcohol recovery. With incredible wit and skill, Sacha Scoblic manages to tell you both what alcohol used to mean for her and how her sober life is going now. She relied on alcohol, and now that this is no longer an option she has to re-evaluate everything in her life, which leads to some witty observations on her newfound life. Jowita Bydlowska could not have expected things to go this way.

Many celebrated authors have walked the long, painful road to recovery, spinning their experiences into powerful reads. Ahead, see the 15 stories of struggle, failure, recovery, and grace that move us the most. Maté uses his twenty years of experience and the work he did in Vancouver working with the severely addicted on skid row as the basis for the book. It contains many personal stories of addiction, including his own. Dr. Maté views addiction and recovery from a holistic perspective and promotes compassionate self-understanding as the first step toward healing. This book explores the next fifteen years of her life, including the various lies that she told herself, and others, about her drug use.

She relied on alcohol, so now that this is no longer an option she has to re-evaluate everything in her life, which leads to some great and very witty observations on her newfound life. She had already beat alcohol in the past and there was nothing wrong with celebrating the birth of her child with some champagne, right? But tough love can damage relationships and create long-lasting wounds, all while failing to change the behavior it intends to. Wolynn is a trauma specialist and director of the The Family Constellation Institute in San Francisco. If you’re looking to uncover more of your trauma , then you may want to give this a read. This thoughtful book explores the science behind why we drink, how it’s so ingrained into our society, and what new possibilities we uncover when we dare to find joy in the unexpected.

When I stopped drinking alcohol, I was desperate to know the stories of other people who’d also taken this road less traveled. During the most unsettling time of my life, I craved all the messy, tragic, complex, wonderful stories that could show me what was on the other side. Nobody in my real life could meet that need, so I turned—as I always do when I need comfort, encouragement, or inspiration—to books. More than a journey through addiction and recovery though, this is a tale about how trauma shapes us and how we can only free ourselves by facing it.

The 11 Best Addiction and Sobriety Books

Real recovery comes in the days and weeks following, when you’re challenged with living sober no matter what life throws at you. The book Emmy’s Question, written by Jeanine Auth, is about Emmy wanting an answer to why her mom chose alcohol over her. At the risk of spoiling the answer to those who have not read the book, we will just say it is a must-read for children and adults of alcoholic and drug-addicted parents. The pain you feel of Emmy keeping mom’s alcoholism a secret is overwhelming. Others may believe the ideas and suggestions do not apply to them and discredit any insight or solutions. Think about a person who reads the books Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous while in detox or actively using or drinking alcohol. Would the book read the same way as it was when the person is healthy and ten years clean and sober?

I thought my party-girl ways were so glamourous, but it was really sad and unfulfilling, despite the glitz and glamour. I did many things I am deeply ashamed of, and reading her book taught me that I am not alone. Her program focuses on root causes of overindulgence and how to break the cycle. Bookshop.org needs to review the security of your connection before proceeding. Former physician director of The Betty Ford Clinic, Dr. Haroutournian, reveals a step-by-step plan to help maintain long-term sobriety. At around 100 pages, this is the shortest book that I will have to re-read because of books about alcohol recovery Jung’s deep, aphoristic style. Jung was concerned about the ease with which individuals slip into groupthink instead of forming their own authentic identities. In fact, I just returned from a trip overseas in which the bartender and I bonded over free non-alcoholic cocktails and had a delightful hour-long conversation about kratom. This is a fantastic read whenever you feel unsure of what to focus on or simply overwhelmed by negativity. New research finds adolescents who drink alone are at much higher risk of developing AUD in adulthood, and female adolescents are at even greater risk.

Tiffany Jenkins’ presents a brutally honest account of her life as an active opioid addict. This memoir tells the story of a woman who went from being the captain of her high school cheerleading team to someone whose active addiction led to a life of crime and even incarceration. Jenkins shatters the stigma of addiction and offers inspiration to those battling addiction and their loved ones. Al-Anon’s basic book discusses the mutual-help program of recovery, including personal stories. A beginning approach to the Twelve Concepts of Service is included. There’s a new kind of thinking in the recovery world, and all of that is thanks to McKowen’s upcoming memoir . Eventually, she goes through a series of 9-to-5 jobs that end with her living behind a Dumpster due to a descent into crack cocaine use. But in this gripping memoir, she turns it all around with the help of a family of eccentric fellow substance users and friends or strangers who come to her aid. Cupcake survives thanks to a furious wit and an unyielding determination and you’ll want to read her inspiring tale. With beautiful prose, Miller’s memoir is about recovering from a lifetime of difficult relationships and a home situation that seems desperate at times.

• The writer of the comedy television show Alf, Stahl tells his story of heroin addiction and his journey to recovery.
• This recovery book explores modern methods, information, and techniques for treating addiction while promoting a holistic approach.
• Dresner battles through sex addiction and starting over in her 40s after she went as low as she could imagine.
• When Cupcake Brown was 11, her mother choked to death during a seizure.
• At Anabranch Recovery Center, we believe this is a useful way to think about treatment for a substance use disorder.

Trying to strategize and find solutions with other family members affected by the addiction is not always the best course of action either and often results in ineffective outcomes. Early recovery is a challenging time, but it’s one filled with important and exciting revelations about yourself, your addiction and your life. Here are five must-read books about addiction recovery you can keep on your nightstand to give you a little extra inspiration as you learn to navigate your new life of sobriety. You don’t have to be sober to get a great deal from Quit Like a Woman, the first book from Holly Whitaker, founder of the digital recovery platform Tempest.

You’ve probably already heard the name Augusten Burroughs or at least his first memoir , Running with Scissors. But in this memoir, Burroughs recounts his very regular and ordinary life of working in advertising and enjoying a drunken Manhattan life—until his employers force him to attend rehab. In this essay collection, Coulter writes with wit about a life in transition—and what happens when you suddenly look up and realize that maybe everyone else isn’t quite doing things the right way. It tells the story of her addiction and eventual recovery in San Diego, California. Lucado masterfully examines the cross of Christ and wonderfully draws out just how significant the crucifixion is.

A new horror film explores how the hardest person to learn to love is sometimes yourself. I could not put this book down , talk about gut-wrenching honesty and not holding anything back. When I worked in beauty, Cat was a beauty editor at Lucky and xoJane.com, so I knew of her. I found this book uncomfortable at times and very funny at other times. It is the real deal and Cat is a talented writer, but most of all a survivor. I used to work in fashion/beauty/celebrity PR, and I related to her lifestyle before she got sober.