When women are in a blackout, things are done to them,” one expert tells her. The late New York Times media critic David Carr wrote another notable “addiction memoir that’s not a normal addiction memoir” with 2008’s Night of the Gun, in which he investigated his own descent into cocaine addiction. While the book does end with a fairly typical recovery arc, Night of the Gun is unusual in how directly it deals with the idea of truth coming from one person. Carr’s investigation into his past self also reveals a dark side that is shocking even by the grisly standards of addiction memoirs; he beat women. The Recovering, when it operates as a memoir, is equally lucent; the reader is ferried into the perils of addiction by a nimble, stylish narrator. Jamison, 34, is the author of a novel (The Gin Closet) and a well-received collection of essays (The Empathy Exams).
Recovery: Freedom from Our Addictions
Rather, addiction emerges from a confluence of personal history, emotional development, and brain chemistry. For some people, he argues, addiction eases the pain of trauma by replicating the effects of feel-good brain chemicals that the more fortunate of us experienced during a loving childhood. Self-understanding is therefore key to recovery, he contends, and fills the book with positive solutions addicts can apply to themselves. Jamison writes about her recovery as well as she does about her addiction. “Sobriety often felt like gripping onto monkey bars with sweaty metallic palms,” she writes, describing how it was to quit drinking again after a relapse.
Ward and Libaire show you how to get intoxicated, but with life instead of alcohol. Using compelling case histories and real-life scenarios, the authors and interventionalists, provide a course of action to help those who love addicts break free from the painful clutch of addiction. What is profound about Codependent No More by Melody Beattie is her ability to articulate the importance of boundaries while keeping the reader engaged. Her book has personal stories, reflections, quotes, self-tests, and exercises. Every book listed so far is a good read for a family of alcoholics. People often forget that alcohol is a drug and, in our opinion, the worst and most devastating one.
A licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Cook explores the developmental origins of codependency and helps parents to set boundaries and heal themselves, whether or not their adult child is sober. Knowing which heroin addiction books are best can take a lot of time, so we have created a list of resources here to make it easier. When a child cannot discuss what is going on at home, it has a profuse effect on their brain development and ability to form healthy relationships and bonds. Later in life, the affected person goes into relationships with escape hatches. In other words, they never let another person get close to them for fear of rejection later.
Tormented Hope
When you genuinely love and accept yourself, unhealthy patterns begin to fall away, because the loving part of you won’t allow harm to continue. This post explores how acceptance, care, and small daily acts of giving can support healing from addiction and emotional pain. In conclusion, this collection brings together both scientific explanations and personal stories to help you grasp the complexity of addiction and the possibilities for recovery. Also, Lovato is known for her openness about her battles with substance abuse and eating disorders. Through her experiences, she offers encouragement and practical wisdom to help others stay resilient through life’s challenges. Furthermore, she reveals how drinking shaped her identity, relationships, and self-perception, ultimately confronting the painful realities of addiction.
Lit: A Memoir
I’ve dug into memoir after memoir, tiptoed into the hard science books, and enjoyed the fiction from afar. The following are a smattering of the books about alcoholism I’ve found meaningful. Reading these books about alcoholism (memoirs, nonfiction, and fiction) and recommending them to you is part of my personal therapy. Divorce, abandonment, foreclosure and a mass shooting… Mishka Shubaly had plenty of reasons to wallow in drink and drugs, and he does so with wild abandon in I Swear I’ll Make It Up to You. His first full-length memoir follows him from a seemingly endless rock bottom to a passion for running that leads him out of a life of self-destruction and chaos.
- The ones who can make it to the other side of addiction gain an enriched, rare perspective on life that they never could’ve had otherwise.
- One of the problems we see with addiction is that some of the suggested solutions by way of consequences and accountability are different than almost every other disease.
- The question is, why are you waiting for the substance user to get to the bottom and want help when the family is already there?
- My addiction always took me to new lows, and cost me many jobs over the years.
- Quit lit books and addiction memoirs are powerful ways to connect with other people who have been exactly where you are.
Best Addiction Books: Science, Stories & Memoirs
A car accident, the slow and painful unraveling of her marriage, a stay in a mental hospital and an eventual spiritual awakening finally free Karr from the substance that nearly took her life. I started reading addiction memoirs in college, well before I admitted to having an alcohol use disorder. Pooley walks us through a year of her life spent battling alcohol addiction and a recent breast cancer diagnosis, two battles — spoiler alert! Before we get into books for children that explain addiction, two groups are highly recommended for young people who have a parent or loved one who has an addiction. https://blog-promotion.net/how-long-do-alcoholics-live-a-look-at-life-2/ Henry Cloud and John Townsend do a great job of helping the reader regain control of their thoughts and opinions. Learning how to set healthy boundaries and relearning the word no can be very helpful for any family member of an addict or alcoholic.
For anyone hiding in the shadows of shame, this book is a guiding light. 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. The ones who can make it to the other side of addiction gain an enriched, rare perspective on life that they never could’ve had otherwise. Ria Health offers several FDA-approved medications for alcohol use disorder. When combined with counseling, this approach is proven highly effective. Self Recovery is a private, science-based, online addiction recovery program, created by Daniel Hochman, MD.
I Love You, More: Short Stories of Addiction, Recovery, and Loss from the Family’s Perspective by Blake E. Cohen
Meanwhile, he shares personal stories, scientific research, and cultural analysis to reveal how trauma, stress, and societal disconnection drive addictive behaviors. He offers a compassionate perspective that advocates for empathy and holistic approaches to healing over punishment or stigma. Addiction is a deeply personal and complex human experience — one that affects millions across all walks of life.
Understanding Addiction
- It is as if the alcoholic and their family feel they are not as bad because they drink legal alcohol rather than consume illegal substances.
- Functioning and fun-loving, this author’s love for wine hardly seems like a problem until her attempt to cut back proves much more challenging than she had imagined.
- Professional addiction specialists have mandated reporters, and if we see something, we will say something, especially when we know you won’t.
My prompts will help you dig deep and sustain change from the inside out. It’s a witty, straightforward tale of the shenanigans, shame, and confusion that occurs in the morning-afters. Sarah also explores how alcohol affected her relationships with her friends, family, and even her cat. This collection of essays by famous American and Canadian writers explores addiction from unique points of view, but with the same underlying theme— addiction has heartbreaking consequences. In this much-anticipated follow-up to the memoir Tweak, Nick Scheff tells all about his rocky recovery from heroin and crystal meth.
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
Eventually saved by her family, King writes with equal parts sensitivity and humor about redemption and compassion for others. Next we have Mary Karr’s Lit, which is also best alcoholic memoirs the third book in a trilogy; it followed The Liars’ Club and Cherry. It’s a memoir of her addiction to alcohol, and her subsequent recovery, and her conversion to Catholicism. Meanwhile successful writing always surprises and challenges us, perhaps by defying the conventions of the form to which it belongs or simply by refreshing them in some way. Cupcake Brown was 11 when she was orphaned and placed into foster care. She grew up with a tragic journey, running away and becoming exposed to alcohol, drugs, and sex at a young age, and leaning on those vices to get by.
Memoirs of an Addicted Brain: a Neuroscientist Examines His Former Life on Drugs by Marc Lewis
Author William Porter uses the science of the brain and psychology to help you understand the effects of alcohol on your body and mind. He also offers step-by-step instructions for starting recovery and sticking with it. Beyond being informative, this powerful book has helped countless people dive deeper into their relationship with alcohol and make positive changes in their lives.