Tragic, inspiring, humorous and heart-wrenching—these true accounts of the struggle for sobriety will move you and maybe inspire you to see what the sober life is all about. In an interview conducted while she was at work on the memoir, Aron said, “There’s this long history of, often women, living alongside this disease. At a young age, she became both protector and cop to her sister, who was addicted to drugs. After leaving home, marrying, and having a child, she reconnects with a charismatic man from her past, and the two begin an obsessive drug-filled affair that perpetuates a cycle of enabling and mutual destruction. Aron uses this as a springboard to talk about the psychology of best alcoholic memoirs codependency and even the roots of the temperance movement. They also expose the insidious ways in which addiction can unfold in the most unlikely places and at the most inopportune times.
- The Empathy Exams author’s stunning book juxtaposes her own relationship to addiction with stories of literary legends like Raymond Carver, and imbues it with rich cultural history.
- Self-love can be one of the most beautiful things to come from a recovery journey.
- 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.
- Yet the much anticipated Be Ready When the Luck Happens shows that her path to success wasn’t always easy.
Sober Celebrities: 4 Hollywood Stars Who Overcame Addiction
Recovery-related books, AKA ‘quit lit,’ can be great for seeing how others have navigated similar experiences, gaining tips that can help you along your journey, and learning more about the science behind substance use. In the literature world, you can find books about addiction and recovery in a genre known as “quit lit.” Quit lit is full of authors sharing their personal experiences and resources to help others who are where they’ve been. Shortly after the birth of her son, Bydlowska relapses after three years of sobriety. She felt like a God, so she thought, why not keep that feeling going. Fast forward a bit and she’s sneaking drinks at the grocery store, waking up in a hotel with no panties on after a blackout. After the book published, Bydlowska was celebrated for her bravery.
Best Addiction and Sobriety Books

I’d like to think Jerry Stahl’s Permanent Midnight influenced me, too, particularly by encouraging me to try and be harrowing and funny at once. She is a courageous woman in https://ecosoberhouse.com/ recovery and someone I enjoy following on social media. I did many things I am deeply ashamed of, and reading her book taught me that I am not alone. I too was a high-functioning professional with a drinking and cocaine addiction. My addiction always took me to new lows, and cost me many jobs over the years.
- Basketball provides a kind of personal and cultural meeting ground for Abdurraqib’s wide-ranging reflections on the home and people he loves; the mythology of “making it”; the nature of performance and aspiration, mortality and grief.
- Still, his insatiable desire for alcohol and sex upends his entire life on one fateful night.
- Reading We are the Luckiest by Laura McKowen can quite possibly save your life.
Powerful Memoirs About Mental Illness & Addiction
Although opting for a diet fizzy drink will ensure you’re limiting your calorie intake, ideally save this as a one off if you’re craving something sweet and looking for variety. First published in 1954, Twenty-Four Hours a Day is a staple for many people struggling with an alcohol use disorder. It features daily meditations, thoughts, and prayers to aid readers in maintaining sobriety. While this isn’t technically a quit lit book, it’s recommended by Club Soda’s Laura Willoughby for anyone in need of some motivation to keep on quitting while staying kind to themselves.
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In his follow-up to his first memoir, Tweak, which dealt with his journey into meth addiction, Sheff details his struggle to stay clean. In and out of rehab, he falls into relapse, engaging in toxic relationships and other self-destructive behaviors that threaten to undo the hard-won progress he’s made. At the age of 15, Cat Marnell began to unknowingly “murder her life” when she became hooked on the ADHD medication prescribed to her by her psychiatrist father.


This book is highly recommended for anyone who, like me, is or was terrified of living a boring life. This book will inspire anyone looking for fun and adventure to create incredible memories while living alcohol-free. Reading We are the Luckiest by Laura McKowen can quite possibly save your life. King is a writer, lawyer and NPR contributor whose memoir chronicles her decades-long downward spiral into alcoholism, from her small New England hometown to seedy restaurants where she waitressed and cockroach-ridden lofts where she what is alcoholism lived.
Inspiring Recovery Quotes
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. Get therapy and medical care—just $25 with insurance, no hidden fees— for alcohol recovery, depression, everyday illnesses, and more. 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.
