“It builds on her work specializing in addiction to help people https://iza.sitisova.cz/long-term-effects-of-alcohol-on-the-immune-system/ change their habits for good.” It was almost like I had lost the ability to think past the present moment, which is ironically something we strive for in recovery. I guess in the back of my mind I thought Prince Charming would come and save the day.
I’m Black and I’m Sober: The Timeless Story of a Woman’s Journey Back to Sanity by Chaney Allen
Stories heal, and no circle knows that more than the recovery circle. The simple fact that we are not alone in our struggle can be enough to find our way out of the dark. Dr. Brown gives us tools to shape and share our thoughts in the most honest way possible, which can be a crucial step towards healing. Punch Me Up to the Gods is a beautifully written series of personal essays that describe Brian Broome’s experience growing up Black and queer in Ohio, and the effect early substance use had on his upbringing. This book tells an incredible story of not only recovery, but also how it connects to race and sexual identity.
Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol
As you embark on a sobriety or moderation journey, building a toolkit to keep you motivated and inspired can help you reach your goals. 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. Here are my 29 favorite books related to alcohol recovery. She looks after her children, enjoys drinks with friends, and is a successful writer. But she recognizes her relationship with alcohol is different than that of the casual-drinking moms in her friend group.
blackout By Sarah Hepola
When something awful happens to us, our way to cope is to turn off and even turn against ourselves, as a method of resilience. The book discusses amphetamine addiction treatment drug policies, substance use treatment, and the root causes of substance use. More than anything, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts provides a voice of kind generosity and understanding to anyone who is looking to learn more for themselves or a loved one. This powerful memoir follows Cain’s life as she navigates a substance use disorder, incarceration, and sex work over the course of 19 years. Healing Neen provides a personal look into the connection between incarceration, substance use, and trauma. Her story is a beautiful reminder of how safety and support can lead the way to incredible healing.
Especially the evolution of mommy drinking culture and how we got to this place where we’ve tried to normalize drinking to cope with the stresses of being a woman in today’s modern world. This gem of a book by Clare Pooley is a nice departure from the intensely introspective books I just mentioned. And that’s not to say that it isn’t introspective (it is!), but it’s also funny and more lighthearted. The fact that he survived his addiction is a miracle in itself. I can’t relate to much of Carr’s experience with drugs and alcohol, but I could connect to the inner demons that drove him to it.
The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober: Discovering a Happy, Healthy, Wealthy Alcohol-Free Life by Catherine Gray
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. She begins to share her attempts to sober up anonymously online and ends up finding support, community, and the strength to battle her addiction in the most unlikely of places. He comes from the book publishing world and, again, was someone who was successful and smart, but in active addiction. He lost trust of people around him and in his field, but through sobriety he has been able to regain that trust and help many people along the way. Admitting you have a problem — not to mention actually getting sober — is no small feat.
- Eventually saved by her family, King writes with equal parts sensitivity and humor about redemption and compassion for others.
- But instead, the comedian finds a reason to smile and to make others laugh with her.
- Gilbert helps us understand the noisy voice in our head, which can often be our greatest critic.
- You’ll also find options for dessert drinks, frozen drinks, and holiday drinks without relying on sugar for flavor.
Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family by Mitchell S. Jackson
For now I’ll mention one more convention of addiction memoirs, although it differs slightly from the others because it’s more directly concerned with how they’re read than with how they’re written. The pleasures we expect from the form range from the edifying (empathy, inspiration) to the unseemly (voyeurism, vicarious transgression) to mention just a few. But many readers —like the one I was during my time in rehab in 2015—also come to it seeking something often considered antithetical to art.
- Beck is a loving husband, father, and respected business owner who drinks two bottles of wine a night.
- They encourage you to embrace the sober “Irish exit,” leaving the party early to enjoy a starlit stroll home.
- To vote on existing books from the list, beside each book there is a link vote for this book clicking it will add that book to your votes.
Healing Neen provides a personal look into the connection between incarceration, substance use, and trauma. 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. After finishing A Happier Hour, the bar was set high for future reads (no pun intended).
She’s drawn to Marlena’s world and joins her on an adventure of drinking, smoking, and kissing. Marlena’s dark habits worsen, though, and she ends up dead within the year. Decades later, Cat reminisces about those days with Marlena and learns to forgive herself and move on from those days. Julie Buntin’s Marlena is a stunning look at alcoholism, addiction, and bad decisions, and how they haunt us forever.
The 34 Best Memoirs by Female Authors Worth Reading
While this book isn’t targeted towards women specifically and some people will find his focus on units of alcohol a little relatable, it is one of best alcoholic memoirs the bestsellers in the quit lit genre for a reason. If you recognize that you have a drinking problem and are looking toward some of the more popular recovery programs, this may be a particularly insightful read. However, the overall message Whitaker offers is that we all have to find our path when it comes to changing our drinking habits. “And although the book’s title and emphasis are on women, it is valuable reading for anyone,” Willoughby adds. The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober is the first of two memoirs by Catherine Gray and one of the most- recommended quit lit books by our handful of experts.
Second, they contain sections describing the lurid drama and dreadful effects of addiction in unsparing detail. Unvarnished accounts of the havoc and disaster of addiction, whether played for farce or pathos, are as reliably found in the most artistically ambitious addiction memoirs as in the least. Meanwhile the reader is tacitly licensed to enjoy all this mayhem and calamity with a degree of voyeuristic relish and, equally, to take a vicarious pleasure in the author’s recklessness and transgression. Self-love can be one of the most beautiful things to come from a recovery journey. But the process of self-acceptance doesn’t happen overnight. This book provides an amazing framework for embracing our true selves in a society that tries to tell us we’re not already whole as we are.