Lisa Smith is the epitome of control… except when she is not. Beneath her perfect life and incredible success hides a girl who thought she had cheated her way out of her anxiety and stress via alcohol, but now has completely surrendered to the powers of this magical liquid. You could never tell, but she is the perfect example of a high-functioning alcoholic who looks like everything is perfect, even when it clearly isn’t. Especially not when you’re a crucial part of the cultural phenomenon called Star Wars.

Lisa Smith details her experience as a high-functioning professional with the money for addiction, using substance abuse to escape stress and unwind, and using self-medication to cope with high-stress and high-pressure environments. Smith’s memoir details her interventions, her eventual treatment, and her recovery – while showing how she hid her addiction, functioned around it, and used drugs and alcohol to cope with real life problems. Leslie Jamison’s “The Recovering” is a memoir and a collection of essays, with stories, memoirs, and cultural history behind alcohol and drug abuse – from the perspectives of both men and women. The work offers value to those in recovery and those who are trying to make the leap, because it shares about the history of addiction and recovery, the history of criminalization of addiction, and the history of recovery itself. Jamison’s story details recovery as well as addiction, talking about cravings, the ongoing battle against drugs and alcohol, and making life work in recovery – not just fighting addiction. If it’s your loved one who lives with addiction, books on the topic may help you better understand the challenges of living with this mental health condition.

Best for people living with generational addiction

Luckily, there’s a whole genre of books that prove you are not the only one who has battled addiction. More than a journey through addiction and recovery from it, this is a tale about how trauma shapes us, and how we can only free ourselves from its hold by facing it. It’s a testament to how one moment, completely out of our control, can drastically change our lives. 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.

How do you craft an ending that makes narrative sense but which feels complex and inconclusive in the way life so often is? Many addiction memoirs evince a desire to repay the reader for all the dark places the story has taken them with a thumpingly joyous ending. For these reasons, in many addiction memoirs the end is the weakest part. Although both men and women struggle with substance abuse, the issues that influence a woman’s descent into addiction and journey to sobriety are unique. These memoirs by female writers may strike a cord with women in treatment or help their loved ones better understand the experience of a female substance abuser. Girl Walks out of a Bar is a dark, funny, and honest look at high-functioning addiction.

The Book Pages: Remembering the LA Dodgers’ Penguin classic

You’ll love how Adam overcame his addictions and mental health issues to become the owner of a successful business and to live a beautiful life. When reading addiction treatment and recovery literature, you’ll often come across different terms that refer to the same general concept. These models aim to help people better understand where they are in the process of substance use and recovery, but again, they generally don’t have a standardized definition.

Stoicism is an ancient philosophy that believes self-control, courage, justice, and wisdom are the keys to happiness. This book functions as daily devotional with reflective meditations https://ecosoberhouse.com/ and modern day translations on how to improve your mental health. This book is for everyone, but learning to ‘tame the inner dragon’ is especially helpful to people in recovery.

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But, predictably, addiction eventually became part of her painful reality. Writing honestly about her secret dependency and time in rehab, Vargas helps those of us who deal with a co-occurring disorder understand taking on both mental health and alcoholism — and how we cannot heal one without the other. This book explores the next fifteen years of her life, including the various lies that she told herself, and others, about her drug use. With tons of heart and wisdom, Khar eventually helps readers recognize the shame and stigma surrounding addiction and how there is no one path to recovery. At the end of the day, you’ll want to devour this book because it is ultimately a life-affirming story of resilience that is a must-read.

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. The author, Blake E. Cohen, is a certified addictions professional in recovery from addiction. He wrote this book to offer insight into what it’s like to live with addiction for family members and other loved ones.

The Sober Diaries: How One Woman Stopped Drinking and Started Living by Clare Pooley

I really recommend this book to anyone who is battling with alcohol. Susannah tells the astonishing true story of her descent into madness, her family’s inspiring faith in her, and the lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn’t happen. Brain on Fire is an unforgettable exploration of memory and identity, faith and love, and a profoundly compelling tale of survival and perseverance. The right book for someone experiencing addiction can depend on their unique needs and preferences.

• We are committed to providing a comfortable and effective place for clients to get clean and begin their journey in recovery.
• It is a cognitive distortion to think that “shitty first drafts” – to use Anne Lamott’s earthy term – make you a shitty writer.
• I very consciously looked to Karr for inspiration in how to write candidly yet lovingly about an imperfect family.
• Mary Karr is known for her wit and charming style, and in these pages, she discusses pretty much all her life struggles, not only those with alcohol.
• It is a rigorous investigation that offers clarity, hope, and even beauty to anyone who wants to understand the disease or its cure.
• I began hanging out with journalists and became fascinated by their sense of craft, and their sense of mission and purpose.

We are committed to providing a comfortable and effective place for clients to get clean and begin their journey in recovery. JBKM Ltd is not a medical, healthcare or therapeutic services provider and no best memoirs about addiction medical, psychiatric, psychological or physical treatment or advice is being provided by JBKM Ltd. If you are facing a medical emergency or considering suicide or self harm, please call 911 immediately.