20 Best Books on Alcoholism to Transcend Addiction

The list I have created sidesteps books that glorify addiction. I have not listed books describing the lives of rock stars or movie stars. Some of the books on this list are instructional, and others are informational. A tale of survival more than recovery, Díaz’s memoir is about unlearning the powerful ideas we are raised with – in this case, that violence and chaos are normal. Díaz writes of her childhood in a public housing project in Puerto Rico and, later, Miami Beach, and an adolescence marked by “juvenile delinquency” and marred by violence, addiction, mental illness, and abuse.

It took her until she was forty to realize this was neither normal nor healthy. In this book, celebrated journalist Anne Dowsett Johnston intuitively intertwines her own life story of alcohol use disorder with some great in-depth research and relevant interviews. Her book includes the perspective of those leading the charge in this field, shedding some much-needed light on this crisis and the factors that have contributed to it. The Recovering takes a deep dive into the history of the recovery movement while also examining how race and class impact our understanding of who is a criminal and who is simply ill. She ultimately identifies how we all crave love and how that loneliness can shape who we are, addicted and not. Anyone who has ever suffered from panic and anxiety might understand the allure of alcohol to help cope.

Alcoholics Anonymous, Fourth Edition

While each family member is blaming the substance user, the real problem lies in the breakdown of the family. This begins when one of the parents chooses one child and their addiction over the other children or family members. Living Sober” is an anonymous volume designed to provide people with addictions the tools for healthy day-to-day living. The book doesn’t merely focus on giving up alcohol or drugs, but says this is only the first step.

This revelation prompted her to explore drug use in white-collar settings and she soon discovered that addiction amongst high-achieving professionals is common. Annie Grace, the author of This Naked Mind, uses a blend of science and personal experiences to reveal reasons for alcohol addiction. She touches upon not only psychological elements of addiction, but also cultural books about alcohol recovery and social expectations that contribute to alcohol abuse. When 15-year-old Cat moves to a new town in rural Michigan, she’s ecstatic to find a friend in Marlena, a beautiful, pill-popping neighbor. 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.

Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed With Alcohol by Holly Whitaker

Hepola’s tone is often funny and loose but she writes with a journalist’s precision and the book reads almost like a thriller. After one particularly harrowing experience in a hotel, Hepola gets sober and the reader realises she has been holding her breath for a couple hundred pages. Author Caroline Knapp shares her personal memoir and brings to light the fact that more than 15 million Americans a year are plagued with alcoholism and 5 million of them are women. Caroline describes how she drank through her years at an Ivy-League college, her award-winning career, while masking herself as a dutiful daughter and professional. Readers looking for sobriety books geared towards women will appreciate Caroline’s honest account. Journalist, Eilene Zimmerman gives her heart-wrenching tale of how she discovered that her ex-husband and father of her children was in active drug addiction and using several types of drugs.

Transcending addiction is a worthy goal because, as Tony Robbins says, you feel what you focus on. If you make your entire life about perpetual recovery from alcohol addiction, then alcohol will always be on your mind by default. Narrower in its scope than the previous book, The Vitamin Cure conveys a simple approach to using basic nutrients to fight alcohol withdrawal and cravings. Unlike 7 Weeks to Sobriety, this book answers some questions about why the addiction books about alcohol recovery treatment industry tends to ignore nutrition. Wilson Cook is a talented writer who has an MFA in creative writing from Williams College and has published more than 50 books acquired by hundreds of thousands of people from various countries by now. He is an inveterate reading lover as he has read a vast amount of books since childhood. During our alcoholism recovery book research, we found 1,200+ alcoholism recovery book products and shortlisted 20 quality products.

Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction by David Sheff

Allen Carr’s bestseller is a powerful tool for reframing the internal assumptions many people hold about alcohol. This book reads like a long hypnosis session for the person who needs the power of conviction behind his or her efforts to quit drinking. When a child does not feel love, attention, and affection, they can trust and form healthy relationships and bonds later in life. Many who have suffered this emotional abuse believe that if their own family did not love them or care, how could anyone else. 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. They always seem to have to control the relationship by holding off saying I love you or fully trusting the other person. Children of substance users and many substance users often act this way towards relationships with others. This is why we can’t stress enough that if a family doesn’t want to intervene on the substance user at least intervene as an attempt to help the substance user’s children.

As a mother, I relate to her story so deeply—our children were the same young age when we stopped drinking. She’s an iconic, witty literary voice, an engrossing storyteller, and this book too is a great study in memoir. When I first read this book over ten years ago it felt like I was reading my own journal . I almost wanted to snap it shut, but instead finished it in one day and have read it at least three more times since. Knapp so perfectly describes the emotional landscape of addiction, and as a literary study it’s as perfect a memoir as I’ve ever read. I often think about what it took to publish this when she did, in the 90’s, as a female and a journalist in Boston. Elizabeth shares her personal journey from dealing with anxiety as a child to her addiction and recovery with the struggles she faced along the way. The doctors who wrote this book present a compelling case for utilizing the power of the mind in treating brain disorders. This book is not about alcoholism per se, but it can be an empowering guide for separating yourself from those primitive and demoralizing urges to drink.

While this book is not explicitly about recovering from alcoholism, the information is very relevant for people who want to repair their brains and bodies after conquering acute alcohol withdrawal. Jun 13, 2022 Addiction Resources Family Boundaries and Addiction Why are boundaries so important in addiction recovery? Who needs to set boundaries for recovering addicts and alcoholics? Chances are, if you’re reading this article, it is time for an intervention. Once it has come to a point where you are thinking about it, you have gone past the ability to correct the problem with preventative measures. Substance users and their families will always have an intervention by society, and they have no control over the timing of this.

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. Alcohol Explained by William Porter takes a science-based approach to discussing alcohol addiction. Porter breaks down the chemistry behind alcoholism in an easy to understand format that includes psychological and physiological components to addiction. Ultimately, Alcohol Explained helps you understand your relationship with alcohol consumption and why so many continue to drink despite wishes to quit. Provides insight and meaning to the adult child of an alcoholic and addict. Tony is the Co-Founder of ACOA and provides insight into a child’s struggles while raised in a dysfunctional home. The book’s authors do a great job of helping the reader understand how their experiences have profoundly impacted the affected person’s relationships with others. This book is very relatable to intervention professionals who have difficulty helping parents focus on themselves and not their child’s substance use problem. As with almost every family we encounter during the intervention process, they are confused and at odds.

We would like to see unification and understanding of how working together produces effective solutions for families and parents. The most widely recognized book and a book on which almost every drug and alcohol treatment center bases its curriculum is the book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Whether you like Alcoholics Anonymous or not, the book has amazing insight. We believe every addict, alcoholic, and family Sober House should read it as they will find themselves in the text at some point. The book discusses the underlying causes of addiction, including stress, a history of trauma, mental illness and destructive beliefs. It helps you gain a deeper understanding of underlying causes and triggers through a process of self-inquiry that leads to inner peace, freedom from harmful thoughts and a higher sense of well-being.

I highly recommend this book for anyone struggling with alcohol. Dupuy uses stories and examples from his life as well as other addicts to explain many aspects of recovery, including treatment plans, assessments, and approaches to relapse prevention. With this book she breaks her anonymity, describing the jarring moment of waking into trauma and victimhood, and the onerous emotional and legal battle that followed. This book shows better than any I’ve read the effects of sexual assault and the possibility of forging a new freedom in its aftermath. Are currently struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, you are not alone. A memoir of unblinking honesty and poignant, laugh-out-loud humor, Blackout is the story of a woman stumbling into a new kind of adventure – the sober life she never wanted.

A raw page-turning memoir spans Tiffany’s life as an active opioid addict, her 120 days in a Florida jail and her eventual recovery. If you have already or want to change your relationship with alcohol this book is a must. Whether you want to better understand the mindset of addiction or find inspiration in how they got out of it, these memoirs are nothing short of inspiring. 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. This memoir is poetic and a treat for lovers of beautiful writing. That bottle of merlot was all Kerry Cohen could think about as she got through her day. She did all she had to do but always with this reward on top of her mind. Her beloved habit of overdrinking and staying until bars closed, however, meant that her nights and the following mornings were also all about her regular blackouts.

Weekly inspiration, new podcasts and music, reading and watching recommendations, and encouragement for your week. Plus up-to-date info on upcoming courses, events, podcast interviews that Laura is hosting or attending. Belief is a practiceI had to actively choose what I had for so long taken for granted because I was born with it. And I had to do so based on absolutely nothing but the promises of others who’d gone before me who promised a better way. I had to actively choose to believe in myself, despite all the evidence that I shouldn’t. I had to believe there was something much bigger than my body, my mind, my very bruised heart, and that this thing wanted me to live, and live brightly. I had to practice believing because there was no other way to get out.

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• Is a New York Times Best Seller that takes a humorous approach to discuss the complexities of forging a new identity after active addiction.
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After quitting her career in order to dedicate more of her time to her family, Clare Pooley found herself depressed and feeling sluggish with a daily drinking habit to keep her company. More than just a memoir, this book is about the societal traps that lead us to drink, how drinking affects our brains and our bodies, and the psychology and neuroscience behind it all. What happens when an ambitious young woman is keeping a secret of addiction? High-profile writer Cat Marnell answers the question in the gripping memoir of her life as she battles bulimia on top of an addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. There are many resources available to help you reach your goal to stop drinking.