- Recounting the progression from an idyllic childhood to a monstrous meth addiction, Amy Dresner explores her recovery journey in this insightful memoir.
- Meth is a powerful and addictive central nervous system stimulant that can affect your brain’s ability to function and communicate with the rest of your body.
- Her beloved habit of over-drinking and staying until bars closed, however, meant that her nights and the following mornings were also all about her regular blackouts.
- 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.
- A little different than the typical recovery memoir, Coulter tells her story through a series of short, engaging essays that are at times heartbreaking, at others hilarious.
Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood by Koren Zailckas
I really liked this book because it focuses a lot on her spiritual crisis and how it related to her alcoholism. She is a Christian, as am I, and I often battled in my head with being a Christian and being an alcoholic. Eventually my faith brought me to my knees and I began my journey of sobriety after having a spiritual experience. 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.Does the brain recover from alcohol?
According to a recent article on recovery of behavior and brain function after abstinence from alcohol, individuals in recovery can rest assured that some brain functions will fully recover; but others may require more work.
I Swear I’ll Make It Up to You: A Life on the Low Road
The acclaimed author of Prozac Nation goes from depression to addiction with this equally devastating personal account. Wurtzel reveals how drugs fueled her post-breakout period, describing with unbearable specificity how her doctor’s prescription of Ritalin, intended to help her function, only brought her down. It is profoundly sad, remarkably tender, and fueled by a sense of love and reverence that only a child knows. Award winning and NYT bestselling author Karr’s memoir follows the self-professed blackbelt sinner’s descent into the inferno of alcoholism and madness–and to her astonishing resurrection. Written with Karr’s relentless honesty, unflinching self-scrutiny, and irreverent, lacerating humor, it is a truly electrifying story of how to grow up. I recommend We All Fall Down to anyone in recovery, early or not, so that they understand that relapse is a very real possibility and there are ways of preventing it. We All Fall Down is also a good read for family members and friends of those in recovery, because it can help them identify warning signs that their loved one has relapsed. Jim Carroll’s classic memoir, set in New York City in the mid-1960s, transpires while the author is 12 to 15-years-old. Carroll’s drug of choice is cough syrup with codeine, and when he’s not getting high he’s hustling, playing basketball, and running wild around the city.Can you have a problem with alcohol and not be an alcoholic?
One of the differentiators between problem drinking and alcoholism is the physical dependency. If you can go long periods of time without the need for alcohol, you may not be an alcoholic. However, problem drinking has the capability to turn into alcoholism over time.
To be fair I have read a few more books about addiction that I didn’t include here! I’m even doing another article now about 5 best addiction memoirs, so another opportunity for you to tell me what I’ve missed out
— Matt Rowland Hill (@mattrowlandhill) August 11, 2022
From: ‘My Memoir’
— Juliette Maiorana (@JulietteMaio) June 12, 2022
‘My best momma, a miracle in 2012
We need an emotional pick me up here.
After learning about addiction and alcoholism on my own, I began to have a better understanding of my mother. My anger and hurt about our relationship eased. College courses taught me…