- 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.
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, only to find that she has surrendered to the powers of this magical liquid. She is the perfect example of a high-functioning alcoholic whose life looks perfect on the outside, even as it crumbles on the inside. She’s just someone who uses alcohol to muster up the courage, and, well, survive life. This is just how it has always been since her introduction to Southern Comfort when she was fourteen. Growing up in the public eye is never an easy thing, but Fisher didn’t just grow up in the spotlight. To make things even more interesting, Fisher grew up with the world watching while she battled manic depression, addiction, and visited all sorts of mental institutions as a result. This book is beautiful, compelling, and a riveting retelling of Jackson’s life as well as those of his male relatives who have gone through similar journeys. You’ve probably already heard the name Augusten Burroughs or at least his first memoir , Running with Scissors. But in this memoir, Burroughs recounts his very regular and ordinary life of working in advertising and enjoying a drunken Manhattan life—until his employers force him to attend rehab.
He also addresses his experience of feeling out of place in the music industry as a rapper who also practices a Christian faith, feeling excluded at red carpet events due to discussing his faith in his lyrics. But tough love can damage relationships and create long-lasting wounds, all while failing to change the behavior it intends to. Dr. Roy took the time to talk to us about harm reduction, the effectiveness of addiction medications, and the inspiring resilience she sees in her patients. As a child, Helaina Hovitz was a very close witness to the attack to the World Trade Center on 9/11. These events leave her with a serious case of PTSD that in turn throw her into despair and later lands her into addiction. When she looked around she couldn’t help but notice that she was very much not alone. Lush explores the ongoing addiction crisis amongst middle-aged females through Cohen’s lenses in a very relatable style. This is a darkly comic book about the slow road through recovery, really growing up, and being someone that gets back up after screwing up. In 1992, Mishka Shubaly survived a mass shooting at his school, his parents divorced, his father abandoned him, and he swore he would right all the wrongs for his mother.
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…
Instead, he began a love affair with the bottle and barely crawled out, but he did, and we cheer him on at each twist and turn in his journey. When you buy through links on our website, we may earn an affiliate commission. When women are in a blackout, things are done to them,” Hepola writes. Bookshop.org needs to review the security of your connection before proceeding. By Augusten Burroughs is an incredibly accurate depiction of what it’s like to be a young alcoholic in New York City.
