Why else would I have been mesmerized by When a Man Loves a Woman or 28 Days in my early 20s? These movies and books let me know I was not alone, that there were other people walking around who drank like I did. Matt Rowland Hill was born in 1984 in Pontypridd, South Wales, and grew up in Wales and England. His writing has appeared in The Guardian, The Independent, New Statesman, the Telegraph and other outlets. Dependency is startlingly unlike any other memoir about addiction—that I know of, at least.
Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget by Sarah Hepola
Every book on this list represents a story its author needed to tell. “If my life wasn’t funny it would just be true, and that is unacceptable.” Yes, it’s a celebrity memoir. Yes, maybe it’s one of those things you’d pick up at a Hudson News. There’s plenty of insightful literature on this complex topic to help you parse out your feelings and guide your decisions on alcohol.
“We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life”
Ward and Libaire show you how to get intoxicated, but with life instead of alcohol. Based on best alcoholic memoirs Fisher’s hugely successful one-woman show, Wishful Drinking is the story of growing up in Hollywood royalty, battling addiction, and dealing with manic depression. Her first memoir is an inside look at her famous parents’ marriage and her own tumultuous love affairs (including her on-again, off-again relationship with Paul Simon).
What Was Literary Twitter? The Bracket *Day 3*
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. Although I think they can all be considered addiction memoirs, and share a familial resemblance with other examples of that form, none of them feel remotely imprisoned by its conventions. And yet—even though each of Halfway house these books goes its own way, never hesitating to flout a trope or trample a norm to serve its story—they don’t go in terror of the conventions either. Where the story they have to tell echoes others, they let us hear that echo.
- Yet the much anticipated Be Ready When the Luck Happens shows that her path to success wasn’t always easy.
- This Naked Mind by Annie Grace is one of the most loved sobriety books ever written.
- Here, Naus recounts jail time, an attempted murder charge and an uphill battle to reclaim a life nearly lost to the stranglehold of addiction in this outrageous memoir.
- It includes recipes for zero-proof cocktails for all seasons and has tips for navigating the dating scene while completely sober.
The ‘sober curious‘ movement has spawned non-alcoholic bars in cities as different as Nashville and New York, zero-proof liquors and a whole lot of memoirs written by addicts in recovery. That honesty is shared in Pooley’s witty, funny style, which makes it a lighter read than it otherwise would be. And, while Pooley’s journey was interrupted by cancer, she continued on to stay clean and sober – and shares how much better and happier her life is now. This book is a good choice for people trying to answer questions around alcoholism, talking to family, coping, and even living with family members who drink.
“Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol” by Ann Dowsett Johnston
Most travel memoirs aim to transport readers; Lawson’s may transform many. In an interview conducted while she was at work on the memoir, Aron said, “There’s this long history of, often women, living alongside this disease. At a young age, she became both protector and cop to her sister, who was addicted to drugs. After leaving home, marrying, and having a child, she reconnects with a charismatic man from her past, and the two begin an obsessive drug-filled affair that perpetuates a cycle of enabling and mutual https://ecosoberhouse.com/ destruction. Aron uses this as a springboard to talk about the psychology of codependency and even the roots of the temperance movement. They also expose the insidious ways in which addiction can unfold in the most unlikely places and at the most inopportune times.
Sober Day Counter: Is It Helpful?
“The text is relatable, witty, and accessible, with tangible tips and support that you can action in simple ways, written with empathy from the perspective of somebody who has tried these methods out and come out the other side.” For many people, one of the hardest parts of Sober October, Dry January, and generally the first few months of giving up alcohol is finding alternatives to alcohol. That’s where Fiona Beckett’s recipe book comes in – it’s not quite quit lit but it’s close enough. How to be a Mindful Drinker by the Club Soda Community is the perfect how-to guide for those looking to try mindful drinking and cut back on their alcohol consumption.
- This makes them more vulnerable to the long-term health effects of heavy drinking.
- Former “20/20” anchor Elizabeth Vargas shares her story of anxiety and alcohol use disorder in this compelling memoir.
- While not a replacement for professional therapy and treatment, The Addiction Recovery Workbook can help equip you with coping techniques and actionable strategies to succeed in recovery, despite triggers, stressors, and daily challenges.
- This is one of the first books I read about addiction ever, before I realized I had a problem.
We Loved It All, by Lydia Millet
Garten’s story may impress and inspire, but it’s her honesty and willingness to reflect on every stage of her extraordinary life that makes this book so satisfying. Rather than dwelling on the pain of addiction,Tracey focuses on her journey of recovery and rebuilding her life, while exposing the failings of the American rehab system and laying out a path for change. Starting with the first step in her recovery, Tracey re-learns how to interact with men, build new friendships, handle money, and rekindle her relationship with her mother, all while staying sober, sharp, and dedicated to her future. 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. One of the first of its kind, Drink opens our eyes to the connection between drinking, trauma and the impossible quest to ‘have it all’ that many women experience.
Clare Pooley’s “Sober Diaries” details one woman’s realization that her alcohol habit was putting her life and her children at risk. Pooley discusses the dark side of alcoholism creeping up on you, of drinking more and more under the guise of normalization, and how it impacts life, weight, and health. She also discusses her mental health and shares how she turned to alcohol because she was depressed, and as a mother of three, she had no other visible way out. Holly Whitaker’s “Quit Like a Woman” is a combination of memoir and cultural critique, assessing her own history of drinking and alcohol abuse alongside the U.S. culture of alcohol abuse. Whitaker writes for women, detailing how culture, advertising, and culture push women to drink. This memoir blends her recovery journey and ongoing recovery with feminism and her own unique path out of addiction.





