15 Books On Addiction Every Addict’s Family Or Loved One Should Read

The tension between on the wagon/off the wagon is often good fodder for literature. Early sobriety forces, like giving birth, a quick and complete break with a former life in order to make way for a new, sometimes ambiguously desired one. The book ends on a hopeful bottom, where Don is clear-eyed and ready to give not drinking (and writing) another chance. It is the new day that every drunk faces each time they quit again. Addiction and recovery memoirs are great reminders that you are not alone and that many, many others have gone down the difficult road to sobriety. In addition to personal stories, many of these books delve deep into the personal and societal psychology of drinking and drug use.

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

• It is the heartbreaking and astute account of Sheff’s experience of his son, Nic’s, addiction and eventual recovery.
• For more books about alcoholism and addiction, check out this list of 100 must-read books about addiction.
• Whether you’re sober-curious or seeking inspiration on your own journey to recovery, Gray’s honest and relatable writing will leave you feeling empowered and hopeful.

Annie Grace approaches the challenge of alcohol habits by combining neuroscience insights with her personal journey, crafting a method that targets the subconscious roots of drinking patterns. In this expanded edition, she guides you through a 30-day alcohol-free experiment, offering daily reflections and science-backed explanations that unpack cultural and emotional conditioning around alcohol. You’ll find practical strategies and thoughtful prompts designed to help you understand what life without alcohol truly feels like, encouraging mindfulness rather than judgment. This book suits anyone curious about changing their drinking habits without pressure or guilt, especially those who want to regain control and reduce cravings through a clear, structured process. Reading great addiction memoirs about recovery can give you hope and remind you that you’re not alone. This feeling of isolation can lead to depression, or make hard times even harder.

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This is a memoir by Augusten Burroughs of Running With Scissors fame. In a brilliant narrative style, she constantly flips back and forth between her personal story and the history of the alcoholic creatives who came before her, their lives intersecting in fascinating ways. I can’t relate to much of Carr’s experience with drugs and alcohol, but Drug rehabilitation I could connect to the inner demons that drove him to it.

For every parent riddled with guilt, for anyone waking up in the shame cave (again), for every person who has had a messy struggle forward towards redemption… this book is for you. Quit Like a Woman is a sobriety book that delves into the toxic culture of alcohol in society—and specifically, its impact on women. In the book, Holly Whitaker speaks on the irony of a world that glorifies alcohol yet looks down on people who get sick from using it. The ones who can make it to the other side of addiction gain an enriched, rare perspective on life that they never could’ve had otherwise. Whether you drink often, are newly sober, or anywhere in between, it can be deeply inspiring to hear a story from someone who’s experienced exactly what you’re going through. Hepola spends hungover mornings piecing together the missing hours of the nights before and frequently wakes up with unrecognizable men in unfamiliar places.

• Admitting you have a problem — not to mention actually getting sober — is no small feat.
• Maybe it’s just not the book I want it to be right now, maybe at a different time I could appreciate it better.
• A stunning debut novel about a short but intense friendship between two girls that ends in tragedy, Marlena pinpoints both what it feels like to be the addict and what it’s like to be the friend of one.
• This list of Best Memoirs for Nonfiction November is a must-read list.
• With the same wit and candor found in his other popular works, we follow the writer from a rehab reality check back to the bustling city, where he must learn to navigate life on the wagon.

Open Book by Jessica Simpson

Ever the feminist, she found that women and other oppressed people don’t need the tenets of Alcoholics Anonymous, but a deeper understanding of their own identities. Quit Like a Woman is her informative and relatable guidebook to breaking an addiction to alcohol. These memoirs are rich with the storytelling flair that characterizes Dahl’s fiction, offering insight into the experiences that shaped his creative imagination.

• Beck is a loving husband, father, and respected business owner who drinks two bottles of wine a night.
• Through compelling stories of individuals overcoming addiction, he illustrates how the brain can rewire itself, emphasizing personal agency and the potential for recovery without relying on medicalized models.
• A memoir penned in the 1970’s, this book documents the the adolescent years of musician Jim Carroll.

Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol

Best known for penning the woman-in-the-attic-focused prequel to Jane Eyre, Wide Sargasso Sea, English writer Jean Rhys was always a little out of step. She was intimately acquainted with displacement and battled an inner duality since childhood. As a privileged girl from a family of colonists in early 20th-century Dominica, she clashed with her environment, her peers, and her parents. She was neither here nor there, but spent most of her life looking for a place to belong to. We see her fall into the arms of the wrong men, debilitating alcoholism, and, despite all this, writing.

Paulson recounts how the work environment contributed to her addiction to alcohol. I also appreciate that she interviewed top psychiatrists and neuroscientists for this book to get a better understanding of what drives us to become addicted to alcohol. She’s funny and self-deprecating in a refreshing way, but also real. Much like Clare Pooley’s book, I found myself nodding in agreement as much as I was chuckling at her various insights.

Incredible Recovery and Sobriety Memoirs I Want Everyone to Read

This book suits anyone grappling with alcohol dependence who seeks a straightforward, stigma-free path to lasting change without rehab or support groups. This tailored book explores structured daily actions to support overcoming alcoholism, focusing on your unique challenges and goals. It reveals how small, consistent steps can disrupt habitual drinking patterns, guiding you through a personalized journey toward sobriety. The content covers psychological triggers, habit formation, and practical routines, all matched to your background and interests. By tailoring insights and techniques specifically for you, it offers a focused path that bridges expert knowledge with your personal experience, making the complex process of change more accessible.

High Achiever: The Incredible True Story of One Addict’s Double Life by Tiffany Jenkins

So many of us look at “blacking out” as benign, or normal—an indicator of a “successful” night of drinking. In Blackout, Sarah clearly explains why there’s nothing benign about it and describes what is actually happening to the brain when we reach that point of alcohol-induced amnesia. I love her perspective on drinking as an act of counter-feminism—that in reality it actually dismantles our power, our pride, and our dignity as women, though we intended the opposite. They encourage you to embrace the sober “Irish exit,” leaving the party early to enjoy a starlit stroll home. It includes best memoirs about alcoholism recipes for zero-proof cocktails for all seasons and has tips for navigating the dating scene while completely sober.

This Naked Mind by Annie Grace

I too was a high-functioning professional with a drinking and cocaine addiction. My addiction always took me to new lows, and cost me many jobs over the years. But, growing up with an alcoholic mother, my most common mode of escape as a child was in fiction. Before I was old enough to simply walk out of the house and literally escape, I hid inside my room and read entire afternoons away, happily lost. Augusten Burroughs’ memoir covers a decade-long battle with sobriety, with a variety of wins and losses along the way.