Seven Motivational Books for Addiction Recovery

Each of these authors demands that we face addiction as an intimate, human story as well as a broad public health and safety issue. Dr Gabor Maté advocates for compassion towards people struggling with addiction, as sick people trying to get well the best way they know how. The simplicity of this idea makes so much sense and is often forgotten in everything from AA to drug law. You don’t need to agree with all of Gabor Maté’s theories to see that he has brought a level of hope and humanity to the conversation surrounding addiction. From helping you relax to giving you a glimpse into another’s thoughts, reading can be a transportive activity. In fact, reading is such a powerful tool that books and poems have been used to help heal mental and psychological disorders. As you re-feel the event, you become angrier with every passing thought. When a child cannot discuss what is going on at home, it has a profuse effect on their brain development and ability to form healthy relationships and bonds. The resentments that develop for young children can lead them to substance use themselves and unhealthy choices in relationships. The sooner you can get in front of a child affected by substance use, the less damage may be done.

Of books about heroin use, none is rawer than this bravely told memoir about the life of Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis. Published in 2004, Scar Tissue holds immense value for as a cautionary tale for anyone prone to glamourizing drug use, especially heroin use. The book does a terrific job at taking the reader through the depths of sadness and despair that accompany heroin addiction. Like autistic traits, addictive behaviors fall on a spectrum — and they can be a normal response to an extreme situation. Reasonable Dope is the story of celebrity chef and television chef Tommy Chong’s heroin addiction and recovery. Reasonable Dope offers advice on how to overcome drug addiction and recover from it. The book discusses Chong’s personal experience of drug addiction and recovery, and how he learned to relate to others and treat others with respect. This is one of the first books I read when I realized that I had a serious problem with drinking. Not only did it help me better understand my addiction from a genetic, scientific point-of-view, it also helped me diagnose myself as an alcoholic. Written for the lay-reader, it’s short, packed with hard facts and eye-opening studies about alcoholism.

Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself

I strongly recommend reading this book if you believe you are in a codependent relationship. Codependent No More is written for the families of recovering addicts. This book gives family members exercises to help regain their individuality. Rewiredis a new, breakthrough approach to fighting addiction and self-damaging behavior by acknowledging our personal power to bring ourselves back from the brink. I have personally watched many people die because they overdosed or abused their bodies to the point of no return. It can, and does happen to people of all ages and all walks of life. During my career, I have spent countless hours in psychiatric and community hospitals, as well as medical centers. My main interest has always been psychiatry, especially concerning addiction.

Knapp takes a critical look at her battle with addiction and gives insight on ways to fight it. TheEmpathy Examsauthor’s stunning book juxtaposes her own relationship to addiction with stories of literary legends like Raymond Carver, and imbues it with rich cultural history. The result is a definitive treatment of the American recovery movement — a memoir in the subgenre like no other. An internationally renowned psychiatrist, neurologist, and addiction specialist, Dr. Walter Ling has worked with thousands of addicts, their loved ones, and fellow clinicians. His no-nonsense, no-judgment approach, which he calls the “neuroscience of common sense,” advocates holistic methods to prevent relapse and establish new patterns to create a sustainable, meaningful life. There luckily are simple and practical things you can do to regain your sense of self without constant struggles and help your partner win their battle against alcoholism. This book is a definitive guide written for partners of individuals who struggle with alcoholism. Sustain your alcoholic loved one without giving up yourself. These latter disorders can usually be treated more easily by less intensive models of “treatment” that do not require actual brain chemistry re-regulation over time. In this new edition, there are updated scientific references to support addiction as a medical brain disease, using the prevailing neurobiology, genetics, and psychological scientific literature.

Standalone Novels to Read When You’re Not Feeling a Series

Most notably, it’s a brutally honest — and hilarious — reflection on the late writer’s path to sobriety. Education is just the first step on our path to improved mental health and emotional wellness. To help our readers take the next step in their journey, Choosing Therapy has partnered with leaders in mental health and wellness. Choosing Therapy may be compensated for referrals by the companies mentioned below. Foster the skills you’ll need to persevere with this addiction recovery workbook as your guide. In 1929, in the blue-collar city of Portsmouth, Ohio, a company built a swimming pool the addiction recovery books size of a football field; named Dreamland, it became the vital center of the community. Now, opioid addiction has devastated Portsmouth, as it has hundreds of small rural towns and suburbs across America–addiction like no other the country has ever faced. Located in Central Ohio, our comprehensive addiction treatment facility offers several levels of care to fit the needs of each individual. This book provides real-life examples of how trauma can fuel addiction and how to develop coping skills to help create realistic goals. This book is based on the real-life story of Patricia Holloran.

The meaning behind this comment is people with alcohol and drug addiction, and their affected families are their own worst enemy. Their distorted perceptions and belief systems largely have them in their very predicament. Substance users and their families may be the least qualified people to read a self-help book and then go and try and fix a problem themselves. The substance user and their family will most likely read the material through a distorted lens. With that being said, many books are great reads, including Alcoholics Anonymous, which is not Sober House a self-help book but rather a textbook of insight and suggestion. None of the suggestions are to correct the problem without help and a solution from someone other than yourself. Rausing, the editor of Granta and heiress to a Swedish beverage-packaging fortune, writes beautifully of the idyllic seaside summers of her 1970s childhood and the heavy bonds of family. She does not recover in any straightforward way from worry, obsession, or attempts to control her brother or – obviously – the narrative, but she makes her way towards a kind of serenity.

This is how we fund this project for readers and authors . In The Los Angeles Diaries, he reveals his struggle for survival, mining his past to present the inspiring story of his redemption. Harrowing and brutally honest, this memoir is the chronicle of a man on a collision course with life, who ultimately finds the strength and courage to conquer his demons and believe once more. Addicted to someone, you may not be aware that your mind is constantly trying to deceive you to stay in the relationship. This book will help you recognize these addictive patterns. Furthermore, this book helps you understand how you became addicted and why you behave the way you did. This book is best suited for those who want to understand the unique challenges of an internet porn addiction and are seeking help in this area. In addition to the many tools provided for overcoming unhealthy, addictive patterns, this book also inspires you to ask for help when you need it. Self-actualization, this approach addresses the whole self. It will guide you towards sobriety as well as emotional and spiritual wellness.

Dr Burns packs this book with exercises to help improve mood. She believes addiction to be a combination of genetics, development, and one’s environment. Grisel explains how mind-altering drugs work and how the brain learns to adapt to their effects. Since the brain has an infinite ability to adapt, there is never drug to satisfy the person. Personal stories are used to illustrate the author’s points. This is an excellent book for those navigating recovery from any addiction. Setting boundaries is healthy for the family member as well as the addict.

This simple yet profound guidebook takes you step-by-step through the process of building a life after addiction by adopting new behaviors that create lasting change. Despite following his doctor’s orders, Travis began to experience the mental and physical suffering of opioid withdrawal. In this story, Rieder explains how he walked himself off the brink of opioid dependence and examines how current medical systems fall short. The unique perspective and call for reform earn it a spot on our best addiction recovery books list. 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. Many parents are headed for divorce and sleeping in separate beds due to letting their children divide them.

We read how Nick Sheff went from performing strongly in the classroom and as a varsity athlete to stealing from his brother and living on the streets. Educating yourself about all aspects of recovery is a smart move. The more tools you have at your disposal, the more readily you can embrace the road to recovery. After last week’s collection of the best recovery podcasts, we’re turning our attention to literature today. Choosing recovery close to home means your support system is just a few miles away.

Recovery Books About Overcoming Addiction

Writes with a rare mix of honesty, humor, and compassion about his own wild story and shares the advice and wisdom he has gained through his fourteen years of recovery. He was a US Senator, US representative and the Presidential candidate for the Democratic Party in 1972. I included this book to point out that depression and addiction can happen to anyone. Brown identifies ten“guideposts”in wholehearted people’s lives. This is not a long book, but it does cover how to be happy with ourselves. Of all the unrelenting horrors that occur as the addiction progresses into its late and final stages, the most agonizing of all is the belief that if death or insanity does arrive, it is not undeserved. A brain disease can be treated with medications just like other chronic illnesses. Addictive reasoning and ways to challenge those ways of thinking. The Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations evaluates quality of care provided by healthcare organizations.

At the risk of spoiling the answer to those who have not read the book, we will just say it is a must-read for children and adults of alcoholic and drug-addicted parents. The pain you feel of Emmy keeping mom’s alcoholism a secret is overwhelming. Any family reading this article and who reads this book will probably think twice about waiting another day to intervene on their loved one’s addiction when the addicted person has children who are being affected. Every book listed so far is a good read for a family of alcoholics. People often forget that alcohol is a drug and, in our opinion, the worst and most devastating one. Alcoholics and their families often cringe and correct others if called an addict. It is as if the alcoholic and their family feels they are not as bad because they drink legal alcohol rather than consume illegal substances.

• Before Nic became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings.
• For our long answer, keep reading… Books, movies, music and various art forms can do wonders to inform what we know about addiction and recovery.
• Through charitable support and a commitment to innovation, the Foundation is able to continually enhance care, research, programs and services, and help more people.
• The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation’s publishing division, Hazelden Publishing, is designed especially for the recovery community.

Letting the addict take you down with them is not something this book suggests. As we believe and as the book suggests, you may not have control over the addict directly, and you do have control over how you cope, react, and treat yourself concerning your loved one’s addiction. When you read any Masters or Ph.D. level textbooks on counseling theories and strategies, you find strategies utilized in Alcoholics Anonymous. Looking back to the psychoanalytic theory developed by Sigmund Freud and collective unconscious developed by Carl Jung, there are similarities to the suggestions of Alcoholics Anonymous.