7 Novels That Capture the Pain and Chaos of Alcoholism Literary Hub

But humans recover from all manner of trials and they do so in ways that defy the traditional arc of addiction lit – a hero’s journey through denial to rock bottom and back up again. I read this book before I became a parent and was floored, but have thought about it even more since. It is the heartbreaking and astute account of Sheff’s experience of his son, Nic’s, addiction and eventual recovery. He viscerally paints the picture of the hope-tainted despair, anguish, and havoc that addiction wreaks on an entire family. Pairing scientific research with real-life stories of addiction, the author and world-renowned trauma expert provides a holistic explanation of addiction. Offering an easy-to-grasp explanation of the brain and addiction, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts promotes compassionate self-understanding as a pillar of health and healing.

Dry Humping: A Guide to Dating, Relating, and Hooking Up Without the Booze

• We Are the Luckiest is a life-changing memoir about recovery—without any sugarcoating.
• First published in 1954, Twenty-Four Hours a Day is a staple for many people struggling with an alcohol use disorder.
• Michael Pond has treated people with addiction for years as a psychotherapist but finds himself homeless, broke and alone when he succumbs to his own battle with alcohol use disorder.

This book provides language for sharing our most heartbreaking moments as a way to connect. Stories heal, and no circle knows that more than the recovery circle. The simple fact that we are not alone in our struggle can be enough to find our way out of the dark. Dr. Brown gives us tools to shape and share our thoughts in the most honest way possible, which can be a crucial step towards healing.

How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Jay, a 40-something undocumented performance artist, is living out of his car and delivering groceries to wealthy residents in upstate New York. On one of his runs, he finds himself face-to-face best alcoholic memoirs with Alice, a woman he dated nearly two decades earlier. Alice invites him to ride out the crisis in the luxurious home where she is quarantining with her painter husband, the art school rival for whom she ghosted Jay.

This Naked Mind by Annie Grace

As her marriage dissolved and she struggled to find a reason to stay clean, Karr turned to Catholicism as a light at the end of the tunnel. From her first taste and throughout her young adult life, her increasing dependence on alcohol would lead to hospital trips, blackouts, and dangerous and destructive tendencies that eventually helped her see she should quit drinking for good. In his follow-up to his first memoir, Tweak, which dealt with his journey into meth addiction, Sheff details his struggle to stay clean. In and out of rehab, he falls into relapse, engaging in toxic relationships and other self-destructive behaviors that threaten to undo the hard-won progress he’s made.

Many of them, like Caroline Knapp, started in their early teens and began to use alcohol as “liquid armor,” a way to protect themselves against the difficult realities of life. In this extraordinarily candid and revealing memoir, Knapp offers important insights not only about alcoholism, but about life itself and how we learn to cope with it.It was love at first sight. But seriously, I hope at least one of these memoirs speaks to you. Beyond the camaraderie of knowing you’re not alone, these books offer practical guidance about the road to sobriety (or your road to changing your relationship with drugs and alcohol). They encourage you to embrace the sober “Irish exit,” leaving the party early to enjoy a starlit stroll home.

However, here at The Good Housekeeping Institute, we’re just as concerned with how it tastes and thankfully, it delivers. You can expect a prosecco-esque fresh aroma of apples and stone fruit, with a subtle floral quality and well-balanced salinity. Ethically sourced and eco-friendly, this sparkling wine also supports global ocean conservation projects. A legend in her own right, Streisand’s memoir spans her six-decade career on the stage and on the screen. New episodes of Our Way with Paul Anka and Skip Bronson are released on Wednesdays. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

It’s a tough book to read due to the descriptions of horrific traumas people have experienced, however it’s inspirational in its message of hope. Van der Kolk describes our inner resilience to manage the worst of life’s circumstances with our innate survival instinct. We can survive and even thrive despite the traumas we have endured. I will read anything Clare Pooley writes simply because she is a magical storyteller.

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