Calling on his skills as a reporter, Carr used 60 videotaped interviews, legal and medical records and three years of research and reporting to share his journey from crack-house regular to lauded columnist. Fact-checking his own past, Carr’s investigation of his own life dives deep into his experiences with addiction, recovery, cancer and life as a single parent. Having said that, I did—while reading Ditlevsen’s Dependency—occasionally need to put the book down and take a few deep breaths. Even the second time around I found it so viscerally powerful that at times I amphetamine addiction treatment was overwhelmed. It was every bit as gruelling and heartbreaking as the truth required it to be. And I can’t think of a better compliment to a writer of addiction memoir – or, indeed, any writer – than that.
- I learned a lot from Clegg—or I hope I did—about how to convey the terrifying experience of a runaway binge.
- Diana Athill was 43 years old when she wrote Instead of a Letter, the first of a series of nine autobiographies – Athill died in 2019, aged 101, after a long and fascinating life.
- Her bewilderment about this sudden loss of control is magnified by the intensity of her feelings for Nico, a French soldier she met in Port-au-Prince and with whom she connected instantly and deeply.
- So often, stories of surviving cancer end with the doctor’s pronouncement of remission, but that’s not where the story actually ends for the survivors themselves.
- By addressing causes rather than symptoms, it is framed as a permanent solution rather than lifetime struggle.
Long Walk to Freedom’ by Nelson Mandela, published by Little, Brown and Company
Next you’ve chosen to recommend Tove Ditlevsen’s Dependency, the third book in her Copenhagen Trilogy. It was first published in Danish in the 1970s, but has only recently been translated into English by Tiina Nunnally and Michael Favela Goldman. I’ll mention some more in relation to best alcoholic memoirs the books I’ve chosen, but these are, I think, the four most fundamental ones.
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk
As always, his writing is as curious and expansive as it is agile, shifting readers https://ecosoberhouse.com/ from the close and intimate to the more universal with inimitable grace. The result is a true wonder of a book, one you can both run and rest with, that will offer more each time you read it. From gripping celebrity memoirs by iconic role models to compelling books by authors from the LGBTQ+ community to other personal anecdotes of overcoming one’s upbringing or adversity, these are stories you never knew you needed.
Powerful Memoirs About Mental Illness & Addiction
- His mother suffered from mental illness and addiction, creating a situation in which Burroughs was raised in a tumultuous and unpredictable manner.
- Substance-fueled revelry begets accelerating recklessness—blotted-out nights, disastrous sexual encounters, careers skidding into limbo, glee followed by horror.
- Addiction is a deeply personal and complex human experience — one that affects millions across all walks of life.
- Chloé Cooper Jones, who has the rare congenital condition sacral agenesis, spent much of her life learning to deal with ableist remarks, attitudes, and policies by retreating into herself and her work.
- Three years sober, Jowita Bydlowska celebrates the birth of her first child with a glass of champagne, and just like that, she is spiraling back into the life of drinking she thought she had escaped.
Whether you’ve been to treatment, you’re contemplating rehab, or your loved one is struggling with substance misuse, the more tools you have in your arsenal the better. Everything from inpatient rehab and sober living facilities to peer-support groups and outpatient care can move you or your loved one another step closer to long-term recovery. They encourage you to embrace the sober “Irish exit,” leaving the party early to enjoy a starlit stroll home.
The best books on Medicinal Marijuana, recommended by Tato Grasso
Also, through a blend of vulnerability and wit, he shares personal stories that shed light on the hidden struggles behind his public persona. Perry’s memoir not only provides insight into the toll of addiction but also emphasizes the importance of hope, support, and self-awareness in the journey toward recovery. Effective use of descriptive language can greatly enhance your reading experience.