Recovery Memoirs

Now 60 - with years of sobriety under his belt - and the father of three sons, James Brown writes about finding a new path in life, making peace with the family whose ghosts have haunted him, and helping the next generation of addicts overcome their disease. Opening with the tragic tale of an elderly couple consumed by opioid addiction and moving through the horrors of a Las Vegas massacre to the loss of a beloved sponsor, these essays draw on Brown's personal journey of recovery to illustrate how an individual life, in all its messiness and charm, can offer a blueprint for healing.

Piecing Together the Mind of an Addict Drug abuse and addiction don't start with a drug. They don't begin with that first use, or first high; and they certainly don't manifest in the ensuing darkness of drug dependence and depression. Addiction and alcoholism, true addiction and alcoholism, begin well before we ever indulge. It is the mind before matter, a unique clockwork of chemicals and wirings, of thoughts and feelings that bring us to truth: We, the drug addict, are not like the others Mental illness can be seen the world over, in numerous forms and numerous ways. For some of us, the ...

Victoria Vanstone grew up in 1980s England in a happy home full of laughter, booze and a disturbing amount of fancy-dress parties. From her youthful days downing cheap wine at the local park to dodging disastrous relationships, her reliable mate alcohol was never far from reach. Eventually, Victoria found herself with a husband and a child on the way. After sobering up for her first pregnancy, becoming a boring, bottom-wiping, cleaning machine meant she soon returned to her binge-drinking ways, and had to grapple anew with the habits and beliefs that had gone unchecked since childhood.

Marc Lewis's relationship with drugs began in a New England boarding school where, as a bullied and homesick fifteen-year-old, he made brief escapes from reality by way of cough medicine, alcohol, and marijuana. In Berkeley, California, in its hippie heyday, he found methamphetamine and LSD and heroin. He sniffed nitrous oxide in Malaysia and frequented Calcutta's opium dens. Ultimately, though, his journey took him where it takes most addicts: into a life of addiction, desperation, deception, and crime.

Beginning innocently enough in his 20s, Neal Pollack discovers that pot makes everything - food, music, sex - better. Getting married, having a kid, and enjoying professional success didn't tamp down Pollack's addiction. As cannabis grew stronger and more widely available, Pollack's dependence was shadowed by the expansion and acceptance of the marijuana Big Business. Sober after joining a 12-step program, Neal outed himself publicly as a marijuana addict in a 2018 New York Times op-ed piece.

Kate, born to abusive, drug addicted parents, identifies an inner God voice when she is very young. This voice, and the support of her grandmother, helps her overcome her circumstances instead of falling victim to them. However, as she grows up she finds that the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, and she discovers that she is an addict herself. Deciding not to go down the path her parents went, she rises above her circumstances again and chooses the path of recovery.

After twenty-four years of daily drinking, Ed Wyrick hit his bottom and tossed out his last bottle of vodka. As a high school counselor in a rural county in the middle of the Bible belt, he feared for his job if he revealed his addiction, so he tried detoxing on his own. When he gave up and surrendered to a treatment center, doctors said he was lucky to have survived. Three months later, he quit smoking cigarettes. Eighteen months after that, he’d lost seventy pounds and was running five miles a day. More than twelve years have passed, and he remains free of alcohol, cigarettes, fat, and ...

A case study of millennial addiction that challenges society, values, rules and norms regarding relationships, sex, drugs and alcohol. Lock in and listen while generational stories are told to understand the onset of mental illness and the struggle of defending against addiction while trying to find purpose. From the top of potential to rock bottom reality, experience the highs and lows of recovery as surrender is accepted and a soul is found.

When he was two years old, Hunter Biden was badly injured in a car accident that killed his mother and baby sister. In 2015, he suffered the devastating loss of his beloved big brother, Beau, who died of brain cancer at the age of 46. These hardships were compounded by the collapse of his marriage and a years-long battle with drug and alcohol addiction.

“The Devil Inside Me” is a gripping memoir by Joshua T. Berglan that offers an unflinching look into a life marked by addiction, betrayal, and the relentless quest for redemption. Berglan’s candid narrative reveals the depths of his struggles, including multiple incarcerations, bankruptcies, overdoses, and battles with HIV and homelessness. This powerful account delves into the consequences of living a double life and defying one’s true purpose. Berglan’s story serves as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of vulnerability and honesty. ...

In his first book, author Jason Smith explores the depravity and desperation required to maintain an opiate addiction so fierce, he finds himself jumping continents to avoid jail time and learns the hard way that some demons cannot be outrun. While teaching in Europe, he meets a prostitute who secures drugs for him at the dangerous price of helping out the Russian Mafia; in China he gets his Percocet and Xanax fixes but terrifies a crowd of children and parents at his job in the process.

From Honor Roll to Heroin: One Teen’s Descent and Determined Comeback Jude Hassan had everything a kid could ask for—loving parents, a safe home, and a future full of promise. At fourteen, his family moved from the city to a quiet, affluent suburb outside St. Louis. Suddenly the new kid, Jude struggled to fit in—but he kept his grades up, stayed busy with sports, and did everything right. Until one night changed everything. What started with curiosity and a hit of marijuana at a party spiraled into a fast-moving descent through prescription pills, deceit, addiction—and ultimately, ...

They say the first taste of addiction often comes disguised as relief, and for Kevin Murray, that disguise was an innocent-looking white pill. Pills and Me: My Spiral into Addiction is an unflinchingly raw and personal account of a young man’s descent into opioid addiction—a journey from curiosity to survival in a world ravaged by a seemingly harmless but relentless beast. As Kevin tells it, his addiction didn’t begin with a reckless choice. It began with exhaustion, loneliness, and a desire to feel anything other than the crushing weight of his circumstances. From his first Percocet ...

After his father died on 9/11 in the World Trade Center, nine-year-old Matthew John Bocchi began an obsessive quest to find out exactly how he died. He researched video tapes, pictures, blogs, anything that could potentially answer the question looming in his mind: Was his father one of the jumpers? In the first memoir told by a child of 9/11, Matt intimately delves into the psychological and emotional torment that ensued after his father's death.

Ready to ditch the bottle and embrace a life that doesn't require a constant buzz? Dive into "Uncorked: A No-BS Guide from Boozy Mess to Sober Success," your hilarious roadmap to sobriety. April Adams spills the tea on her messy journey from hot mess to sober queen, serving up a cocktail of brutal honesty and side-splitting humor. This ain't your grandma's self-help book. "Uncorked" is packed with real talk, f-bombs, and practical advice for dodging temptation, surviving sober socials, and building a kick-ass life without liquid courage. From "Oh shit, I drunk-texted my ex" to "Holy crap, I...

Cut back or quit drinking entirely…fast! Are you worried you're drinking too much? Has alcohol become a major part of your life? Do you fear it's affecting your health? Your relationships? Your career? Cassandra Gaisford, a former health counselor and holistic therapist, award-winning artist, and the #1 bestselling author of Stress Less, Mid-Life Career Rescue, and Find Your Passion and Purpose (BCA, Dip Psych), provides a fresh sobriety solution. Anyone who needs to be kept on track or inspired to kick the drinking habit and commit to living sober will find genuine help in this ...

When the partner of Emmy Award–winning screenwriter Abi Morgan abruptly collapsed from a mysterious illness, doctors were concerned that he would not survive. Then, six months later, Jacob woke from his coma, to the delight and relief of his family and friends—except this proved to be anything but a Hollywood ending. Because to Jacob, the woman standing at his bedside, who had cared for him all these months, was not his partner. Not his children’s mother. Not the woman he loved. Sure, she looked like his Abi, but this was an imposter, living someone else’s life.

What could possibly be “lucky” about addiction? Absolutely nothing, thought Laura McKowen when drinking brought her to her knees. As she puts it, she “kicked and screamed . . . wishing for something - anything - else” to be her issue. The people who got to drink normally, she thought, were so damn lucky. But in the midst of early sobriety, when no longer able to anesthetize her pain and anxiety, she realized that she was actually the lucky one. Lucky to feel her feelings, live honestly, really be with her daughter, change her legacy.

Marcia, a young woman nearing twenty, is on her way to jail. She has been busted, again, this time for using heroin. As she passes buildings and bus stops that remind her of her childhood, she tries to recall what incidents led her to her dilemma. With barely a goodbye, her mother leaves her at the steps of the jail. Terrified, she is processed and placed in a new world—cell 6, bed 8. Unexpected Angels is a true account of a young woman, once an academic superstar, who is thrown into jail to await trial on a narcotics charge. At nineteen, she's already a three time loser. She must dig ...

What do you do when your world ends? At 28 years old, Krista Schlyer sold almost everything she owned and packed the rest of it in a station wagon bound for the American wild. Her two best friends joined her - one a grumpy, grieving introvert, the other a feisty dog - and together they sought out every national park, historic site, forest, and wilderness they could get to before their money ran out or their minds gave in.