The Best Sober Memoirs to Read Now

The emotional burden of her past eventually led her to attempt to take her own life. Recounting the progression from an idyllic childhood to a monstrous meth addiction, Amy Dresner explores her recovery journey in this insightful memoir. I chose Atlas of the Heart because it touches on the important theme of second chances.

• 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.
• While self-help books are not a solution for long-term recovery, they can be very helpful for emotional sobriety throughout the journey of recovery.
• I started reading addiction memoirs in college, well before I admitted to having an alcohol use disorder.
• Hoping to make her dreams a reality, Michelle Tea recounts her awkward attempts to gain literary fame as she smokes, drinks, and snorts her way through San Francisco.

She documents her realization that, while she will always love her two best drinking friends, their respective worlds are no longer the same. Meanwhile, acquaintances with whom she’d only had superficial relationships turn into intimate friends. Her discussion of having a partner who drinks adds another layer of complexity and interest.

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In his debut memoir, Van Ness pulls back the curtain on the painful, complicated, and often traumatic personal history that made him the beacon of optimism he is today. What’s more, it makes the author doubly rewarding to root for as he talks about how he overcame it all to rise to the star status he enjoys today. Over the Top will leave you feeling empowered to show more radical, enthusiastic love—both to yourself and to the world.

I’ve dedicated my professional life to the creation of a nation of writers. I began my career as a young professor of English, teaching literature and composition at a small campus in Alabama. As a New Yorker, I began writing about my experiences in the South. I began hanging out with journalists and became fascinated best alcoholic memoirs by their sense of craft, and their sense of mission and purpose. This led to an invitation as a writing coach at the St. Petersburg Times, one of the best newspapers in the country, now called the Tampa Bay Times. That year led to 40 years as a writing coach and a senior scholar at the Poynter Institute.

And, 3 books we think you will enjoy!

If you struggle with anything related to body image, you won’t regret this read. This book may also help you see sobriety as a gift you’re giving to your body. Dharma Punx takes the reader on Levine’s journey from an addicted punk rock kid to sober Buddhist meditation teacher.

• Serious addiction has a way of annihilating your sense of exceptionalism, stripping away your autonomy and character, and reducing you to the sum of your cravings.
• It was the beginning of using externals to fix an internal problem.
• It’s reassuring, too, for people with addiction to know that even people who seem to have everything may have shared their struggle.
• She wasn’t self-medicating and was able to truly feel her feelings and live honestly.
• This memoir tells of her painful descent from depression into drug addiction and, eventually, how she broke free.
• And it’s a tribute to the unexpected teachers in our lives who both challenge and support us so we can climb out of the most desperate places.

She also describes how she found allies there—people who loved her unconditionally, until she was able to give that to herself. In this post, we’ve put together nine of the best addiction memoirs and quit lit books for you to check out. From painfully honest stories to science-based tips, there’s a title on this list that’s sure to inspire and motivate you or someone in your life.

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Reading a few chapters of a recovery-related book each day can help weave your sobriety or moderation goals into your everyday life. It can provide ongoing reminders of why you’re making a change, and give you new tools to incorporate as you continue on your journey. Plus, you’ll get to read beautiful writing, and expand your worldview and perspectives.