We are all important and are put on this earth for a specific reason. An anabranch is a portion of a river or stream that diverts—that is, branches off from—the main channel but then rejoins it again downstream. At Anabranch Recovery Center, we believe this Sober House is a useful way to think about treatment for a substance use disorder. Open to using medications to help your addiction, this is the book for you. Here’s a book that addresses both issues in a five-point, one month plan to begin the process of healing.

• I believe this book does a great job of helping the parents of children using drugs or alcohol understand that it is not OK not to light themselves on fire to keep their children warm.
• The smart reality of her book is that the attitudes and beliefs that accompany addiction are what fuels the disease.
• Choosing Therapy may be compensated for referrals by the companies mentioned below.
• Knowing this leads to a better understanding of how it may be treated and even reversed in those who successfully overcome the disease.
• Her book has personal stories, reflections, quotes, self-tests, and exercises.

Learn how we are continuing our mission to be a force of hope and healing, and what we are doing on the front lines to help families and communities affected by opioid addiction. This was the first book I read on this subject, and I instantly could relate to her feelings. She made a huge impact on me and is someone I will always be grateful to. At least, that’s what the police and the district attorney are saying.

Top 10 books about recovery

Is the story of love, loss, and Starbucks as a Higher Power. Of those who have had similar experiences can be an excellent compliment to treatment. If you want to quit smoking, this is a perfect book to read. There has been a clinical trial published on October 25, 2018, demonstrating the effectiveness of this method. Her inspirational story addiction recovery books can give hope to those who believe there is no way out. And I promise you, you’ll have the best life that you could ever have imagined. Allen Carr also has a book titled“Allen Carr’s easy way to stop smoking”which is number thirteen on this book list. If you or someone you know is suffering from addiction, the best thing to do is get help.

As you read through all the other counseling strategies that came after, you will find equal similarities. The point is, the foundational message, vision, and solution of Alcoholics Anonymous cannot be completely avoided regardless of which method works for someone to achieve sobriety. Trying to strategize and find solutions with other family members affected by the addiction is not always the best course of action either and often results in ineffective outcomes. Reading a book and taking no action will do nothing more than allow you to say you read the book. Books on drug and alcohol addiction do not make you better; you have to take action and find guidance from someone other than just yourself. If you read the book of Alcoholics or Narcotics Anonymous and did nothing more than that, chances are you wouldn’t be any soberer than you are now; it is possible, yet highly unlikely. Knowledge may be power, but taking action is what brings change. Having been in recovery for many years, and working here at Shatterproof, I often get asked to recommend books about addiction. So here’s a list of my all-time favorite reads about substance use disorders.

Smacked: A Story of White-Collar Ambition, Addiction, and Tragedy by Eilene Zimmerman

In this book, she chronicles her life from an anxiety cursed childhood, a difficult coming of age and the guilt, struggles and denial of a working mom suffering from alcoholism. Author Caroline Knapp shares her personal memoir and brings to light the fact that more than 15 million Americans a year are plagued with alcoholism and 5 million of them are women. Caroline describes how she drank through her years at an Ivy-League college, her award-winning career, while masking herself as a dutiful daughter and professional. Readers looking for sobriety books geared towards women will appreciate Caroline’s honest account. If there is one book that has changed my life for the better, this is it.

In this book, also by Mr. Sheff, he shares insights to help increase awareness of the disease of addiction, as well as to serve as inspiration for anyone struggling with substance abuse. For those asking why we’re seeing so much more compassion for the opioid epidemic than we did during the crack epidemic, Dr. Hart is your man. A neuroscientist who made it out of a bad Miami neighborhood ponders in this memoir why he didn’t end up headed down a different path. Now the first tenured black professor in the sciences at Columbia, he has the opportunity to look back and see why he escaped the social forces so many around him didn’t. Dr. Hart takes many preconceived notions about drugs and the U.S drug war and turns them on their head, analyzing them through scientific and then social lenses.

The Book of Alcoholics Anonymous can be read and used as a guide to sobriety regardless of one’s substance of choice. The book sheds light on the behaviors, reasons, shortcomings, and character defects. It provides tremendous insight into the substance user’s struggle with resentment, selfishness, dishonesty, self will, and perception. Contact us today for more information about how our programs and services can help you get your life back on track.

The brain seeks balance, adjusting levels of dopamine and other neurotransmitters to account for that received from drugs. Is a New York Times Best Seller that takes a humorous approach to discuss the complexities of forging a new identity after active addiction. Hepola sheds light on blacking out and how doing that allowed her to bury feelings that she wanted to bury. Now that she is sober, she is working through those feelings and shares her journey in this compelling memoir. There are many well-known autobiographical books about people’s own struggles with addiction. These books often provide a close look at what addiction is and what it’s like to live with it. In his first novel, Burroughs gives a vivid, semi-autobiographical account of heroin addiction in the early 1950s. Prolific, brilliant memoirist Mary Karr shines a light on the dark years she spent descending into alcoholism and drug use as a young writer, wife, and mother.

Journaling: A Helpful Tool in Addiction Recovery

Family members of addicts develop an unhealthy dysfunctional family system. Unless the book helps the family members identify their role in the unbalanced family system, the book of choice may not be as helpful as one would hope for. We think as we’re getting sober, in spite of the fact that by the time we quit drinking, we’re not typically leading very glamorous lives. The reminder that sober life need not be ascetic or dull is welcome to seasoned veterans of recovery and newcomers alike, but I think the blueprint here for an abundant life of pleasure could be useful for anyone. In those stories, the decision to get better often arrives like a bolt of lightning, but this is rarely the case. My own recovery from codependency and alcoholism, which I write about in my memoir Good Morning, Destroyer of Men’s Souls, has felt elusive, circuitous, and sometimes rather boring.

Has also been accused of being a shame and guilt-based program. Whatever the criticism, valid or not, The Big Book has helped millions of alcoholics and addicts get sober. I would’ve listed it as my first choice if not for the possibility of being prematurely judged by those who need to get clean and sober but don’t want to use A.A. I was once that way, too, but toward the end of my drinking and using days, when I seriously contemplated suicide, I turned to A.A. Wherever you are on your journey to recovery, this practical guide to dealing with emotional and psychological challenges is here to help. Clinical psychologist Lisa M. Najavits imparts her three decades of experience treating patients to create this research-based manual. In it, you’ll learn how to cultivate coping skills, confront personal struggles and alter your behaviors in a more positive direction.

The Laundry List: The ACOA Experience

Whether you’re looking for information on the science of addiction or personal stories of triumph over it, there’s something for you on this list. Gain practical knowledge in this science-based work by clinician and psychiatrist Adam Bisaga. In this work, Bisaga explains why opioid addiction requires a unique treatment approach compared to other drug dependencies. The book also details various methods of treatment for opioid addiction and how to select the right method for yourself or a loved one. Two books that we believe every parent of an addict should read in addition to those listed above and below is the book of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.