Inheritance tells the story of Dani Shapiro, who learns that the man she called Dad for 50 years isn’t her biological father after taking a genealogy test. Shapiro’s novel is a poignant examination of identity and what happens when one’s wholeness and understanding of who they are is completely uprooted. Platonic friendships are rarely given the recognition and weight they deserve, often falling after romantic and familial relationships in society’s ranking of life’s most important ties. Dolly Alderton sets that straight in this memoir of her life up to age 30, meticulously and lovingly documenting the female friendships that have made up the most important relationships of her life so far.
The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray
Except, when Carr begins to fact-check his addicted past, https://kasagaleri.sabanciuniv.edu/en/sober-living/understanding-transient-paralysis-causes-symptoms/ he learns that it was he who brandished the gun in a fit of rage. Louise Foxcroft chooses her best books on the history of medicine and addiction, looking at medical practices of the past, from treatment of madness and non-existent diseases, to drug use and the origins of hypochondria. Her own book, The Making of Addiction, looks at the use and abuse of opium in 19th-century Britain. Occasionally reminiscent of Sylvia Plath, Karr’s writing style is simultaneously unsentimental and moving.
Listen
Choose from a menu of options that include Sober living house medication-assisted treatment, such as Suboxone®, Sublocade®, and Vivitrol®, as well as psychiatry, addiction counseling and mental health therapy. She started sneaking sips from her parents’ wine glasses as a kid, and went through adolescence drinking more and more. Blackout is her poignant story of alcoholism and those many missing hours that disappeared when she had just enough to drink to wipe out her memory.
Shazia Omar on The Best Novels on Drug Addiction
Though Athill spent her career editing and publishing the books of authors like Jean Rhys and Philip Roth, her memoirs deserve to sit among the greats. Domineering, traumatised by the war and often cruel, Win opposes Orr leaving for university, and their tumultuous relationship creates the tension in the book. Meanwhile, Orr questions the power imbalance between her subservient mother and dominant father and how traditional gender roles were encouraged in her family. This is a searing account of working-class identity and how family and upbringing can leave a lasting impression on your life. American humorist and essayist David Sedaris is at his best in this series of autobiographical essays. The collection of essays is perfect for dipping into when you have a spare moment, but you might find yourself unable to put it down.
- Maté uses his experience working in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside to illustrate the daily challenges faced by those with substance use disorders.
- There’s a climactic epiphany snatched from a debauched bottom, then an earnest striving toward sobriety.
- Although I think they can all be considered addiction memoirs, and share a familial resemblance with other examples of that form, none of them feel remotely imprisoned by its conventions.
- I found the author’s journey relatable, as he captures the sadness we often face while highlighting the transformative power of faith.
While it may seem like he’s ahead of the game, he is actually plagued by anxieties, such as the fear of losing his roots, the fear of being a bad dad, and the fear of being a terrible husband. Shook One chronicles his journey to beat those fears and shows a path that you too can take to overcome the anxieties that may be holding you back. Electric Literature is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2009. Claudia Acevedo-Quiñones is a writer from Puerto Rico whose poems and short fiction have appeared in The Brooklyn Rail, wildness, Ambit Magazine, Radar Poetry, and other publications. Her chapbook, Bedroom Pop, was published by dancing girl press in 2021. Her full-length debut The Hurricane Book was published by Rose Metal Press in 2023.
- There’s the firecracker-bright memory of the first time using, often recounted in crackling prose.
- To make the cut, the books had to be compelling and personal, relatable and educational, and able to make you laugh or cry (sometimes both).
- During his days as a young Manhattanite working in advertising, he tried everything to hide his constant drinking, including spraying cologne on his tongue.
- She is a Christian, as am I, and I often battled in my head with being a Christian and being an alcoholic.
drinking: A Love Story By Caroline Knapp
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, best alcoholic memoirs addiction and eventual recovery. He viscerally paints the picture of the hope-tainted despair, anguish, and havoc that addiction wreaks on an entire family.