Addiction Memoirs

What is the thing most of us search for, sing about, cry about, that research has all wrong? The secret to the rarest, most passionate love that never ends.

In 2012, Rhyannon Styles began her gender transition and attended her first 12-step meeting - beginning two journeys that changed the course of her life. Using her personal narrative as a springboard for exploring addiction, recovery and LGBTQ+ mental health, Rhyannon writes with searing honesty about the complexity of her experiences. The audiobook spans a range of addictions including alcohol, food, sex and relationships, the internet and narcotics, and highlights the ways in which addiction and the transition process can overlap.

Alan Kaufman recounts with unvarnished honesty the story of the alcoholism that took him to the brink of death, the post-traumatic stress disorder that drove him to the edge of madness, and the love that brought him back. Son of a French Holocaust survivor, Kaufman was a drinker so mauled by his indulgences that it is a marvel he hung on long enough to get into recovery.

Stanice Anderson, motivational speaker and author of 12-Step Programs: A Resource Guide for Helping Professionals, delivers a personal guide to dealing with failure and turning to triumphs. By examining her own obstacles, Anderson relates to problems that many people face today.

A catalyst for change can take many forms. For author Erin Burrell, that life-altering moment began with a jarring knock at the door. A solemn detective delivered the news that a loved one had died. The grief and heart-splitting loss sent her groping for answers. In her search, she was drawn toward an unexpected path - towards the metaphysical. After reading several books about psychic mediums, Erin wondered if she too might be able to connect with her deceased loved one.

Dana Bowman can't escape the lure of perfectionism, trying to be a flawless wife, mother, and person in recovery. When Dana experiences a short-lived relapse during the Christmas holiday, she has the startling realization that recovery is more than just giving up alcohol. In this funny and revealing follow-up to her best-selling book Bottled, Dana reflects on how we live in a society of excess, always pushing ourselves to do and be better. However, it doesn’t take her long to realize that self-care and getting over herself is the key to happiness.

Written with the passion of an obsessive, Nicotine addresses a lifelong addiction, from the thrill of the first drag to the perennial last cigarette. Reflecting on his experiences as a smoker from a young age, Gregor Hens investigates the irreversible effects of nicotine on thought and patterns of behavior. He extends the conversation with other smokers to meditations on Mark Twain and Italo Svevo, the nature of habit, and the validity of hypnosis.

В своей книге известная телеведущая Дана Борисова рассказывает шокирующие факты собственной биографии. Предельно откровенно вспоминает о своем детстве в далеком Норильске, ошибках во взаимоотношениях с мужчинами, сложностях общения с дочерью – подростком, не стесняясь, говорит о занятиях проституцией, своих пагубных привычках и долгом пути к трезвости, в течение которого она перепробовала, казалось бы, все существующие методы лечения... В результате Дана справилась с тяжелейшими зависимостями и смогла выйти из своего прошлого победителем.

Sherri Wyatt was raised by loving parents in a Christian home. However, perversion of grace by religion and religious rituals spoke the fire-and-brimstone message of condemnation, guilt, and shame. Confusion prevailed from an early age about the love of God. As life-threatening childhood health issues mounted, she felt God was mad at her. She tried to do good and be good, yet more trauma was inflicted.

A small and effeminate boy bullied for years while growing up in an alcoholic family in suburban Cleveland Gil finds refuge in the equestrian world. A coach instills in him the dream of going to the Olympics and becomes his mentor, his guide and his predator. Gil survives rape, betrayals, setbacks, and the loss of family and friends all while on a quest to fulfill his dream. This book is not only about surviving; it's about the resilience of the human spirit and the pursuit of dreams against all odds.

This could be the story of any man, his life driven and guided for half a century by his overwhelming desire for alcohol. This book relates a candid and informative account of an alcoholic’s life and where it leads. It also offers suggestions of reasons for alcoholism, the effects that alcohol has upon the brain, an examination of the law relating to mental capacity, and an ultimately heartfelt plea to anyone instrumental in changing the lives for such unfortunate individuals, to examine more closely the research available.

Adversity Builds Character is the story of a young man's life struggles to find his way through the trials and tribulations of family turmoil, self-determination, and personal judgment. This transformational life experience, like so many, demonstrates the triumph of the human spirit over the pitfalls in our modern world. From a divorce wrecked family life through the upheavals of a shattered home brought on by a disease-ridden single mom, Thomas Ufert is blessed with the first of many second chances granted to him by his Godmother and her family.

With raw grit and vulnerability, Scott recounts his life growing up in small-town USA and details the ways in which addiction and mental illness resulted in losses that no father, son, or brother should even have to endure. Alongside his youngest son, Wes, a medical professional in psychiatry, they take a closer look into the world of addiction and the epidemic we find ourselves to be in - revealing the causes, variables, and paths to consider moving forward.

I became addicted to heroin at the age of 18. I thought my life was over, but here I am with a story to be told, and hopefully with a message in there for anyone who is struggling with addiction, suicide, and depression that there is light at the end of the tunnel. My journey was not easy, and there are scars both physical and mental to prove it, but I am the man I am today because of these times. If this book can help one person, then I feel my struggles with addiction won't have been in vain.

At the age of 31, Doug Wilson underwent a 14-hour operation to remove a life-threatening brain tumor. Just over a year later, he set a Guinness World Record by becoming the first person to run seven competitive marathons on seven continents in under seven days. In this gripping and fast-paced memoir, he shares the story of his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction, mental illness and physical disability - and the extraordinary journey of healing that helped him to turn his life around.

Double Double is a unique and honest dual memoir of alcoholism, a disease that affects nearly 45 million Americans each year. Now, award-winning mystery writer Martha Grimes and her son, Ken Grimes, offer two points of view on their struggles with alcoholism. In alternating chapters, they share their stories - stories of drinking, recovery, relapse, friendship, travel, work, success, and failure.

On one of the rare occasions he wasn't incarcerated, Floyd met Nancy, a golden-haired goddess, the love of his life. Given the choice between loving her and being the greatest bank robber in America, he chose Nancy without hesitation. But before he went straight, he just needed to pull off one last job....

Do you know me?, the email began, sparking tremors of fear that turned into a full quake of panic when William Dameron discovered that his selfie had been stolen by strangers. On social networks and dating sites, his image and identity - a forty-year-old straight white male - had been used to hook countless women into believing in lies of love and romance.

With his trademark rock 'n' roll hair and snakeskin spandex pants, plus a hot rod and a Harley, Lüc Carl fit the part as a bar manager based in New York City's gritty Lower East Side. And life was good for this Omaha, Nebraska, transplant-a talented drummer who originally moved to the big city to pursue his rock 'n' roll dreams-until, suddenly, it wasn't. Fast forward through seven years of working long hours, binging on late-night Chinese food, and drinking excessively; life had found Lüc 40 pounds overweight and completely out of shape.

Growing up on the streets of East L.A., Luis Rodriguez narrowly escaped a serious jail term and then struggled to overcome his powerful addiction to heroin and alcohol. Eventually, Rodriguez embarked on a career as a successful journalist and a highly regarded poet. In It Calls You Back, Rodriguez describes with heartbreaking honesty his challenges as a husband and a father and his difficulty leaving his criminal past completely behind.