Whether you are fighting drug addiction, on the road to recovery, or watching a loved one go through it, you probably find solace in first-hand accounts of others experiencing the same thing. Thousands of books have been written on the subject of drug addiction and recovery. A little information and inspiration can go a long way to help you find inner peace on your journey toward recovery. Here are a few books we recommend.
Ten Books That Every Person Should Read
Tweak, a memoir by Nic Sheff. This New York Times bestseller is a raw, candid, bone-chilling account of Sheff’s addiction to meth. It follows his story from intoxication at age eleven to experimentation with marijuana, heroin, cocaine, Ecstasy and meth. Through it all, he never believed he had lost control until a devastating relapse shook him into reality. The book doesn’t hold back, but it will leave readers hopeful.
We All Fall Down, also by Nic Sheff. In this gripping follow-up to Tweak, Sheff takes us through the continual battle against addiction and writes with brutal honesty about his efforts to stay clean. He exposes the truth about his stays at rehab centers and his struggle with relapse.
Beautiful Boy, a parallel memoir by Nic Sheff’s father, David Sheff. This account tells the tale of addiction from a different perspective–through the eyes of a confused and devastated father. This is a beautiful and honest account of the emotional roller coaster of addiction, and the story of a father who never gave up on his son.
The Lost Years by Kristina Wandzilak and Constance Curry. This is a remarkable story of drug addiction and despair told by both mother and daughter, whose lives were torn apart by addiction but mended through recovery.
Come Back: A Mother and Daughter’s Journey Through Hell and Back by Claire Fontaine and Mia Fontaine. Another mother-daughter account, this book explains why an honor student at one of Los Angeles’s finest prep schools, a girl with everything, would end up addicted to drugs and missing.
A Piece of Cake: A Memoir by Cupcake Brown. This follows the life of Cupcake Brown, an orphan girl who survived the death of a parent, childhood abuse, rape, drug addiction, miscarriage, alcoholism, hustling, near-death injuries, drug dealing, prostitution and homelessness before the age of twenty.
Pill Head: The Secret Life of a Painkiller Addict by Joshua Lyon. This book exposes the truth of recreational drug use among today’s Generation Rx. Joshua Lyon fearlessly tells his own story and leaves a strong message of hope for anyone fumbling for the strength to overcome prescription drug addiction.
Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption by William Cope Moyers exposes cocaine addiction without the silver lining. Moyers is fiercely honest and tells how deep spirituality pulled him from death and transformed his life.
Everything I Never Wanted to Be: A Memoir of Alcoholism and Addiction, Faith and Family, Hope and Humor by Dina Kucera. This is a true account of a family’s battle with alcoholism and drug addiction, from her grandparents to her father, herself and finally her daughters.
Unwasted: My Lush Sobriety by Sacha Z. Scoblic describes her long journey from alcoholism to sobriety.