Addiction Memoirs

Piecing Together the Mind of an Addict Drug abuse and addiction don't start with a drug. They don't begin with that first use, or first high; and they certainly don't manifest in the ensuing darkness of drug dependence and depression. Addiction and alcoholism, true addiction and alcoholism, begin well before we ever indulge. It is the mind before matter, a unique clockwork of chemicals and wirings, of thoughts and feelings that bring us to truth: We, the drug addict, are not like the others Mental illness can be seen the world over, in numerous forms and numerous ways. For some of us, the ...

Marcia, a young woman nearing twenty, is on her way to jail. She has been busted, again, this time for using heroin. As she passes buildings and bus stops that remind her of her childhood, she tries to recall what incidents led her to her dilemma. With barely a goodbye, her mother leaves her at the steps of the jail. Terrified, she is processed and placed in a new world—cell 6, bed 8. Unexpected Angels is a true account of a young woman, once an academic superstar, who is thrown into jail to await trial on a narcotics charge. At nineteen, she's already a three time loser. She must dig ...

In 1929, in the blue-collar city of Portsmouth, Ohio, a company built a swimming pool the size of a football field; named Dreamland, it became the vital centre of the community. Now, addiction has devastated Portsmouth, as it has hundreds of small rural towns and suburbs across America—addiction like no other the country has ever faced. How that happened is the riveting story of Dreamland.

For decades, Demi Moore has been synonymous with celebrity. From iconic film roles to high-profile relationships, Moore has never been far from the spotlight - or the headlines. Even as Demi was becoming the highest paid actress in Hollywood, however, she was always outrunning her past. Throughout her rise to fame and during some of the most pivotal moments of her life, Demi battled addiction, body image issues, and childhood trauma that would follow her for years - all while juggling a skyrocketing career and at times negative public perception.

She was known to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county jail after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford's campus. Her victim impact statement was posted on BuzzFeed, where it instantly went viral. Now, she reclaims her identity to tell her story of trauma, transcendence, and the power of words.

At the age of 24, Jordan Barnes woke up next to a lifeless body, rifled through his dead friends’ pockets for any remaining heroin, and went right back to using. Strung out and homeless during the supposed best years of his life, there was no clear way out of the opioid crisis ravaging the streets of Portland, Oregon. But though Jordan had long accepted his fate, his parents still held out hope and would do everything in their power to get him the help he so desperately needed.

Author and advocate Mary DeMuth urges the church she loves to rise up and face the evil of sexual abuse and harassment with candor and empathy. Based on research and survivors' stories, along with fierce fidelity to Scripture, DeMuth unpacks the church's response to sexual violence and provides a healthy framework for the church to become a haven of healing instead of an institution of judgment.

In 1996, Scott was nineteen and lost in adulthood with an endless job and no future ambitions. Teenage Degenerate is his story about drug addiction, music and growing up. Over the course of ten months, he quickly descends into the dark and dangerous world of crystal methamphetamine. Scott experiments with crystal meth in a dark, deserted parking lot in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado and soon after his crew of misfits will do almost anything for their next high.

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.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony. (Revelation 12:11) Are you battling demons from your past? Feeling bound by the shackles of shame? Do you long to break free from bondage? Kelsey Decker’s memoir is Mary Magdalene meets Damascus Road. A poetic story written for God’s glory. These pages are filled with love, loss, grief, trauma, and abuse. They also overflow with God’s mercy and grace. It’s shocking, intriguing, and beautiful. She is an overcomer of impossible odds, freed from addictions, prostitution, cult abuse, New Age beliefs, ...

In her 2016 best-seller, A Heart Without A Home, Nichole Carpenter told of her experience living on the streets while her parents battled homelessness and heroin addiction. In this sequel, Nichole and her mother, Madge, continue their story... At the age of 9, Nichole was ripped from her mother's arms as they were each taken away in separate police cars. Nichole to the state children's home and her parents to the city jail. Over the next 3 years her mother would battle between her addiction and her love for her daughter. Only through the power of God's Spirit and the love of their family ...

As a registered nurse, Gail Stewart Frare knew too well all the terrible medical possibilities that could devastate a person, and couldn’t help but fret over her two sons, Jeff and Christopher. By the time Christopher entered his teen years as healthy as his older brother, her worries subsided. Then the unspeakable happened. While on a spring break trip to visit Jeff, fifteen-year-old Christopher nearly died from a virus-induced heart failure—becoming one of the only six in one hundred thousand people who suffer from post viral cardiomyopathy. Shortly thereafter, he had to undergo heart...

I take the reader with me on my journey, as I pack all my belongings and finally leave my abusive home aged twenty-one. But although I am away from my controlled home environment, I cannot escape my bad memories. I am still living the terrible nightmares of my violent abusive childhood, which are embedded deep in the recesses of my mind. The horrors of my past affect my daily struggles to fit into society. Unable to cope with a normal life outside my dysfunctional family home, I drift from place to place trying to find sanctuary from my past but end up down a path of self-destruction, and ...

Weight loss advice, laughter, and inspiration from the delicious, caloric, yet uncomfortably large life experiences of a formerly fat man. Allen Zadoff spent years believing that a big, healthy man should have a big, healthy appetite and that his rapidly increasing girth was just a regular guy thing. However, at 350 pounds, it became clear that what had started as a minor weight issue was now threatening his well-being. In a desperate search for a new way of living that would guide him toward a healthier future, Zadoff began to focus less on what he ate and more on the physical and ...

It was a Friday evening in May when seventeen-year-old Robin Xavier left his childhood home in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with nothing but a guitar, a stolen credit card, fifty-two ounces of beer, $67.42, fourteen cigarettes, two disposable lighters, two grams of cocaine, one photograph, and a tooth. A raw and unapologetic coming-of-age story, BirdSong follows the journey of seventeen-year-old Robin Xavier from world-class nobody to world-famous rock star. Coming from an abusive childhood home, Robin’s mental and physical scars haunt him incessantly, and the only relief he can find is in a ...

John Walker was a Miami undercover narcotics agent in the 1970s. Ten years later, he was in prison for smuggling 12,000 pounds of marijuana. In prison, he connected with a South American drug lord who was still running the family operation from inside the federal pen. Within months of being paroled, John began smuggling again—this time uncut Colombian cocaine. And this time, he put everything on the line: his freedom, his family and, ultimately, his life.

Ready to ditch the bottle and embrace a life that doesn't require a constant buzz? Dive into "Uncorked: A No-BS Guide from Boozy Mess to Sober Success," your hilarious roadmap to sobriety. April Adams spills the tea on her messy journey from hot mess to sober queen, serving up a cocktail of brutal honesty and side-splitting humor. This ain't your grandma's self-help book. "Uncorked" is packed with real talk, f-bombs, and practical advice for dodging temptation, surviving sober socials, and building a kick-ass life without liquid courage. From "Oh shit, I drunk-texted my ex" to "Holy crap, I...

In the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), girls can become valuable property as plural wives, but boys are expendable, even a liability. In this powerful and heartbreaking account, former FLDS member Brent Jeffs reveals both the terror and the love he experienced growing up on his prophet's compound and the harsh exile existence that so many boys face once they have been expelled by the sect.

When Abraham Verghese, a physician whose marriage is unraveling, relocates to El Paso, Texas, he hopes to make a fresh start as a staff member at the county hospital. There he meets David Smith, a medical student recovering from drug addiction, and the two men begin a tennis ritual that allows them to shed their inhibitions and find security in the sport they love and with each other. This friendship between doctor and intern grows increasingly rich and complex, more intimate than two men usually allow.

The Meyer family of Beaver Dam Wisconsin were not your run of the mill group of kin folk. Being the daughter of the infamous Ruth and Russell Meyer back in the 60’s was a roller coaster of fun times and tragic events. As children, we had the best times with dad. Fishing, skating, him bringing home a monkey, wrestling a bear, and finding humor in everyday functions such as farting. I have fond memories of him. My dad was a hilarious and lovable character. But when he was drinking, he became extremely violent.