Addiction Memoirs

Debbie Harry is a musician, an actor, an activist and the iconic face of New York City cool. As the front-woman of Blondie, she and the band forged a new sound that brought together the worlds of rock, punk, disco, reggae and hip-hop to create some of the most beloved pop songs of all time. As a muse, she collaborated with some of the boldest artists of the past four decades. The scope of Debbie Harry’s impact on our culture has been matched only by her reticence to reveal her rich inner life - until now.

If you are born into ineffable darkness, can you even comprehend the light? Take one-part volatile home life, two-parts haphazard nomadic existence, zero-parts social connection, and shake well. Our protagonist's only constant is unpredictability: that, and the charismatic, fundamentalist hammerings from the pulpit. But, when a sheltered child goes nuclear? Just pray you are far from the exclusion zone.

In 16 brilliantly observed true stories, Sam Harris emerges as a natural humorist in league with David Sedaris, Chelsea Handler, Carrie Fisher, and Steve Martin, but with a voice uniquely his own. Praised by the Chicago Sun-Times for his "manic, witty commentary", and with a storytelling talent the New York Times calls " New Yorker - worthy," he puts a comedic spin on full-disclosure episodes from his own colorful life. What better place to find painfully funny material than in growing up gay, gifted, and ambitious in the heart of the Bible belt?

On her journey to near stardom in the music business, Monica Madrid wound up a broke, demoralized alcoholic. Through the twists and turns of a colorful life, she rubbed elbows with Prince, Rick James, and other artists and was in a musical battle with Tupac Shakur. She came close to fulfilling her childhood dream, but once it was stripped from her grasp, her path led to money, prestige - and broken relationships. Monica's story is one of loss, love, and redemption.

From reckless drug addict to one of Australia’s top chefs and television stars: MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo's powerful life story will shock and inspire. Jock’s life spiralled out of control when he tried heroin for the first time as a teenager while growing up in 1980s Glasgow. For years he balanced a career as a rising star amongst legendary chefs with a crippling drug addiction that took him down many dark paths.

Matt Rowland Hill had two great loves in his life: Jesus and heroin. The son of an evangelical minister, Hill grew up with an unwavering devotion to the tenets of his parents’ Baptist church. But by high school, he began to experience a crisis of faith. To fill the void, he turned to literature, and then to heroin and cocaine. By his twenties, Hill’s substance abuse escalated into a full-on addiction. As he grew increasingly suicidal, he knew he had to come to terms with both religion and drugs to survive.

It is my absolute pleasure to add my own personal emotional tone as I read to you my story of redemption from trauma and addiction. "At the tender age of six, Mark Turnipseed received what he felt was a clear and devastating message: It isn't okay to like other boys, and if you do, you're bound for Hell. His confusion and self-hatred made him determined to become the boy he believed he was supposed to be, but in attempting to live a lie, he descended into a hell of his own making.

This is a debut work by Washington, DC, area native writer and poet. It's a coming of age tale about a late bloomer who grew up feeling like a misfit. It's also the story of a young Jewish woman, who wanted to be an edgy punk rocker, but was too afraid to incur motherly guilt. True to her character, she weaves her ardor for music and nature all throughout the book.

For two decades, Mike Cinelli fought tirelessly to break free from the clutches of heroin and crack cocaine addiction. But a transformational encounter with Jesus Christ healed the broken pieces of his life and gave him a redemptive story that will inspire anyone looking for hope. In this raw and inspiring Christian memoir, Mike Cinelli describes his personal struggles with drug addiction and the profound grace that led him to the feet of his Savior.

A mother's journey of what she learned and how she healed through the years of her son's drug addiction and recovery. The intent of writing this audiobook is to help parents learn about addiction, codependency, enabling, and recovery. Donna M. offers tools that will help parents take care of their emotional health so they won't become emotionally bankrupt when dealing with a child in active addiction.

Living on the street, Dr. George ran a prostitution and drug dealing business to feed his addiction to sex and drugs. His life spiraled out of control, leading him to the confines of a prison cell. When released on probation he risked it all on a drug blow out. This was the catalyst that started an intentional climb towards a life of freedom. In this book, Dr. George guides the listener through his personal story and how he used the power of intention to change his life.

Part Oz, Shawshank Redemption, and Orange Is the New Black, this true, warts-and-all, David vs. Goliath tale is about a journalist/addict/alcoholic whose five prison-mates ready him for the outside world, while taking on the prison industrial complex of 2018.

Neil 'Razor' Ruddock tells the inspiring and uplifting story of how he faced the battle of his life: to become a different person. In this inspiring and uplifting memoir, Neil Ruddock charts his toxic journey of self-destruction, a path littered with food addiction, plummeting self-confidence and a dangerous relationship with drink which took him to the brink of death.

Precisely plotting the slippery slope of a heroin addict's existence, The Hummingbird Kiss paints a bleak picture but still manages to offer a ray of hope. The '70s are young, and 18-year-old Trish is a newlywed. When a Florida judge sentences her junkie husband to ten years for stealing stereos, she immediately seeks out a fix, and before she knows it she's hooked. There follows a long sojourn as she and her friends work small scams to score, head to California in search of better highs, move back to Florida, shoot up and nod off every chance they get — until death gets some of them.

Dan W., possibly related to Bill W., shares his experience, strength, and hope in this powerful book, Dan 2. 0, on recovering from his addictions to alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine. Following his childhood in Africa, the son of missionaries, he became a career Marine, serving nearly 39-years on active duty. Deciding to quit his three addictions, after retiring from the Marines, he discovered that he could not do it on willpower and discipline alone. He needed help, which he found in a Higher Power and in the rooms of AA.

In 1984, John Hanrahan was featured in Interview magazine's iconic Olympic Issue as one of America's top athletes vying for a spot on the US Olympic Team. He had come within a point of defeating the mighty Soviet world medalist and had defeated other prominent world competitors. He was within reach of a lifetime dream, but then abandoned the Final Trials. He was nowhere to be found. He hadn't exactly fallen off the face of the earth, but he'd become a full-blown drug addict, unable to face his competition, and unwilling to confront the truth of his situation.

Homosexuality, prostitution, pornography, cults--secret sins rival the glitter of Hollywood for young actor David Kyle Foster. Winning wholesome television roles, his star on the rise, he is relieved to be free from his father's harshness. But the desperate loneliness and sexual obsession that characterized his youth now accompany his rise to success and bondage to a double life seems the only answer. Can Jesus' love reach one so broken?

At the age of 15, Cat Marnell unknowingly set out to murder her life. After a privileged yet emotionally-starved childhood in Washington, she became hooked on ADHD medication. This led to a dependence on Xanax at boarding school, and she experimented with cocaine, ecstasy - whatever came her way. By 26 her life had become a twisted merry-go-round of parties and pills at night and trying to hold down a high-profile job at Condé Nast during the day.

Centered around multi-million dollar stakes and a series of nationally televised poker tournaments, Fading Hearts on the River offers a story of odds - the odds of a newborn surviving severe jaundice, the odds of Congress passing a law that renders one's online gambling income inaccessible, the odds of drawing the right card on the turn or the river.

Nearly every American knows someone who has been affected by the opioid crisis. Addiction is a trans-partisan issue that impacts individuals from every walk of life. Millions of Americans are tired of watching their loved ones die while politicians ignore this issue. Where is the solution? Where is the hope? Where's the outrage? Ryan Hampton understands firsthand how easy it is to develop a dependency on opioids, and how destructive it can quickly become. Now, he is waging a permanent campaign to change our way of thinking about and addressing addiction in this country.