Memoir Addiction Recovery

Abandoned by his mother at birth, Kevin was enveloped in a labyrinth of adoption, addiction, and child sexual abuse. By age 20, a shell of the boy he once was, Kevin succumbed completely to a suicidal lifestyle of drug dealing and prostitution. At 45, after many years of recovery, Kevin began a painful journey to uncover his origins, and the hopeful search for his mother. Dear Stephen Michael’s Mother chronicles the unfolding of these two stories.

Faith Smith has always had a problem with alcohol. At first, she didn’t believe it was an issue, but slowly, her life begins to unravel. Her job as a teacher hangs in the balance, her marriage begins to crumble, and she realizes that she’s putting her addiction before even her own children. Faith knows she has to do something to regain control of her life. But her demons won’t abandon her so easily.

From Hell to Hope: A Memoir of Addiction and Mental Illness takes you on a visceral journey with Kate, from the confusion of her teenage years to the fragile beauty of motherhood. Witness her battle with addiction and bipolar disorder, the desperate lows that threatened to consume her, and the flickering moments of hope that fueled her fight.

The Romeo & Juliet Delusion provides inspiration to anyone whose life has been touched by addiction or domestic violence. Abbott relies on raw and uninhibited storytelling to convey the methods she used to explore healing and freedom from trauma. Abbott's hope is that by authentically sharing her story, she can help to change the lives of people in similar situations and inspire others to view addiction and domestic abuse with compassion and curiosity.

All I ever wanted was to be loved and accepted. That's all. Now I am strung out on heroin, more vulnerable than ever, and clinically depressed. My entire existence is controlled by heroin and the need to escape reality. My rationality is being dominated, paralyzed, and defeated by another entity.

Addiction is a subject which straddles public and personal interests; societal and criminal justice concerns; and family, social, and medical responses. It is a continuing area of uncertainty and concern for society and professionals trained in the field. This Very Short Introduction presents the basic facts about addiction: what it is, how and why it develops, how it is treated, and how society can respond to it.

Renegade MD: A Doctor's Stories from the Streets is a powerful and inspiring memoir by Dr. Susan Partovi, a renowned street doctor who has dedicated her life to treating the impoverished around the world and people experiencing homelessness on LA's Skid Row. Through her stories, Dr. Partovi takes us on a journey to the heart of the challenges faced by those living on the streets, and shines a light on her unwavering commitment to advocate for social justice and to provide compassionate care to some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater is a graphic, honest, autobiographical account written by Thomas De Quincey, about his laudanum addiction and its profound effect on his life. Confessions was the first major work De Quincey published and the one which won him lasting fame. This intensely riveting audiobook edition is therefore a must for all those interested in the pharmacological arts, altered states, the pitfalls of addiction, and the age-old quest for expanded consciousness.

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.

The war on drugs has been official American policy since the 1970s, with the UK, Europe and much of the world following suit. It is at best a failed policy, according to best-selling author Antony Loewenstein. Its direct results have included mass incarceration in the US, extreme violence in different parts of the world, the backing of dictatorships and surging drug addiction globally. And now the Trump administration is unleashing diplomatic and military forces against any softening of the conflict.

A. A. Gill's memoir begins in the dark of a dormitory with six strangers. He is an alcoholic, dying in the last-chance saloon - driven to dry out, not out of a desire to change but mainly through weariness. He tells the truth - as far as he can remember it - about drinking and about what it is like to be drunk. Pour Me is about the blackouts, the collapse, the despair. Lacerating, unflinching, uplifting, it is a classic about drunken abandon. Read by Dougray Scott.

In 2014, novelist Leslie Schwartz was sentenced to 90 days in Los Angeles County Jail for a DUI and battery of an officer. It was the most harrowing and holy experience of her life. Following a 414-day relapse into alcohol and drug addiction after more than a decade sober, Schwartz was sentenced and served her time with only six months' sobriety. The damage she inflicted that year upon her friends, her husband, her daughter, and herself was nearly impossible to fathom. Incarceration might have ruined her altogether, if not for the stories that sustained her while she was behind bars.

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.

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.

Have you or a loved one ever struggled with addictions, codependency, trauma, or shame? Do you often feel "not good enough", alone, or hopeless? Have you ever wondered if God is real, alive, or cares about your mess? This book is for you. Laura McCarthy writes from both her personal struggles and professional point of view.

Cut back or quit drinking entirely…fast! Are you worried you're drinking too much? Has alcohol become a major part of your life? Do you fear it's affecting your health? Your relationships? Your career? Millions of people are dependent on alcohol to self-medicate trauma, stress, depression, or succumbing to peer pressure to drink more than they want. They'd love to cut-back but fear losing the buzz they associate with alcohol, and mistakenly believe that a sober life will doom them to a life of loss, boredom, pain, and misery. Cassandra Gaisford, a New Zealand-based health counsellor, ...

Captivating, psychologically nuanced writing covers five years of guts and wit as she navigates: the splash zone of alcoholism, unbelievable deceit in many forms, single parenting, divorce court without a lawyer — that always goes well — and more. Poignant therapy sessions with Dr. Rachel Phoenix offer insights as sharp as the New York doc's shoes.

Drawing from his leadership and ministry experience as president of Alpha USA and Vineyard Churches USA and from his own life experiences as an ordinary Christian, Hunter calls us to reframe our salvation and discipleship. He believes that God intends us to become cooperative friends of Jesus, living in creative goodness for the sake of others through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Alone. Forgotten. Ashamed. What do these words mean to you? What about junkie? Loser? To someone, these words become part of their everyday life. Does this mean they are no longer human? As the human race, do we completely understand the suffering others go through? And what do we do to help? Nothing.