Useful books about recovery

[JohnSee]

Hi all! I’m planning to order one book today from Amazon to help with my sobriety. The only thing I’ve read so far is “Living Sober” because it’s part of my weekly AA meeting. But the book was written in the 70’s and feels too “old-timey”.

I’ve seen many books mentioned, but If you could recommend ONE book what would it be? I have a few preferences…

• Something practical and useful

• Nothing too touchy-feely or spiritual/religious. I’m pretty hard-core materialist / naturalist / skeptic. (card-carrying member of The Skeptics Society!)

• Fairly current

Thanks for any advice!!

[Melrm]

The Recovery Book…it’s like a bible for addicts and has a lot of useful info.

[JohnSee]

Thanks @Melrm! I’ll check it out and see what other feedback I get and order one or two books tonight. Then I’ll buy a book about how to quit my Amazon Prime addiction!

[Shytymes75]

Healing the child within by Charles Whitfield is an excellent self-help book. I couldn’t put it down.

[JohnSee]

@Melrm & others. I did some research and look at previous posts. I decided to order “the recovery book” then after that maybe “the naked mind” or “sober for good”. Thanks again.

[JustL]

I would strongly suggest first two i read/reading both and would strongly recommend , i will order sober for life too x

[JohnSee]

@Melrm I started reading “the recovery book” - up to chapter 2. Looks very useful. Thanks for the suggestions! Plan to read at least 30 mins a day as part of my daily plan.

[Melrm]

I really enjoy it. Plus it’s a resource type book that you keep going back to. I underline, highlight, and keep notes in mine.

[JohnSee]

Thanks. Yeah I started using those colored “arrow” sticky notes.

[Mackie]

Smart Recovery Handbook, you can find it on Amazon. Great book of exercises to help create healthy habits.

[ChristopherX]

[Nanuk1987]

My dad bought me this book about 3 years ago. Every page is a new way and bit of help. Its a nice read.

[SassyRocks]

Here are some of the recovery books/ memoirs that I found enlightening …

Quit Like A Woman by Holly Whitaker
We Are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life by Laura McKowen
Many Roads, One Journey: Moving Beyond the 12 Steps by Charlotte Davis Kasl
Last Call by Nancy Carr
The Sober Diaries
Parched by Heather King
Unwasted, My Lush Sobriety
Blackout, Remembering the things I drank to forget
My Fair Junkie by Amy Dresner
Hopeful Healing by Mackenzie Phillips
Sober Truths, The Making of an honest woman
Saturation by Jennifer Place
Sober Curious, Ruby Warrington
Girl Walks Out of a Bar by Lisa Smith
The Naked Mind by Annie Grace
A Happier Hour by Rebecca Weller
High on Arrival by Mackenzie Phillips
Under the Influence by Joyce Maynard
Ice and a Slice by Della Galton
Memoirs aren’t Fairytales
Don’t Take With Alcohol
Diary of an Alcoholic Housewife
12 Small Things by Allen Burger
On Writing by Stephen King
A Drinking Life, Pete Hamill
Dry, Augusten Burroughs
Smacked by Eilene Zimmerman
How To Murder Your Life, Cat Marnell
Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt
Anything and everything written by Charles Bukowski
Sweetbitter, Stephanie Danler
Blame, Michelle Huneven
Goa Freaks, Cleo Odzer
Huerfano, Roberta Price

I also read a lot of memoirs from musicians and/or their spouses and other people in the public eye……which often deal with substance abuse…

I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, Warren Zevon
The Dirt, Motley Crue
Long Time Gone, David Crosby (probably my 'favorite ’ in the genre, what an ass and what a mess)
It’s Only Rock n Roll, Jo Woods memoir about life with Ron
Dirty Rocker Boys, Bobbie Brown
Wonderful Tonight, Pattie Boyd
The Road Through Wonderland, Dawn Schiller (look it up…intense!! She is a survivor!!)
Beauty Disrupted, Carrie Otis
Thing of Beauty by Stephen Fried

Other books that have been influential or eye opening for me…in no order…

Be Here Now, Ram Dass
Walking Each Other Home, Ram Dass
Radical Compassion, Tara Brach
Untamed, Glennon Doyle
Only Love Today, Rachel Stafford
Why Bother, Discover the Desire for What’s Next by Jennifer Loudon
The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
Gifts From The Sea, Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Carl Jung
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard
Yoga 365
The Gifts of Imperfection, Brene Brown
Women Who Run With The Wolves, Clarissa Pinkola Estes
The Art if Happiness, The Dalai Lama
You Can Heal Your Life, Louise Hay
Judgement Detox, Gabrielle Bernstein
Living Beautifully, Pema Chodrun
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
The Illustrated Rumi
The Tao te Ching, Lao Tzu
Wild, Cheryl Strayed
Anything and everything written by Pema Chodrun or Thich Nhat Hanh

[Dazercat]

These 2 books really help me when my kids were heavy into their addiction.
The first one is written from the fathers point of view. It help me so much.
It’s also a movie now with Steve Carrell. I haven’t seen the movie yet but I could use a good cry might watch it this weekend.

The second one was written from the sons (addict) point of view. I reckon there could be some triggers in Tweak. But I highly recommend both books. Both very well done.

[Try2change]

I read Allen Carr’s “Easy way to quit drinking” and found it surprisingly helpful. I probably wouldn’t have ten days under my belt right now if it weren’t for that book.

[Axl]

Christina Grof - Thirst for Wholeness. One might say it can be life changing.

[SassyRocks]

It has taken me a long while to read all those books, and I am retired, so I likely have more free time to read. It definitely is a passion of mine.

[EarnIt]

@SassyRocks I am putting in a crazy order right now. Quit Like a Woman? or We are the Luckiest? Or, both?

[SassyRocks]

Both are good IMHO. I loved Quit Like A Woman tho, so if I had to pick, that would be my #1.

[EarnIt]

You were supposed to definitively like one or the other! Now, I am going to have to get both.