When it comes to addiction, you never want to slip up from a moment of boredom. The problem is that keeping busy can be hard. You can fill your time with group meetings, classes, work, and exercise, but there will be moments when getting out of the house is simply not an option. Instead of hyperventilating from extreme panic, take a breather and grab a book for an inspirational recovery read.
The best books to read are the ones to keep you motivated and focused on your goal. I absolutely love reading inspirational books about people like me – someone who reached the bottom and then made it to the top by shedding an addiction. It is an easy way to fill time, relax, and enjoy the comfort of a warm blanket and a soft couch. So grab a pen and get ready to write down these 11 inspirational recovery reads to purchase on your next trip to the bookstore.
Drinking: A Love Story
You might raise an eyebrow at the title, but it certainly isn’t a predictable love story. In fact, it isn’t a love story at all. It is a memoir written beautifully by Caroline Knapp about her love affair with alcohol. It is easy to relate, but it gives you faith that you can become sober too.
Portrait of an Addict As a Young Man
Cocaine has a way of eating away a person’s life, and Bill Clegg captures that reality with graphic personal stories. His words are so crisp and detailed that your heart can’t help but ache with him as he wastes his savings and spends his days in dingy hotels.
The Basketball Diaries
Jim Carroll shares a story about sex and drugs in this teenage diary. It isn’t a pretty story, and the graphic words are almost painful to read, but it is the ugly truth that hides behind the drugs. Reading the truth can help you to get on track toward stopping before it is too late.
How to Stop Time: Heroin from A to Z
Drugs hold no bias, and the stories of heroin addicts aren’t always about living on the streets in search of getting the next fix. Ann Marlowe graduated from Harvard and worked her way to achieving a Wall Street career. Behind her perfect story was an ugly addiction, and she dives into her daily struggle of balance and attempts at quitting here. This inspirational recovery read reveals that addiction can happen to anyone and it makes it easier to confess and get help.
Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood
Koren Zailckas shares a story of her life as a teen, a story too familiar to high school girls. What started out as a few drinks at parties led to getting her stomach pumped at college and blackouts that left her confused and afraid. You might not be an addict yet, but are you on the path to become one? This story makes you question your choices and where you are heading.
Permanent Midnight: A Memoir
Once you begin reading, you won’t be able to set this book down until the very last page. This suspenseful book is written by Jerry Stahl about his life as a drug addict. He isn’t the stereotypical addict, but he still doesn’t escape the pain and consequences that come from heroin and cocaine. His story of overcoming such a deadly addiction is inspiring and beautiful.
Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction
David Sheff’s son was a happy, charming teenager who received high marks in classes and played varsity sports. His younger siblings and family admired him, but everything was about to take a sharp turn. His son began to change due to an addiction to drugs, and the lies, threats, and police phone calls would quickly follow. It is reading this father’s story that solidifies the fact that an addict’s choices hurt the people around them, too. Recognizing this truth can be the push to get you on an inspirational recovery path.
The Night of the Gun
David Carr ended high school on pot and began college on crack. He worked as a journalist writing stories about the police and government, but at night, he lived a different life. He did crack until the moment his twin daughters were born, but their birth was not what inspired him to stop. It was the night his best friend pulled a gun on him, when he was presented with the truth and given a shred of hope. This hope is easy to catch, and it will get you to the finish line that you desire so badly.
Parched
Heather King has a gift for writing, and she cleverly shares a 20-year story of her life as an alcoholic. As she hid behind a glass of alcohol, she was able to complete law school and pass the bar exam in one attempt. It was the ultimate cover, but she never did anything with it, instead drinking her days away until her family intervened. It doesn’t matter if you are an addict for six months or 60 years – everyone has the inner strength to change and begin an inspirational recovery.
Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines
This is one book you won’t be able to put down. Nic Sheff lost his childhood to drugs and alcohol, and his story is simply heart-wrenching. At the young age of 11, his first sip of alcohol opened the doors to years of drugs. He tried everything from pot, cocaine, and heroin to crystal meth. It was all for the entertainment and good fun, and he honestly believed he could quit at any moment. When that moment arose, he learned just how addicted he was.
The Los Angeles Diaries: A Memoir
A painful past filled with the suicide of both of his siblings and constant drinking and drug abuse from his parents made it easy for James Brown to follow in his parents’ footsteps. As you read through these 12 chapters, you will be opened up to dark secrets and challenges no one would want to overcome. But he does overcome the toughest of trials. It is inspiring to see what he became despite the odds against him. If he can break an addiction even when he was born to fail, then you can conquer your addiction, too.
Beginning and Inspirational Recovery at Morningside Recovery
At Morningside Recovery, we want you to be the main character of your own inspirational recovery novel. Through our addiction treatment services, rehab programs, and addiction therapy services, we hope you’ll persevere and achieve the life of health and sobriety you’ve always wanted. For more information, call us today at 855-631-2135.