11 Powerful Recovery and Sobriety Memoirs to Inspire You

More than just a tale of addiction to recovery, this is Karr’s story about the necessity of faith and love along the journey. Baker is a former NBA all-star whose career was derailed by his substance use disorder. In his story, he convinces himself that he is a better player under the influence, but eventually lost everything https://ecosoberhouse.com/ to his SUD. If you’ve wondered what it would be like to live your life sober, this book is for you. More than just a memoir, this book explores the psychology and neuroscience behind the societal traps that lead us to drink and how drinking affects our brains and our bodies. Sarah Hepola’s evenings were always about drinking.

The fact that it was a disease did not absolve me of my own behaviors. Instead, my genetic and environmental predisposition to alcohol abuse meant that I had to be even more responsible than the average person. I learned that alcoholism is a disease – I always felt different from other people, but it came as a shock when I discovered that my brain was actually wired differently than non-addicts. I discovered the roles that my genetics, my family history, and my social environment had played in the development of my problem. As it always has been, my problem wasn’t just about alcohol. In order to receive the message of recovery, I had to surrender – my way of doing things, my stubbornness, and my own ego.

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I wasn’t sponsoring anybody; wasn’t helping anybody. I was 22-years old, in college, and I thought, ‘I’m not like these people in treatment.’ But I packed up my loafers and my sweaters, and I played the part. “My father passed away with 35 years of continuous sobriety. Even when he was in recovery, we didn’t talk about it. Speaking with Katie, the first thing you’ll notice about her is her confidence. She spoke like she wasn’t afraid of anything, but her story of recovery proved she didn’t always exude the same fearlessness. One of addiction’s stereotypes is that it only affects those with dysfunctional families or a history of abuse.

What is considered long-term sobriety?

Long-term sobriety is a relative term—it means different things to different people. But many people consider long-term sobriety to be sobriety that has lasted at least one year.

You are definitely encouraged to read their blogs (but please finish this article first…). To anyone out there struggling with alcohol or drug abuse, just know that you are not alone. And that help is out there where ever you turn. And life is so much more beautiful than the darkness in which you have been living. In 2013, my boyfriend, myself and my son could no longer afford our apartment so we moved in with his mom.

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Our marriage became further strained, as my wife apparently still wanted additional children. I underwent sobriety success stories a reversal of the vasectomy, and soon thereafter, my wife was pregnant with our third healthy child.

His investigation into his own history is an epic story through addiction, recovery, cancer, and life as a single parent that you won’t be able to put down. You will never be able to forget this powerful story about, well, trying to remember your life and what happened while Carr was addicted to crack and alcohol. Eventually, he goes on to become a regular columnist for The New York Times. But this tale is all about the three years of reporting that it took Carr to figure out his past. Anyone who has ever suffered from panic and anxiety might understand the allure of alcohol to help cope.

Big Girl: How I Gave Up Dieting and Got a Life by Kelsey Miller

I’m five months sober and I’m also transitioning. I am coming out to family members and really re-creating myself in the fullest extent possible. When a person transitions, it’s like rebirthing a human. And my relationship with myself has gotten so much deeper, there’s so much more to me. The fact that I’m still breathing, that I’m still here… It’s really easy to write off the big things and focus on the small things.

« This time last year I was at my lowest and I was scared but I made a decision to take control of what I could – and that meant removing alcohol from my life, » she wrote via Instagram. « It was not an easy decision, nor one that I have taken lightly. … Living without alcohol has helped me feel better & more present both mentally and physically. »

Famous People in Addiction Recovery

My friends right now wouldn’t tolerate me drinking — it would be very strange for them. That also is a product of the way you are finally able to filter out people in your life who aren’t very supportive and aren’t very healthy for you. Those people kind of drop away as you get sober and now I’m left with the good people in my life. And that’s a continual process your whole life. I never really felt like I had a choice in social situations or the people I was around. I couldn’t really sort through who I actually wanted to be around because I felt like I was just along for the ride and I wasn’t really in charge.

  • Upon realizing I had none of my belongings the next morning, my friend and I went back to this house.
  • “After moving from Texas to Florida at age 15, I was naturally searching for new friends.
  • Most people in my situation will tell you that detoxing from alcohol was the hardest part of the recovery process.
  • However, these successes often go unnoticed by the broader population.
  • These blessings did not come from just abstaining from drugs and alcohol.