Addiction Memoirs

A searing, unflinchingly intimate memoir about one young couple caught up in the machinery of America’s military system, learning to live and love through war and all that comes after “Astonishing . . . both a love story and a gripping account of the cost of war.”—Stephanie Land...

John Walker was a Miami undercover narcotics agent in the 1970s. Ten years later, he was in prison for smuggling 12,000 pounds of marijuana. In prison, he connected with a South American drug lord who was still running the family operation from inside the federal pen. Within months of being paroled, John began smuggling again—this time uncut Colombian cocaine. And this time, he put everything on the line: his freedom, his family and, ultimately, his life.

This memoir chronicles the escapades of aspiring actor and writer Charlie Gray, his downward spiral into a vodka bottle, and his profound realizations about life, family, friends, booze, trauma, and relapse as a now-recovering alcoholic.

Brain on Fire meets High Achiever in this “page-turner memoir chronicling a woman’s accidental descent into prescription benzodiazepine dependence—and the life-threatening impacts of long-term use—that chills to the bone” (Nylon). As Melissa Bond raises her infant daughter and a...

The Real Housewives of New York City star, fashion-industry pioneer, entrepreneur, and mom Leah McSweeney breaks through the chaos of battling addiction, igniting the streetwear world, and disrupting reality television—all while being unapologetically, unrelentingly herself. If there’s one...

A bioethicist’s eloquent and riveting memoir of opioid dependence and withdrawal—a harrowing personal reckoning and clarion call for change not only for government but medicine itself, revealing the lack of crucial resources and structures to handle this insidious nationwide epidemic. Travis...

An eye-popping and hilarious joyride through the underworld of sports betting Beth Raymer arrived in Las Vegas in 2001, hoping to land a job as a cocktail waitress at one of the big casinos. In the meantime, she lived in a $17-a-night motel with her dog, Otis, and waited tables at a low-rent...

In January 2021, Freda Love Smith, acclaimed rock musician and author of Red Velvet Underground, watched as insurgents stormed the U.S. Capitol. It felt like the culmination of eight months of pandemic anxiety. She needed a drink, badly. But she suspected a midday whiskey wouldn’t cure what was really ailing her—nor would her nightly cannabis gummy, or her four daily cups of tea, or any of the other substances she relied on to get through each day. Thus began her experiment to remove one addictive behavior from her life each month to see if sobriety was really all it was cracked up to be.

For the first time, legendary singer and songwriter Aaron Neville tells his personal story of overcoming poverty, racism, addiction, and loss through faith, family, and music. Aaron Neville’s first #1 hit, “Tell It Like it Is,” was released in 1966. In the mid-70s he formed the Neville...

"A brilliant and brilliantly different" (Kiese Laymon), wrenching and redemptive coming-of-age memoir about the difficulty of growing up in a hazardous home and the glory of finding salvation in geek culture. Stranded within an ever-shifting family’s desperate but volatile attempts to love...

When NPR commentator Marion Winik met Tony Heubach at Mardi Gras in 1983, there was "a spark of recognition between us. . . . something with a trajectory outside my field of vision." In this candid and deeply felt memoir, she traces that trajectory: a straight woman and a gay man falling in love...

A shocking and hopeful account of one woman's extraordinary courage to face her past and embrace truth in order to help others find hope and healing In The Relentless Courage of a Scared Child, Tana Amen shares her incredible story of transformation—of growing up in poverty, a bullied...

This program is read by the author. An unflinching and intimate memoir of recovery by Jessica Hoppe, Latinx writer, advocate, and creator of NuevaYorka. “A powerful thunderclap of a memoir.” —Lilliam Rivera, author of Dealing in Dreams A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2024: Today.com...

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.

Sober Stick Figure is a memoir from stand-up comedian Amber Tozer, chronicling her life as an alcoholic - starting with her first drink at the age of seven - and her eventual recovery. Amber writes about the crazy and harsh truths of being raised by alcoholics, becoming one herself, stagnating in denial for years, and finally getting sober.

A brilliant debut memoir about a young writer—struggling with depression, family issues, and addiction—and his life-changing decade working for Joan Didion As an aspiring novelist in his early twenties, Cory Leadbeater was presented with an opportunity to work for a well-known writer whose...

In this honest, yet humorous account of her year of not getting sh*tfaced, Pamela examines her long relationship with alcohol. She is shocked to realize just how much of a crutch alcohol has been for her. There is always a bottle of wine or prosecco around to help her manage the many demands of life as a freelancer and a parent.

The NFL icon who first brought show business to sports shares his life lessons on fame, fatherhood, and football. Three days before the 1969 Super Bowl, Joe Namath promised the nation that he would lead the New York Jets to an 18-point underdog victory against the seemingly invincible Baltimore...

This isn’t your typical recovery memoir. In Not Another Recovery Success Story (Or Is It?), Mike Allen offers a raw, unfiltered look at his decades-long battle with alcoholism, mental illness, and the crushing weight of an identity crisis. With brutal honesty and dark humor, Allen explores how his addiction wasn’t just about alcohol—it was about trying to fill the void of not knowing who he really was.

A psychologist who evaluates the fitness of parents when their children have been removed from their custody finds herself reassessing her own mothering when her son falls victim to the opioid crisis. Psychologist and expert witness Dr. Sharon Lamb evaluates parents, particularly in high-stakes...