Finding hope in the midst of a crippling addiction can be very difficult. Life can seem hopeless and without purpose as the struggle to make it through each new day becomes harder and harder. Feeling like this is normal, fighting through addiction is hard; doing it alone is even harder. To help you find a resource during times alone, we’ve compiled this brief list of, “5 Great Books About Real Life Drug Addicts.”
Millions of people have struggled with addiction and thousands of those people have shared their story. Some of those stores have only been shared with a few while others have decided to share it with the world. These stories of pain, addiction, hope and recovery can help motivate other drug addicts who are currently struggling to make a change in their lives.
1. “Scar Tissue”
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You don’t have to be fan of his music but you owe it to yourself to read about his struggle and redemption from heroin addiction. “Scar Tissue is the autobiography of Red Hot Chili Peppers vocalist Anthony Kiedis. It was released in 2004 by Hyperion and authored by Kiedis with Larry Sloman, who compiled information and interviewed various parties associated with the plot line” Heroin has become one of the deadliest drugs on earth, there has been a huge increase in addiction rates due to the “pill boom” of the 2010’s. Keidis is still clean and sober, he continues to create new music and motivate thousands of people.
2. “Go Ask Alice”
Published in 1971 this anonymous story about addiction has reached legendary status over the past few decades. With over 4 million copies sold, this story has reached and touched countless lives. A coming of age drug addict story with a much darker side. “Go Ask Alice is a 1971 novel about the life of a troubled teenage girl. It is written by Beatrice Sparks in the form of the diary of an anonymous teenage girl who becomes addicted to drugs. The diarist’s name is never given in the book.”
3. “Born To Lose: The Memoirs of a Compulsive Gambler”
“My history of gambling really began before I was born.” “So opens Born to Lose, Bill Lee’s self-told story of gambling addiction, set in San Francisco’s Chinatown and steeped in a culture where it is not unheard of for gamblers (Lee’s grandfather included) to lose their children to a bet. From wagering away his beloved baseball card collection as a youngster to forfeiting everything he owned at blackjack tables in Las Vegas, Lee describes what gambling addiction feels like from the inside and how recovery is possible through the Twelve Step program.”
4. “Gun, Needle, Spoon”
“This memoir follows a punk rock pioneer on his slide into drug abuse and life as an armed robber, all the way through life in recovery and what it’s like to look back on those times, knowing all the while that he is still under the threat of three strikes, a twenty-five-to-life prison sentence waiting. He has no choice but to deal with it all drug free. During punk rock’s heyday, Patrick O’Neil worked at San Francisco’s legendary Mabuhay Gardens. He went on to become the road manager for Dead Kennedys and Flipper, as well as T.S.O.L. and the Subhumans. He holds an MFA from Antioch University Los Angeles.” This is a true story about addiction and recovery, you can find this book at Barnes and Noble and on Amazon.com
5. “Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption”
“Unlike some popular memoirs that have fictionalized and romanticized the degradations of drug addicts, Broken is a true-life tale of recovery that stuns and inspires with virtually every page. The eldest son of journalist Bill Moyers, William Cope Moyers relates with unforgettable clarity the story of how a young man with every advantage found himself spiraling into a love affair with crack cocaine that led him to the brink of death and how a deep spirituality allowed him to conquer his shame, transform his life, and dedicate himself to changing America’s politics of addiction.” Crackis one of the most used and abused drugs in the United States, knowing that there is hope at the end of that dark road. At any given time in America, there are approximately 400,000 using crack cocaine.
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Edward lives and works in South Florida and has been a part of its recovery community for many years. With a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Massachusetts, he works to help Find Addiction Rehabs as both a writer and marketer. Edward loves to share his passion for the field through writing about addiction topics, effective treatment for addiction, and behavioral health as a whole. Alongside personal experience, Edward has deep connections to the mental health treatment industry, having worked as a medical office manager for a psychiatric consortium for many years.
