Highlight: Memoirs
Chancers: addiction, prison, recovery, love: one couple's memoir by ISBN: 1101882743Publication Date: 2016-06-07In this powerful memoir of addiction, prison, and recovery, a reporter and a photographer tell their gripping story of falling in love, the heroin habit that drove them apart, and the unlikely way a criminal conviction brought them back together.
"Emotionally resonant and evenly structured, their tandem chronicle resists overly romanticizing their bittersweet interactions to focus on the dedication and devotion necessary to make their already-complicated relationship survive the fallout of critical hardships. An emotionally complex and intensely personal binary memoir of addiction and sustainable love."--Kirkus Reviews
Memoirs: Literature
Acclaimed, funny, heartbreaking and controversial accounts of addiction and its aftermath, these works present with great immediacy the struggles of individuals with alcohol and substance abuse. Bibliotherapy’s power lies in the opportunity it offers readers to relate to someone facing similar challenges, and when the story is told firsthand, the link between reader and writer is all the more intimate. Reflecting an array of backgrounds and personal circumstances, these memoirs are united by the common thread of the author’s struggle with – and triumph over – addiction, making each one of potential interest and use to the bibliotherapy reader.
Dry: A Memoir by ISBN: 0312423799The bestselling author of Running With Scissors takes on his years as an alcoholic adman in this harrowing yet hilarious personal account among a depressing landscape of drunkenness, crack addiction, and the harsh realities of AIDS.
A Drinking Life: A Memoir by ISBN: 0316341088Acclaimed author Hamill offers an honest self-portrait of coming of age in a culture that considers drinking an essential part of becoming a man and reveals how it nearly destroyed his ability to write. This memoir is a thoughtful, funny, street-smart reflection on alcohol and its consequences
Lit: A Memoir by ISBN: 0060596996Award winning and NYT bestselling author Karr’s memoir follows the self-professed blackbelt sinner's descent into the inferno of alcoholism and madness--and to her astonishing resurrection. Written with Karr's relentless honesty, unflinching self-scrutiny, and irreverent, lacerating humor, it is a truly electrifying story of how to grow up. (PW Starred Review, Kirkus Starred Review)
Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood by ISBN: 0670033766Insightful and acutely aware of what drinking can and does do to girls, this deeply moving memoir reveals how Zailckas gave up drinking at 24 after a decade of getting drunk, having blackouts and experiencing brushes with comas, date rape and suicide. Her addiction left her lacking in the tools to be an adult; she’s unable to maintain relationships and unclear about sex without an alcohol buzz. (PW Starred Review)
A Million Little Pieces by ISBN: 0385507755This gut wrenching memoir of addiction and recovery became infamous when portions of Frey’s story were revealed to be exaggerated or false and Oprah publicly took Frey to task for his dishonesty. Compelling and controversial, the book was a best seller and may still be of great value for anyone who must deal with a loved one who is an addict. (Booklist Starred Review)
Drinking: A Love Story by ISBN: 0385315511Freelance journalist Knapp explores her nearly twenty years of drinking in this stylistic, literary memoir. She offers a confession utterly devoid of self-pity, an extraordinarily lucid and well-written personal account of a common addiction that is filled with insights as well as a comprehensive treatment of the subject.
More, Now, Again: A Memoir of Addiction by ISBN: 0743223306Bestselling author and journalist Wurtzel’s memoir is not just the cautionary tale of pharmaceutical abuse (more than 4 million American children take Ritalin); it is the story of one woman's persistent sabotage of her own success and a gripping account of her eventual recovery from addiction. Readers may also be interested in Wurtzel’s first memoir, Prozac Nation, about her struggle with severe depression.
Memoirs: Family Relationships
Memoirs about the impact of addiction and recovery on family relationships, and of family relationships on addiction and recovery, these works look at how individual families coped with the toll of substance abuse. Just as the effects of addiction are never limited to the person suffering from it, the use of bibliotherapy need not be limited either. These books offer a great entry point for the family and friends of those suffering from addiction to learn more about the disease and about the part they can play in helping to combat it.
The Glass Castle by ISBN: 0743247531A bestselling memoir about the author’s unconventional, poverty-stricken upbringing at the hands of eccentric, nomadic parents, one a frustrated artist and the other a brilliant, alcoholic. (PW Starred Review, Booklist Starred Review)
Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through his Son’s Meth Addiction by ISBN: 0618683356Sheff chronicles his son's downward spiral into methamphetamine addiction along with hard, solid facts about meth and the kinds of havoc it wreaks on individuals, families and communities both urban and rural. This honest, hopeful book deals with the pains—and joys—of watching a loved one struggling with addiction and recovery. (Amazon Best of the Month February 2008)
Lies My Mother Never Told Me: A Memoir by ISBN: 0061778702This literary memoir chronicles the author’s relationship with her larger-than-life mother-charming, caustic and alcoholic and her own alcohol issues, “a treasure for fans of literature and literary memoirs, as well as anyone who's coped with alcoholics in the family” (PW Starred Review)
A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father by ISBN: 0312342020A searing, emotional portrait of a son who wants nothing more than the love his father will not grant him, this memoir focuses on the years Burroughs was determined to win his father's affection, despite frequent trips with his mother to escape his father's alcoholic rages. It is profoundly sad, remarkably tender, and fueled by a sense of love and reverence that only a child knows. (PW Starred Review, Library Journal Starred Review, Amazon Significant Seven, April 2008)
Bottled by ISBN: 193761297XPublication Date: 2015-09-22An unflinching and hilarious memoir about recovery as a mother of young kids, Bottled explains the perils moms face with drinking and chronicles the author's path to recovery, from hitting bottom to the months of early sobriety--a blur of pain and chaos--to her now (in)frequent moments of peace. Punctuated by potent, laugh-out-loud sarcasm, Bottled offers practical suggestions on how to be a sober, present-in-the-moment mom, one day at a time, and provides much needed levity on an issue too often treated with deadly seriousness.
In the Open by ISBN: 0226157679Publication Date: 1996-10-01Compelling, raw, and painfully self-aware, In the Open describes an existence most people can barely imagine. A first-hand account of one man's struggle with homelessness and alcoholism, this diary records a world full of physical degradation and despair that is not without unpredictable moments of striking beauty. Donohue's experiences are brutal, but his perceptions are poetic. This account of an intelligent and sensitive man in the grip of alcoholism and homelessness challenges our perceptions of those on the margins of American contemporary life.
Never Let Me Down: A Memoir by ISBN: 0805044299Miller’s memoir, her first book, describes a bizarre life growing up with a heroin-addicted father; a passive, hand-wringing mother; and an abusive brother. The nightmarish quality of her early years gradually emerges as Miller tells her story through a repetitive, almost circular narrative, constantly moving in and out of the past. Her book should appeal to readers interested in learning about addiction and its impact on families.
Memoirs: Celebrity
In a culture transfixed by the lives of the rich and famous, celebrity memoirs that address the topics of alcohol and substance abuse head-on offer a chance for bibliotherapy readers to see that addiction truly knows no boundaries. In many cases having been driven to addiction at least in part by the difficulties of navigating their celebrity, the authors of these works have turned their fame into a vehicle to increase awareness about substance abuse issues. For the bibliotherapy reader, a celebrity memoir offers the opportunity to hear the story of someone instantly recognizable, and therefore relatable.
A Common Struggle by ISBN: 0399185712Publication Date: 2016-09-13Patrick J. Kennedy, the former congressman and youngest child of Senator Ted Kennedy, opens up about his personal and political battle with mental illness and addiction for the first time. This candid memoir focuses on the years from his 'coming out' about suffering from bipolar disorder and addiction to the present day, and examines his journey toward recovery while reflecting on America's treatment of mental health.
Clapton by Call Number: ML419.C58A3 2007ISBN: 038551851XA memoir of the classic blues and rock musician, Clapton is an intimate disclosure of his upbringing, longstanding addictions, and recovery. Clapton writes about the drugs he turned to and eventually the clinic he started for substance abuse recovery. The musician also recounts his diligence when he discovered his talent for music, the origin of certain songs, interactions with other influential musicians, and musical goals he had for different periods. Clapton also explores his obsession with the woman behind “Layla”, “Wonderful Tonight”, and “Bell Bottom Blues”.
Buried Alive by ISBN: 0517586509Publication Date: 1992-09-15Electrifying, highly acclaimed, and intensely personal, this new and updated version of Myra Friedman's classic biography of Janis Joplin teems with dramatic insights into Joplin's genius and into the chaotic times that catapulted her to fame as the legendary queen of rock. It is a stunning panorama of the turbulent decade when Joplin's was the rallying voice of a generation that lost itself in her music and found itself in her words.
Little Girl Lost by ISBN: 0671689231The famous actress started drinking at 9, smoking marijuana at 10, and snorting cocaine at 12. Exposed to addiction at a young age because of her fame, Barrymore went into rehab at 13. It was in here that the actress faced her own monsters. Barrymore’s path of healing has helped her to become the very successful – and very addiction-free star she is today. The honesty with which Little Girl Lost is written makes it a memorable read.
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by ISBN: 158234082XUnappetizing but fresh memoir of the famous chef and what has gone on behind the scenes in the kitchen. Bourdain’s stream of consciousness style places readers inside his brain – honest and real – contrary to the expected image of sensitive and refined chefs. Accounting Bourdain’s former addictions, he writes of working in a past restaurant, “hardly a decision was made without drugs.” His story has launched him to do his first television show which subsequently led to his current show “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations”.
Postcards From the Edge by Call Number: PS3556.I8115P6 1987ISBN: 1439194009In her literary debut, Carrie Fisher creates the character Suzanne Vale to narrate her personal struggles with having fame and being around the famous. Suzanne/Carrie turns to addictions and rehabs, learning to live without drugs to help solve life’s problems. The story reads fast going from dialogue between characters to narratives, as the process of addiction is told through Fisher’s voice.
The Heroin Diaries by ISBN: 1416511946Publication Date: 2008-10-28In one of the most unique memoirs of addiction ever published, Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx shares mesmerizing diary entries from the year he spiraled out of control in a haze of heroin and cocaine, presented alongside riveting commentary from people who were there at the time, and from Nikki himself.
