To this day, if someone says, Hey, loosen up but hit a nerve, Smile. Take a guess what helped us out of this little iron collar of self consciousness. And being sober now doesn’t discredit those times or those friends or those dances. Winner lose arcades are being pop pow purple, red orange lights, nasty, sweet anti uptight time. You can go into an arcade feeling awkward, but you’ll always leave undone. You can stay up late and still get up the next beautiful day and feel not just good, but great.
Unbroken Brain
I mean, to me, her personality was just very, she says what’s on her mind? And now after I read the book, I’m like, it all makes sense. I mean, she’s such a profound I would say activist in this area and that’s the personality you need to have to be an activist and I think she’s really gonna just just change the whole perception of alcohol, which is amazing. While the foundational texts like the Big Book and the “Twelve and Twelve” remain essential reading, newer literature offers several advantages for newcomers. Contemporary authors write with awareness of modern challenges—from mental health complexities to evolving understanding of alcohol use disorder and substance abuse. These new books also reflect the diversity of today’s recovery community, offering personal experiences from different backgrounds, belief systems, and life circumstances.
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While this book does not discuss biochemical repair, it can be extremely liberating to realize that you can shed the “diseased” label and move on with your life. This view is not accepted by most mainstream recovery programs, but Dr. Lewis makes a compelling case that these institutions have lagged behind the times (and the brain science). Marc Lewis is a neuroscientist with a personal history of opiate addiction, and this book is a masterpiece. Dr. Lewis sees addiction as a “phase of life” and individual preferences and desires as essentially malleable over time.
- And I picked it up out of curiosity because I had my own inner secret concerns about my drinking.
- So many of us look at “blacking out” as benign, or normal—an indicator of a “successful” night of drinking.
- This was the first book I read on this subject, and I instantly could relate to her feelings.
- Maybe you enjoyed a successful Dry January, so you’re questioning alcohol’s role in your life.
We are the Luckiest: The Surprising Magic of a Sober Life by Laura McKowen
- Mainstream recovery programs have very little to say about personal achievement.
- I love the rituals, the camaraderie of drinking with others, the warming, melting and feeling of ease it gave me and then the book continues her story of descent into drinking and climbing her way out.
- A few paragraphs later, Glennon writes, becoming sober, becoming real, will be hard and painful.
- Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.
Someone recommended that I read This Naked Mind by Annie Grace, and it became my Bible for those 30 days. If you struggle with addiction, seeking treatment is a powerful, positive first step toward eventual recovery. But gaining an understanding of the causes of addiction—such as feelings of helplessness or loss of control—is also crucial for recovery.
With years of research and clinical practice behind him, van der Kolk digs into how best alcohol recovery books trauma can change brain activity, body reactions, and even our emotional experiences. His findings show that trauma isn’t just a mental struggle but something that physically resides in us, impacting every part of our well-being. For anyone dealing with a loved one’s addiction, Beautiful Boy is both comforting and enlightening.

One of the most important messages that resounds https://evertslabs.org/how-to-identify-and-cope-with-your-ptsd-triggers/ throughout this work is that sobriety is more than just not drinking, it is a daily practice of commitment to healthy and engaged living. Living Sober is a recommended read for anyone using the 12 step method. Have you noticed that our world is increasingly obsessed with drinking? Work events, brunch, baby showers, book club, hair salons—the list of where to find booze is endless.

Wilson Cook is a talented writer who has an MFA in creative writing from Williams College and has published more than 50 books acquired by hundreds of Sobriety thousands of people from various countries by now. He is an inveterate reading lover as he has read a vast amount of books since childhood. The new research shows that it takes at least two weeks for the brain to start returning to normal, so this is the point at which the alcohol recovery timeline begins.