I touch and knead my feelings and thoughts to find words of meaning for their light and dark. But for 16 months I heeded the guidance of mentors to observe silence about being in recovery from addiction to alcohol. I wrote nothing. I felt as if my head and hands were wrapped in gauze.
Instead of writing my own story, I read and listened to the stories – both real and fictional – of others. I wrapped my muffled self around the meaning sought and found in their stories.
Memoirs/Non-fiction
- Caroline Knapp, Drinking: A Love Story
(Knapp’s internal experience of addiction is the story I’ve read so far that is most similar to my own.)
- Ann Dowsett Johnston, Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol
- Nadia Bolz-Weber, Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint
- William Cope Moyers, Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption
- Scott, Stossel, My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind
(Although not an addict, Stossel is my hero for unflinchingly writing his jaw-dropping truth.) (Added 6/30/14: Scott Stossel’s personal story on anxiety for The Atlantic)
- Kristen Johnston, Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster
(added 6/30/14)
Fiction
- Fiend: A Novel by Peter Stenson (Stenson is open about being recovery and I wrote about my intense experience reading Fiend here.)
- Maya’s Notebook: A Novel
by Isabel Allende
Non-fiction/Texts
- Addiction as an Attachment Disorder
by Philip J. Flores (Read every word. Flores makes an astounding case about the how and why of addiction.)
- In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction
by Gabor Mate (Mate is a physician treating addicts. Brilliant insights. I’m listening to the audio version and am on Chapter 35.)
- Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change
by Jeffrey Foote et al. (Recommended by a friend in recovery. I am on page 10.)
With cautions from mentors about sharing so early in sobriety (May 28, 2014 was 17 months), I began to write my story on April 28, 2014. As I discover my story in words, I add new posts to this category, Recovery.
I am so grateful to addicts and alcoholics who share their stories in public, in published words, where I can read them. They help keep me sober.
And writing my story is helping keep me sober in ways I may never understand.
