'BREATHTAKING' Dolly Alderton, 'REMARKABLE' Marian Keyes, 'LIFE-CHANGING' Emma Jane Unsworth, 'COMPELLING' Amy Liptrot, 'STUNNING' Cathy Rentzenbrink, 'EXTRAORDINARY' Sali Hughes To everyone else, Terri White appeared to be living the dream, named one of Folio's Top Women in US Media and accruing further awards for the magazines she was editing. In reality, she was rapidly skidding towards a mental health crisis that would land her in a locked psychiatric ward as her past caught up with her. Coming Undone is Terri's documentation of her unravelling, and her precarious navigation back from a life in pieces.

Turning down a drink isn't easy. Not only do you have to deal with your own desire for that chilled and glistening glass of white, you also have to tackle the: "Why aren't you drinking?" "Are you pregnant?" "Go on... just one!" And the worst one of all: "You're no fun without a drink!" Well here's the thing: you are fun! And this book shows you how and why you can still be the life and soul of the party, keep your friends, and be sober. Through a broad range of tips and tricks, you'll feel empowered to take on those trigger moments (stressful work day; challenging family life; break ups), as well as classic big occasions (the wedding toast; the bachelorette party; the Christmas lunch). Through the tips, you'll learn more about yourself (why you're giving up/cutting back), how to keep your relationships tight (with your partner, colleagues and friends) and ways to enjoy your new found sobriety, from understanding the benefit to your health to appreciating the improvement in your bank balance.

One woman's heartbreaking story of a marriage destroyed by her husband's addiction to alcohol.

The dynamics of codependency are illuminated in this gripping tale. Author Fran Simone describes her husband's attempts at treatment and subsequent relapse, his suicide, and her own recovery through a twelve-step program for families.

Fran Simone, PhD, is a recently retired professor emeritus from the graduate college of Marshall University in South Charleston, West Virginia. Her essays have appeared in "The Voice" and "The Quarterly" of the National Writing Project, the "Charleston Gazette," "Writers Digest," and "The Forum."

'SIMPLY EXTRAORDINARY' New York Times 'It's such a savage thing to lose your memory, but the crazy thing is, it doesn't hurt one bit. A blackout doesn't sting, or stab, or leave a scar when it robs you. Close your eyes and open them again. That's what a blackout feels like.' For Sarah Hepola, alcohol was 'the gasoline of all adventure'. She spent her evenings at cocktail parties and dark bars where she proudly stayed till last call. Drinking felt like freedom, part of her birthright as an enlightened twenty-first-century woman. But there was a price. She often blacked out, waking up with a blank space where four hours should be. Mornings became detective work on her own life. What did I say last night? How did I meet that guy? Publicly, she covered her shame with self-deprecating jokes, and her career flourished, but as the blackouts accumulated, she could no longer avoid a sinking truth. The fuel she thought she needed was draining her spirit instead. A memoir of unblinking honesty and poignant, laugh-out-loud humor, BLACKOUT is the story of a woman stumbling into a new adventure-the sober life she never wanted. Shining a light into her blackouts, she discovers the person she buried, as well as the confidence, intimacy, and creativity she once believed came only from a bottle. Her tale will resonate with anyone who has been forced to reinvent themselves or struggled in the face of necessary change. It's about giving up the thing you cherish most-but getting yourself back in return. A raw, vivid and ultimately uplifting memoir of addiction and recovery for anyone who is looking to find their way.

Reclaim your life Beat The Booze is an inspirational, easy to read and highly practical book aimed at those who wish to cut down or cut out alcohol and at those who wish to help someone else who has a drink problem. It can help both problem drinkers and individuals who wish to reduce their alcohol intake simply for lifestyle reasons, and contains all the assistance the authors could find from interviewing leading experts in the field of alcohol addiction and case studies who have successfully cut down their drinking or given up alcohol altogether. It includes many new and previously little publicised sources of help, and the Appendix contains contact details for a vast range of organisations that can provide professional help and further information. The authors have also been able to draw on extensive personal experience in battling alcohol. One used to have a serious drink problem, the other gave up for lifestyle reasons.

Nicola Barry grew up in well-to-do Murrayfield, Edinburgh. Her father was a hopsital consultant, her mother was medically trained, her brothers boarders at public school. But behind the closed doors of their imposing family home, her mother was drinking herself to death. A beautiful, quirky woman, this is the story of how Monica Barry became a prisoner to alcohol and a prisoner in her own home, her addiction slowly sucking the life out of her. And how - with her father at work, and her brothers away at school - Nicola spent a lot of her childhood as her mother's unofficial carer: hauling her from the bath when she was too drunk to function and running errands to buy her booze. Full of harrowing incidents, and warmed by a touching, bleak humour, this is the powerful story of how a mother drank herself to death and how alcohol destroyed a family. And of how Nicola battled with her own alcoholism but, determined to throw off her mother's legacy, came through - a survivor.

An intriguing story that addresses the twin challenges of addiction and chronic pain, and presents a model for successful recovery from both of these serious life-altering conditions. The author grounds his story in psychological theory along with the principles of twelve-step philosophy and spirituality as he moves from intellectualized awareness to a deep emotional and spiritual connection in recovery. Between 1991 and 2010, prescriptions for opioid painkillers rose from 75 million to 209 million. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in 2010, enough opioids were prescribed to treat every person in the US with 5mg of Vicodin every four hours for a month. As the number of opioid prescriptions increase, complications, including death, are rising. In 2009, more people in the US died from prescription medication overdoses than from motor vehicle accidents. There are more deaths from prescription drug overdose than from cocaine and heroin combined. With the onset of a chronic pain condition, the author's need for prescribed opioid painkillers reawakened an addiction to narcotics that had been dormant for nearly twenty years. Presents a holistic approach to recovery combining psychological theory, twelve-step principles, the ancient wisdom of meditation and other non-Western spiritual practices. Uniquely highlights the vicious cycle of addiction and chronic pain and the powerful connection between these co-occurring disorders. Written in lyrical yet gritty prose, it makes the recovery process accessible to a wide audience. The author is an experienced behavioral health professional who has worked in a broad range of behavioral health and addiction treatment settings. The author is in long-term recovery.

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. In this book, addiction expert Suzette Glasner-Edwards offers evidence-based techniques fusing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing, and mindfulness-based relapse prevention to help you move past your addictive behaviors. On the long road to addiction recovery, you need as many tools as possible to help you stay sober and reach your destination. That's why this is the first book to combine research-proven motivational techniques, CBT, and mindfulness-based strategies to help you create your own unique recovery plan. The book can be used on its own or as an adjunct to rehab or therapy. It also makes a wonderful resource for loved ones and professionals treating addiction. If you're ready to take that important first step toward recovery, this book can help you beat your addiction and get back to living a full, meaningful life.

A book that should start a long-overdue national conversation. Dave Barry With the F.D.A. agreeing to new trials to test MDMA (better known as Ecstasy) as a treatment for PTSD which, if approved, could be available as a drug by 2021 Acid Test is leading the charge in an evolving conversation about psychedelic drugs. Despite their current illegality, many Americans are already familiar with their effects. Yet while LSD and MDMA have proven extraordinarily effective in treating anxiety disorders such as PTSD, they still remain off-limits to the millions who might benefit from them. Through the stories of three very different men, award-winning journalist Tom Shroder covers the drugs roller-coaster history from their initial reception in the 1950s to the negative stereotypes that persist today. At a moment when popular opinion is rethinking the potential benefits of some illegal drugs, and with new research coming out every day, Acid Testis a fascinating and informative must-read. "

Research and clinical experiences show that people engaging in drug addiction for some years usually embrace severe mental illnesses including schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Schizophrenia usually occurs in patients with prolonged use of amphetamine and hallucinogens. Borderline personality disorder commonly happens in female addicts who have experienced abandonment and childhood abuse. On the one hand, drug addiction can be used to cope with symptoms of severe mental illness. On the other hand, prolonged drug addiction can also induce severe mental illness. A close look into individuals with chronic drug addiction usually review that they encounter suffering, hardship and traumas. There are two types of traumas encountered by people with drug addiction. The first one is trauma before drug addiction and substance abuse. Many of them may have suffered through abuse, oppression and abandonment in their lives. Another one is drug led traumas because of psychosocial deprivation and medical problems induced by chronic addiction. In this book, apart from describing a comprehensive model in understanding and interpreting the complexity of trauma, mental illness and drug addiction, this model is applied and illustrated in clients with borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia, drug addiction and those who have experience different forms of trauma. Related psychosocial interventions are also thoroughly discussed.

It's 1953 in Southern California, Patty is five years old, and her mother hasn't been home in two days. A police officer eventually arrives and takes Patty and her brothers to juvenile hall-their mother has been drinking again. Twenty-eight years later, Patty herself is an alcoholic mother to three children. Divorced and homeless, she soon realizes that she can't support her children with her job cleaning houses, so she accepts the offer of a man who works at the gas station: she'll have sex with him for money. For the next seventeen years, Patty lives a double life as a sex worker. Though she supports her family with the money she makes, she struggles to be the parent she wants to be, until she realizes she has become just like her own mother: an alcoholic who doesn't give her children what they need. When Patty gets sober, her life begins to change. She finds healing through therapy, spirituality, community, and, most importantly, speaking the truth to her children. Powerful and insightful, Patty's story is proof that we all are capable of healing ourselves-and that forgiveness can transform our lives completely.

Members of twelve-step fellowships are directed to seek guidance from and develop conscious contact with their Higher Power through prayer and meditation. But sometimes the words won't come. That's where this book can help. Filled with well-known and original prayers in contemporary and lyrical language, this book contains prayers for every day, as well as for some of modern life's most challenging situations and events. Individuals in twelve-step recovery looking for way to infuse new life into their spiritual practice or those having trouble finding the right words to speak with their Higher Power will find this little volume invaluable. Featuring prayers for the everyday challenges of modern life, as well as ageless prayers and contemplative readings inspired by traditional devotions. Guide Me in My Recovery contains words of wisdom and inspiration that can be used by anyone, but especially by those in twelve-step recovery seeking to enrich and expand their conscious contact with their Higher Power. Featuring original prayers by the author, John Farrell, Ph.D., Regimental Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministries at SUNY Maritime College, as well as prayers synthesized from common prayers and devotional writings, this book is intended to aid and inspire spiritual seekers.

Between alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription drugs, pornography, gambling, and eating disorders, fully 25% of the population of the United States is addicted to something. Those addictions are taking a massive physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial toll on individuals, families, and communities. The problem can feel insurmountable. But there is a solution, at once ancient and supported by the latest in neuroscientific research. With an honest assessment of the facts, yet always reaching out toward hopeful solutions, counselors Chip Dodd and Stephen James explain what addiction really is, how it works, and why it is so damaging to our hearts, souls, minds, and relationships. They then take us beyond mere coping techniques that allow us to function to the real solution--restoring our broken relationship with our Creator so that we can rediscover how to live fully the way we were created to live. Each chapter includes the personal story of a recovering addict, told from the addict's point of view. The authors also include a list of books, organizations, workshops, and treatment centers people can turn to for help along the road to lasting recovery.

Are you in a significant relationship with someone who has an addiction? Are you frustrated with watching your addicted loved ones destroy their lives? Whether your relationship is with a family member, friend, or partner, caring about an addicted person can feel like a nightmare. If someone you love is abusing drugs or alcohol or is engaging in addictive behaviors such as disordered eating, problem gambling, smoking, Internet addiction, a controlling relationship, or compulsive overspending, there is hope. Loving an Addict, Loving Yourself: The Workbook will show you how your life can improve by helping you to understand what will and won't work in your relationship with your addicted loved one--and in your relationship with yourself. As you become familiar with the top ten survival tips for loving someone with an addiction, you will learn how to offer healthier and more effective choices to your addicted loved one. Once you do this, you will feel a sense of realistic control in your life. In turn, this will increase your self-respect, which is, without a doubt, the most important thing you can change about yourself.