9 Books About Drug Addiction That Shine Light Onto the Disease
Nine books that paint a clearer picture.
9 Books About Drug Addiction That Will Have You Vowing Never to Do Some
Addiction is no joke.
The disease affects all different types of people and their loved ones. Books about drug addiction shine a light on the implications both in fiction and non-fiction.
If you want to learn more about drug addiction, read any one of the follow nine books about addiction. From candid and often heartbreaking memoirs to fictionalized versions of real events, you will learn a lot about what happens when ones body and mind is prisoner to addiction.
Books About Drug Addiction
1. How to Murder Your Life
This is one of my favorite memoirs for many reasons. Cat Marnell is explicit in her stories. You feel like you're in the bathroom holding her hair back or wide awake at 4am. Marnell describes her twenties in New York City, rising through the ranks as a beauty editor while doing copious amounts of drugs, mostly prescription. It's a wild ride, one that might make you thankful for your sobriety.
2. Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines
If you've heard about a little movie titled, Beautiful Boy starring Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet just know this is the story that inspired such a movie. Nic Sheff details his addiction with methamphetamine and how such a powerful drug completely destroyed his life and everything that came with it.
3. My Fair Junkie
The title has very little to do with Audrey Hepburn's My Fair Lady but you'll still be transfixed by Amy Dresner's debut memoir. Raised in affluent Beverly Hills, Dresner's socioeconomic standing allowed her addiction to meth to spiral through her adulthood. My Fair Junkie reminds you that sobriety and addiction has many faces, shapes, and stages and affects everyone.
4. I Forgot to Die
Khalil Rafati walked around Los Angeles in the 90s addicted to heroin and cocaine and riddled with psychosis. He went on to live in Skid Row, as a homeless junkie. While he endured serious pain and suffering, I Forgot to Die is a tale of recovery and hope and what that looks like when addiction doesn't win.
5. Valley of the Dolls
Three women sought more than holy matrimony in Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls. When the struggling women are introduced to amphetamines and barbiturates, their goals and lives spiral out of control.
6. Saint Iggy
Saint Iggy follows Iggy Corso, a boy kicked out of school with no parental guidance due to drug addiction. He leaves his home and gets mixed up with a bad crowd, including the dealer who got his mom hooked on drugs. As he searches for a sanctuary, Iggy continuously battles a world that isn't kind to everyone.
7. Trainspotting
You might've seen the movie starring Ewan McGregor but the book is an intense look at drug addiction across the pond. It shines light on junkies and the relationships within addiction that hold on so tight, they might never let go.
8. Dope Sick
I've written about Dope Sick before because it's absolutely one of the most eye opening and well-researched books about addiction. Specifically, how drugs affect an entire population of people living in the United States and how painkillers are stripping life away from such areas.
9. Go Ask Alice
You might've read Go Ask Alice in school but it's definitely worth revisiting. The diary collection is from an anonymous author and chronicles the life of a teenager who spirals into a world of drug addiction. The story is a cautionary tale is essential reading for teens and should serve as a reminder for adults as well.
If you or a loved one are struggling with drug addiction visit National Drug Helpline, here.
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