Recommendations for "Recovery-Related" Lit?
October 15, 2015 4:24 AM Subscribe
I'm a newly recovering addict, and I just did something stupid- left inpatient rehab 5 days into the program- for a fairly good reason: Patients at this particular institution aren't allowed to READ "non-recovery-related material" during free time. Good news in, I'm going back tomorrow- but not before a trip to the discount bookstore to pick up any and all readable "recovery-related material" I can put my hands on. Problem: This is not a genre with which I am familiar. Help?
After four nights of needing Trazodone to get to sleep (as opposed to my usual chapter or two of a good book), the straw that broke the camel's back was the three completely unstructured hours of "family fun time" (for those with visiting relatives) I spent staring at the ceiling till my eyeballs bled.
So: How to keep myself from going stir-crazy with nothing but spiritual pamphlets to read when I return? I don't have much time to research this on my own- only a few hours, really- so I could use some advice. The only real requirements are that it (the recommendation, not the advice) be "related to recovery", but more literary than the AA or NA tomes. Fiction is risky, but potentially permissible. Eggers, yes; Fun Home, yes. I like memoirs, especially in the Sedaris/Rakoff vein. Anthologies (of any sort) are great. I love accessible (read: pop) sociology in the Gladwell/Pinker arena. I tend to shy away from self-help, in general, but it may be unavoidable in this case- something pro-recovery and *evidence-based* (not just 12-step) might be perfect. Oh yeah- I'm a junkie, so anything specific to that DOC would be a godsend.
That is all. I'll be checking back into rehab tomorrow (Thurs) so I may not have time to respond to comments or suggestions- thanks in advance. And DOUBLE thanks in advance to anyone who can also suggest a way to explain to those that write the rules for this place, using contemporary recovery-speak, why this particularly odious rule should be done away with.
After four nights of needing Trazodone to get to sleep (as opposed to my usual chapter or two of a good book), the straw that broke the camel's back was the three completely unstructured hours of "family fun time" (for those with visiting relatives) I spent staring at the ceiling till my eyeballs bled.
So: How to keep myself from going stir-crazy with nothing but spiritual pamphlets to read when I return? I don't have much time to research this on my own- only a few hours, really- so I could use some advice. The only real requirements are that it (the recommendation, not the advice) be "related to recovery", but more literary than the AA or NA tomes. Fiction is risky, but potentially permissible. Eggers, yes; Fun Home, yes. I like memoirs, especially in the Sedaris/Rakoff vein. Anthologies (of any sort) are great. I love accessible (read: pop) sociology in the Gladwell/Pinker arena. I tend to shy away from self-help, in general, but it may be unavoidable in this case- something pro-recovery and *evidence-based* (not just 12-step) might be perfect. Oh yeah- I'm a junkie, so anything specific to that DOC would be a godsend.
That is all. I'll be checking back into rehab tomorrow (Thurs) so I may not have time to respond to comments or suggestions- thanks in advance. And DOUBLE thanks in advance to anyone who can also suggest a way to explain to those that write the rules for this place, using contemporary recovery-speak, why this particularly odious rule should be done away with.
Here's a list: https://www.reddit.com/r/stopdrinking/wiki/books
Good luck!
posted by kinsey at 4:45 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Good luck!
posted by kinsey at 4:45 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
If you haven't read Anne Lamott's memoir-slash-writing/creativity books, her sobriety/recovery/faith is a strong vein through them. I re-read Bird by Bird every few years to refresh my writing practice. (I am very not-religious and find them generally unoffensive.)
Here's her non-fiction bibliography, ripped from Wikipedia:
Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year. Pantheon Books. 1993. ISBN 978-0-679-42091-0.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Pantheon Books. 1994. ISBN 978-0-679-43520-4.
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith. Pantheon Books. 1999. ISBN 978-0-679-44240-0.
Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith. Riverhead Books. 2005. ISBN 978-1-57322-299-0.
Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith. Riverhead Books. 2007. ISBN 978-1-59448-942-6.
Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son. Riverhead Books. 2012. ISBN 978-1-59448-841-2. (with Sam Lamott)
Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers. Riverhead Books. 2012. ISBN 978-1-59463-129-0.
Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair. Riverhead Books. 2013. ISBN 978-1-59463-258-7.
Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace. Riverhead Books. 2014. ISBN 978-1-59448-629-6.
Also, Cheryl Strayed's Wild (the book was much better than the movie).
It's a scientific-y sort of self-help, but Brene' Brown's books about shame and vulnerability are very readable and it seems likely that her name is going to be on the whitelist. Pema Chodron is probably also on that list.
I understand the reasoning for the (pretty common) reading-material rule, though I think there's probably ways to phrase it that are less frustrating. But you're in rehab to focus very specifically on rehab, not to catch up on your Michener or to read for distraction, and there may be a point later where you realize this situation was maybe not as much about the books as you think it is now. In any case, now is probably not the time to fight the man on this, though you might be able to loop back later with a stronger case for a better-defined restriction.
(Though maybe now is the time to suggest a bookshelf or two for an informal take a book/leave a book library? I'm sort of shocked there isn't one, unless they think doing that would be some sort of specific endorsement of the books left there.)
Still, the anxiety of not having something to read, for a reader, can be very painful. Hopefully you'll be able to stock up enough from the suggestions here to keep you going for the duration.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:52 AM on October 15, 2015 [8 favorites]
Here's her non-fiction bibliography, ripped from Wikipedia:
Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year. Pantheon Books. 1993. ISBN 978-0-679-42091-0.
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Pantheon Books. 1994. ISBN 978-0-679-43520-4.
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith. Pantheon Books. 1999. ISBN 978-0-679-44240-0.
Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith. Riverhead Books. 2005. ISBN 978-1-57322-299-0.
Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith. Riverhead Books. 2007. ISBN 978-1-59448-942-6.
Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son. Riverhead Books. 2012. ISBN 978-1-59448-841-2. (with Sam Lamott)
Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers. Riverhead Books. 2012. ISBN 978-1-59463-129-0.
Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair. Riverhead Books. 2013. ISBN 978-1-59463-258-7.
Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace. Riverhead Books. 2014. ISBN 978-1-59448-629-6.
Also, Cheryl Strayed's Wild (the book was much better than the movie).
It's a scientific-y sort of self-help, but Brene' Brown's books about shame and vulnerability are very readable and it seems likely that her name is going to be on the whitelist. Pema Chodron is probably also on that list.
I understand the reasoning for the (pretty common) reading-material rule, though I think there's probably ways to phrase it that are less frustrating. But you're in rehab to focus very specifically on rehab, not to catch up on your Michener or to read for distraction, and there may be a point later where you realize this situation was maybe not as much about the books as you think it is now. In any case, now is probably not the time to fight the man on this, though you might be able to loop back later with a stronger case for a better-defined restriction.
(Though maybe now is the time to suggest a bookshelf or two for an informal take a book/leave a book library? I'm sort of shocked there isn't one, unless they think doing that would be some sort of specific endorsement of the books left there.)
Still, the anxiety of not having something to read, for a reader, can be very painful. Hopefully you'll be able to stock up enough from the suggestions here to keep you going for the duration.
posted by Lyn Never at 4:52 AM on October 15, 2015 [8 favorites]
Dry by Augusten Burroughs is an obvious choice if you like Sedaris/Rakoff.
posted by thetortoise at 4:54 AM on October 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by thetortoise at 4:54 AM on October 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes.
Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp.
Living Sober published by Alcoholics Anonymous.
posted by essexjan at 4:55 AM on October 15, 2015 [4 favorites]
Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp.
Living Sober published by Alcoholics Anonymous.
posted by essexjan at 4:55 AM on October 15, 2015 [4 favorites]
A Drinking Life by Pete Hamill
posted by thetortoise at 4:56 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by thetortoise at 4:56 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Beautiful Boy and Clean by David Sheff
posted by thetortoise at 5:14 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by thetortoise at 5:14 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's notorious for being, shall we say, an exaggerated memoir, but James Frey's A Million Little Pieces is still a good read about drug addiction and recovery.
posted by carmicha at 5:20 AM on October 15, 2015
posted by carmicha at 5:20 AM on October 15, 2015
Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol -- Ann Dowsett Johnston, The Basketball Diaries-- Jim Carroll, In My Skin-- Kate Holden, Gun, Needle, Spoon-- Patrick O’Neil.
posted by frumiousb at 5:23 AM on October 15, 2015
posted by frumiousb at 5:23 AM on October 15, 2015
Levine, Noah - Dharma Punx should pass muster and I think you will like it. So many of the alcoholic and junkie memoirs are really good reading. Mary Carr, for sure. Blame, by Michelle Huneven, if you are allowed novels.
posted by BibiRose at 5:34 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by BibiRose at 5:34 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
The Night of the Gun, David Carr's memoir.
posted by virago at 5:52 AM on October 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by virago at 5:52 AM on October 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
"American On Purpose" by Craig Ferguson.
posted by BibiRose at 5:52 AM on October 15, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by BibiRose at 5:52 AM on October 15, 2015 [4 favorites]
Lit and Liars' Club by Mary Karr.
posted by superlibby at 6:07 AM on October 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by superlibby at 6:07 AM on October 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
Brené Brown's Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead has some memoir elements, but is also an "evidence-based" self-help book so it may appeal to you on a bunch of levels.
posted by Jahaza at 6:22 AM on October 15, 2015
posted by Jahaza at 6:22 AM on October 15, 2015
Oh! Rob Delaney's memoir, Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage., is wonderful, and he talks a lot about his experiences with addiction and recovery. I also like Alice Miller's books, particularly The Drama of the Gifted Child and For Your Own Good. Charlotte Kasl's book Many Roads, One Journey really helped me embrace recovery/view it as an empowering thing.
posted by superlibby at 6:38 AM on October 15, 2015
posted by superlibby at 6:38 AM on October 15, 2015
I think it's interesting that they would let you read addicion/recovery memoirs, considering their rule. Some of these - maybe all of them - get super graphic when it comes to drug use. That said, I highly recommend Broken by Bill Moyers. This memoir in particular has a lot to do with the rehab recovery process - or that's what I got out of it anyway.
posted by lyssabee at 7:24 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by lyssabee at 7:24 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, his traveling companion is recovering from a drinking problem. I've never seen a used bookstore without a copy. "illustrates that struggle to stay sober and can be used as a model for behavior, both positive and negative, in the journey to stability."
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace is partly about how selling drugs end up destroying lives, not a lot of recovery but consequences. "A look into the culture of violence that surrounds the illicit drug trade, and the consequences of their use." is only partly what it's about but might the book inside.
posted by lepus at 7:58 AM on October 15, 2015
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace is partly about how selling drugs end up destroying lives, not a lot of recovery but consequences. "A look into the culture of violence that surrounds the illicit drug trade, and the consequences of their use." is only partly what it's about but might the book inside.
posted by lepus at 7:58 AM on October 15, 2015
Maybe some religious foundational literature (like, the Bible, the Quran, the Tao Te Ching)? Even if you're reading it for literary merit rather than spiritual practice, it might be interesting to you and less objectionable to staff.
On the assumption that the rule is in place because people recovering from addiction need to learn how to be in the present moment without escaping, having some explanation of how your reading material is helping you engage with the present moment rather than escaping into a fantasy world might be helpful. As someone who absolutely uses novels to escape the present moment, I don't know that I have advice for phrasing. I suspect memoirs and spirituality books that you can say are giving you a map to help on your own course are going to be your best bet.
posted by jaguar at 8:46 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
On the assumption that the rule is in place because people recovering from addiction need to learn how to be in the present moment without escaping, having some explanation of how your reading material is helping you engage with the present moment rather than escaping into a fantasy world might be helpful. As someone who absolutely uses novels to escape the present moment, I don't know that I have advice for phrasing. I suspect memoirs and spirituality books that you can say are giving you a map to help on your own course are going to be your best bet.
posted by jaguar at 8:46 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
i'll go a different direction:
When Things Fall Apart
The Miracle of Mindfulness
The Prophet
Siddartha
The Art of Happiness
posted by j_curiouser at 8:48 AM on October 15, 2015
When Things Fall Apart
The Miracle of Mindfulness
The Prophet
Siddartha
The Art of Happiness
posted by j_curiouser at 8:48 AM on October 15, 2015
Yeah, if they'll allow it, seconding Infinite Jest. Fiction that captures the experience of addiction/recovery better than any memoir I've read.
As far as "self-help" goes I'm a big fan of Byron Katie's Loving What Is. In recovery-speak it's about acceptance via inventory. And it's relevant to your situation--" When I argue with reality, I lose - but only 100 percent of the time..." Plus if it appeals there's lots of suggested writing you can do to fill your time.
Go ahead and try to convince them that their rule sucks. (Which, I agree, it does). But keep in mind that pretty much all rehabs are full of addicts who are full of ideas about how rehabs should be run.
posted by generalist at 8:48 AM on October 15, 2015
As far as "self-help" goes I'm a big fan of Byron Katie's Loving What Is. In recovery-speak it's about acceptance via inventory. And it's relevant to your situation--" When I argue with reality, I lose - but only 100 percent of the time..." Plus if it appeals there's lots of suggested writing you can do to fill your time.
Go ahead and try to convince them that their rule sucks. (Which, I agree, it does). But keep in mind that pretty much all rehabs are full of addicts who are full of ideas about how rehabs should be run.
posted by generalist at 8:48 AM on October 15, 2015
Perhaps the graphic novel Drinking at the Movies by Julia Wertz.
posted by to recite so charmingly at 9:01 AM on October 15, 2015
posted by to recite so charmingly at 9:01 AM on October 15, 2015
(Out here on the other side of the keyboard I'm gesticulating and saying "Is this a cult?" You might tell them that their rule makes them look, to people outside their particular loop, like a cult.)
I respectfully disagree, but then again, I'm a successfully recovering individual myself.
Living Sober published by Alcoholics Anonymous.
This is actually a good suggestion, based on my own experience, because it teaches you how to live as an alcoholic or addict and how to handle the inevitabilities that come up particularly in early recovery.
Not to be contrary, but I have a question for you. Why are you in treatment if you don't want to do what they suggest? Do you want to get help or not? The point of reading the recovery material is so that you can learn how to get sober and stay sober. Amirite?
When I went into treatment, I had to learn to take suggestions and learn that my best thinking got me into the shitstorm aka active addiction.
I'm really not trying to be harsh. It's just that recovery from addiction often involves doing a lot of stuff that we don't want to do so that we can learn to live a better life.
Good luck!
posted by strelitzia at 9:03 AM on October 15, 2015 [5 favorites]
I respectfully disagree, but then again, I'm a successfully recovering individual myself.
Living Sober published by Alcoholics Anonymous.
This is actually a good suggestion, based on my own experience, because it teaches you how to live as an alcoholic or addict and how to handle the inevitabilities that come up particularly in early recovery.
Not to be contrary, but I have a question for you. Why are you in treatment if you don't want to do what they suggest? Do you want to get help or not? The point of reading the recovery material is so that you can learn how to get sober and stay sober. Amirite?
When I went into treatment, I had to learn to take suggestions and learn that my best thinking got me into the shitstorm aka active addiction.
I'm really not trying to be harsh. It's just that recovery from addiction often involves doing a lot of stuff that we don't want to do so that we can learn to live a better life.
Good luck!
posted by strelitzia at 9:03 AM on October 15, 2015 [5 favorites]
Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher.
posted by a fiendish thingy at 9:06 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by a fiendish thingy at 9:06 AM on October 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
The Dark Night of Recovery - Conversations from the Bottom of the Bottle by "Edward Bear"
posted by rudd135 at 5:52 PM on October 15, 2015
posted by rudd135 at 5:52 PM on October 15, 2015
Witness to the Fire: Creativity and the veil of addiction by Linda Schierse Leonard
posted by yoHighness at 6:18 AM on October 16, 2015
posted by yoHighness at 6:18 AM on October 16, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
That would certainly occupy the time.
(Out here on the other side of the keyboard I'm gesticulating and saying "Is this a cult?" You might tell them that their rule makes them look, to people outside their particular loop, like a cult.)
posted by Grangousier at 4:33 AM on October 15, 2015 [9 favorites]