Alcohol Addiction Memoirs

I am Carrie Carlisle, and if you have two hours to listen to this book, you're about to go on a journey with me that will finally free you from binge drinking and hangovers, permanently.

Victoria Vanstone grew up in 1980s England in a happy home full of laughter, booze and a disturbing amount of fancy-dress parties. From her youthful days downing cheap wine at the local park to dodging disastrous relationships and a messy run-in with a firework, her reliable mate alcohol was never far from reach. Eventually, Victoria found herself in Australia with a husband and a child on the way. After sobering up for her first pregnancy, becoming a boring, bottom-wiping, cleaning machine meant she soon returned to her binge-drinking ways.

For 21 years, Paul Merson played professional football. He won two First Division titles with Arsenal and was one of the finest players of his generation. But for 30 years, Paul Merson has also been an addict. Alcohol, drugs, gambling: a desperately unenviable cocktail of addictions and depression which has plagued his entire adult life and driven him to the verge of suicide. 

Lynn was the carefree daughter of a Miami undercover narcotics agent—until her dad snuck out of their house in the dark of night without so much as a glance back. She never understood what happened to him until she was in high school, and he was in prison for drug smuggling. By then, Lynn had developed a massive drug and alcohol habit of her own. It was the perfect setup for her to latch onto the only connection to her dad that remained once he was paroled from prison—cocaine. 

In this honest, yet humorous account of her year of not getting sh*tfaced, Pamela examines her long relationship with alcohol. She is shocked to realize just how much of a crutch alcohol has been for her. There is always a bottle of wine or prosecco around to help her manage the many demands of life as a freelancer and a parent.

Perhaps the most unconventional and literally breathtaking father-son story you'll ever read, My Friend Leonard pulls you immediately and deeply into a relationship as unusual as it is inspiring. The father figure is Leonard, the high-living, recovering coke addict, "West Coast Director of a large Italian-American finance firm" (read: mobster) who helped to keep James Frey clean in A Million Little Pieces.

In Recovered, pastor and author Robby Gallaty tells the story of how God radically saved him from his addictions and called him into a life of discipleship. Robby grew up in a very religious Catholic family who attended church every Sunday and confession on Saturday if needed. Very rarely did he miss a Saturday night dinner and a movie with his parents and sister Lori. You can imagine how devastated they were when Robby stole $15,000 from them to fuel his drug addiction. 

In Young Offender we see what turned a good kid into a wanted criminal. Abused by his uncle, bullied at school, at the age of 12 he found the safety he craved in the ranks of a local gang in West London. He graduated from shoplifting to armed robbery and for five years Michael was in and out of Feltham, on a downward spiral of crime and drug and alcohol addiction. At rock bottom, he began attending AA meetings. But the road to recovery would mean changing himself in the deepest possible ways. Could Michael finally learn what it meant to be a good man?

This could be the story of any man, his life driven and guided for half a century by his overwhelming desire for alcohol. This book relates a candid and informative account of an alcoholic’s life and where it leads. It also offers suggestions of reasons for alcoholism, the effects that alcohol has upon the brain, an examination of the law relating to mental capacity, and an ultimately heartfelt plea to anyone instrumental in changing the lives for such unfortunate individuals, to examine more closely the research available.