After two decades of mental, emotional, and physical afflictions, J. T. Wahlberg had had enough, and he was all set to end his twenty-year addiction to alcohol. There was just one problem: he “forgot” to research the potential risks of detoxing on his own without any medical supervision. Armed with cans of Campbell’s Chunky soup, plenty of water, and a few tips he had picked up from the movie Trainspotting, he hunkered down in his apartment for what he imagined would be a couple of days of pain followed by a life of sunny sobriety. Instead, it’s a miracle he survived to tell his story. In between describing his harrowing do-it-yourself alcohol withdrawal experience, Wahlberg recounts how and why he became addicted to alcohol in the first place, the negative effects his addiction had on his health and his personal and professional life, and his unconventional approach to sobriety over the past six years. He also offers a blistering critique of alcohol’s socially accepted and yet destructive role in society and urges readers to reconsider their relationship to this highly addictive substance.

A successful emergency physician full of narcissism and ego wakes up in detox, his life having burned to the ground. Dr. J.D. Remy-physician, father, husband, and medical missionary-awakens one morning to find himself in rehab for alcoholism. His destructive behavior has resulted in the loss of his marriage, children, career-and almost-his life. Faced with the challenges of rebuilding a foundation, Dr. Remy must accept that he is an alcoholic and summon the courage to tame the demons that caused such dire circumstances. Over time, he makes new connections in sobriety and rekindles friendships from his former life. With the aid of old friends and his new sober network, he navigates his program as a professional in long-term recovery. He must overcome unemployment, a devastating divorce, the estrangement of his children, social stigma, and the coronavirus outbreak. Armed with the gift of desperation, a strong twelve-step program, and his recovery "mosh-pit," he learns to accept and let go, confronting the worst of his character flaws to emerge on the other side as a better version of himself. Ballad of a Sober Man is a raw and realistic memoir of one man's difficult journey through recovery, as he interacts with an eclectic cast of characters, finds romance in a brave new world, and battles a global pandemic...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “An unflinching examination of how our drinking culture hurts women and a gorgeous memoir of how one woman healed herself.”—Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Untamed “You don’t know how much you need this book, or maybe you do. Either way, it will save your life.”—Melissa Hartwig Urban, Whole30 co-founder and CEO The founder of the first female-focused recovery program offers a groundbreaking look at alcohol and a radical new path to sobriety. We live in a world obsessed with drinking. We drink at baby showers and work events, brunch and book club, graduations and funerals. Yet no one ever questions alcohol’s ubiquity—in fact, the only thing ever questioned is why someone doesn’t drink. It is a qualifier for belonging and if you don’t imbibe, you are considered an anomaly. As a society, we are obsessed with health and wellness, yet we uphold alcohol as some kind of magic elixir, though it is anything but. When Holly Whitaker decided to seek help after one too many benders, she embarked on a journey that led not only to her own sobriety, but revealed the insidious role alcohol plays in our society and in the lives of women in particular. What’s more, she could not ignore the ways that alcohol companies were targeting women, just as the tobacco industry had successfully done generations before. Fueled by her own emerging feminism, she also realized that the predominant systems of recovery are archaic, patriarchal, and ineffective for the unique needs of women and other historically oppressed people—who don’t need to lose their egos and surrender to a male concept of God, as the tenets of Alcoholics Anonymous state, but who need to cultivate a deeper understanding of their own identities and take control of their lives. When Holly found an alternate way out of her own addiction, she felt a calling to create a sober community with resources for anyone questioning their relationship with drinking, so that they might find their way as well. Her resultant feminine-centric recovery program focuses on getting at the root causes that lead people to overindulge and provides the tools necessary to break the cycle of addiction, showing us what is possible when we remove alcohol and destroy our belief system around it. Written in a relatable voice that is honest and witty, Quit Like a Woman is at once a groundbreaking look at drinking culture and a road map to cutting out alcohol in order to live our best lives without the crutch of intoxication. You will never look at drinking the same way again.

A 75th anniversary e-book version of the most important and practical self-help book ever written, Alcoholics Anonymous. Here is a special deluxe edition of a book that has changed millions of lives and launched the modern recovery movement: Alcoholics Anonymous. This edition not only reproduces the original 1939 text of Alcoholics Anonymous, but as a special bonus features the complete 1941 Saturday Evening Post article “Alcoholics Anonymous” by journalist Jack Alexander, which, at the time, did as much as the book itself to introduce millions of seekers to AA’s program. Alcoholics Anonymous has touched and transformed myriad lives, and finally appears in a volume that honors its posterity and impact.

In this publication, 12 Steps on the Rocks With a Twist - Another Round of Recovery, Maryellen uses the same straight forward perspective and language as she focuses on steps 4 through 7 of a 12 Step program. This collection of essays helps the recovering addict view their character flaws, resentments and the challenges of on-going recovery. In these pages you will discover: How to work through resentments How to identify your own character flaws How to get honest with yourself and others How to keep growing in your recovery Recovery is 12 Steps on the Rocks With a Twist. Understanding the twists and learning how to deal with them while maintaining recovery is the work. If you are in early recovery, and are ready to work on the next level of sobriety, this book is for you.

A gripping first-hand story of personal triumph and recovery by a wealthy American housewife who appeared to have it all but who was, in reality, losing life's most important moments in an alcohol-induced haze. Brenda Wilhelmson was like a lot of women in her neighborhood. She had a husband and two children. She was educated and made a good living as a writer. She had a vibrant social life with a tight circle of friends. She could party until dawn and take her children to school the next day. From the outside, she appeared to have it all together. But, in truth, alcohol was slowly taking over, turning her world on its side. Waking up to another hangover, growing tired of embarrassing herself in front of friends and family, and feeling important moments slip away, Brenda made the most critical decision of her life: to get sober. She kept a diary of her first year (and beyond) in recovery, chronicling the struggles of finding a meeting she could look forward to, relating to her fellow alcoholics, and finding a sponsor with whom she connected. Along the way, she discovered the challenges and pleasures of living each day without alcohol, navigating a social circle where booze is a centerpiece, and dealing with her alcoholic father's terminal illness and denial. Brenda Wilhelmson's Diary of an Alcoholic Housewife offers insight, wisdom, and relevance for readers in recovery, as well as their loved ones, no matter how long they've been sober.

Written a decade before coronavirus pushed in-person meetings online and kept us home, this portable and practical workbook for the newly sober is a perfect coach for the present moment. In this portable recovery aftercare program, Earnie Larsen coaches readers through one full year of sobriety with personal, practical, actionable steps to help them refocus on the core concepts that are essential to sober living. Make no mistake about the intention of the guidance offered in this book. This is not just another "nice recovery book"--one that you read and then put aside, hopefully taking away a few good thoughts. My intention is that the material offered here should be chewed, pulled apart, scrutinized, and internalized. This book is designed to be worked. It is intended to provide support, insights, and exercises that will do something about the high relapse rate of people starting recovery.>-Earnie Larsen, From the introduction In this invaluable guide, renowned author and lecturer Earnie Larsen brings you a portable recovery aftercare program that you can easily integrate into your personal life ?and take with you anywhere you go.Now That You're Sober is an all-purpose, year-long compendium of recovery wisdom and inspiration to help those who are newly sober focus on practical applications of Twelve Step principles. Like a traditional aftercare program, it is designed to keep the basics of recovery front and center in your consciousness, as it is the loss of this awareness that causes relapse. In his characteristic down-to-earth, tell-it-like-it-is style, Larsen serves as your recovery coach, providing guidance and inspiration when you feel vulnerable in your sobriety, and helping you to move past common stumbling blocks and flourish in your daily life. Each of his fifty-two entries includes a motivational essay, or pep talk, centered on a key element of recovery, followed by personal, practical, actionable steps to help you refocus on the concepts and behaviors that are essential in a recovering person's life.Earnie Larsen is a nationally known pioneer in the field of recovery from addictive and unwanted behaviors. He has authored and produced more than fifty-five motivational self-help books and resources on a variety of topics ranging from managing interpersonal relationships to spirituality.

The workbook addresses several concepts and starts with the prevention of relapse. The major part of the workbook is how to develop support systems for maintaining recovery that contribute to successful recovery. The text shows many elements that contribute to addiction. It goes into detail about the genetic aspects of addiction. There is also a segment of how executive functioning of the brain can get impaired with addiction that compromises judgment, impulse control, and the ability to organize. But these impairments can be temporary with practicing having good judgment and impulse control, since new neuropathways can develop with exercising these functions. The stages of recovery and change are reviewed as well as the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. One chapter is dedicated to powerlessness and unmanageability. At the end of each chapter, there are references for the reader to consult that have been used for the content of the workbook chapters.

"Barnett's prose style is brassy and cleareyed, with echoes of Anne Lamott." --Beth Macy, The New York Times Book Review "Emotionally devastating and self-aware, this cautionary tale about substance abuse is a worthy heir to Cat Marnell's How to Murder Your Life." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) A startlingly frank memoir of one woman's struggles with alcoholism and recovery, with essential new insights into addiction and treatment Erica C. Barnett had her first sip of alcohol when she was thirteen, and she quickly developed a taste for drinking to oblivion with her friends. In her late twenties, her addiction became inescapable. Volatile relationships, blackouts, and unsuccessful stints in detox defined her life, with the vodka bottles she hid throughout her apartment and offices acting as both her tormentors and closest friends. By the time she was in her late thirties, Erica Barnett had run the gauntlet of alcoholism. She had recovered and relapsed time and again, but after each new program or detox center would find herself far from rehabilitated. "Rock bottom," Barnett writes, "is a lie." It is always possible, she learned, to go lower than your lowest point. She found that the terms other alcoholics used to describe the trajectory of their addiction--"rock bottom" and "moment of clarity"--and the mottos touted by Alcoholics Anonymous, such as "let go and let God" and "you're only as sick as your secrets"--didn't correspond to her experience and could actually be detrimental. With remarkably brave and vulnerable writing, Barnett expands on her personal story to confront the dire state of addiction in America, the rise of alcoholism in American women in the last century, and the lack of rehabilitation options available to addicts. At a time when opioid addiction is a national epidemic and one in twelve Americans suffers from alcohol abuse disorder, Quitter is essential reading for our age and an ultimately hopeful story of Barnett's own hard-fought path to sobriety.