I'm struggling with my relationship to alcohol right now and have always found solace in books. I have a list of some nonfiction books already but I would really like to find some fiction as well. More specifically the negatives around alcohol abuse. Thank you so much
by cardinalwren
16 Comments
The Shining
Girl in pieces – kathleen Glasgow, cannot remember too much about the book other than some shit went down terribly and she ended up in rehab
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace features multiple characters struggling with, succumbing to, and recovering from alcoholism, as well as other addictions. One of the major plot lines centers around a sober living community/AA group. Definitely a book that explores the negatives and sheer tedium of addiction while also painting recovery in a realistic light. Not a novel that is going to shove any particular point of view down your throat. It’s a long read, but worth the effort.
Big Sur by Jack Kerouac
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Hi friend. I’ve been sober for may years and these are some books that helped me
Shuggie Bain
Demon Copperhead (opioid abuse, but it’s the same disease underneath)
The Goldfinch (his substance abuse is understated, but important, he’s an unreliable narrator. And it’s almost a symbol/motif for ennui & trauma & finding intimacy in people who get it like the morphine lollipop Pippa has. Idk why but this is my comfort book. Some people like it and some don’t but this is the one for me, Theo just speaks to me)
The Shining by Stephen King (this book is about redemption and not at all like the movie)
A Million Little Pieces (ok this memoir is controversial because parts of it have been disproven. But I think it’s so realistic in feeling, the feelings are true, that it’s still worthwhile.)
A lot of 1920s classics (Hemingway, Fitzgerald talk about addiction & alcoholism indirectly. This was the prohibition era so I think the history is interesting)
The Urge: the history of addiction (part memoir part research)
The Outrun by Amy Liptrot.
Dr Sleep by Stephen King
The Guncle and sequel
Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
The Lost Weekend, by Charles Jackson
Ham on Rye by Bukowski. Alcohol turns MC into a degenerate asshole (but it’s a fun read)
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller – drinking contributes to the character being a shiftless loser.
Leaving Las Vegas – super depressing portrayal of a self destructive alcoholic.
The Drinker by Hans Fallada
So real and haunting.
Early Sobrieties by Michael Deagler
The Shining is probably my favorite. Book Jack is very different from Movie Jack. Movie Jack is a drooling psychopath from the beginning. Book Jack is a complicated guy who’s done some bad things but is geniunely trying to get better. But The Overlook has another ideas.
Its “sequel” Doctor Sleep probably gets even more into addiction, as adult Danny gets sober.
In fact, tons of other King books are either directly about addiction, feature characters affected by addiction, or the metaphor is super clear. The Dark Half and Misery are two others.
Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects deals with a protagonist who’s not only dealing with alcoholism, but self-harm.
Come on over to /r/stopdrinking for support.