Here’s my list of book recommendations for sobriety. Don’t be surprised because everything here isn’t about getting sober. Still, if you’re interested in living a life free of alcohol and drugs these are my recommendations. I’ve always enjoyed a good book. It stems from childhood. My mom was an English professor and reading was part of the daily grind. I’ve read books since I was old enough to read. Even during active addiction, I was an avid reader — an avid reader without any recollection of what I read.
But, when I got sober (I talk more about that here), my appetite changed and my interest shifted. I was detoxed by two Ph.D. scholars (here’s a list of the supplements we used) so imagine how that went. They elevated my thoughts about the universe and myself. They introduced me to different books on topics I knew very little about. Books about self-discovery and personal development, mindfulness and healing. I couldn’t get enough. Any book that examined how to heal from the inside fascinated me and I drowned myself in as much knowledge as I possibly could.
I’ve grown to be able to discern which books are necessary for my personal development. I’ve developed a sense for which books call to me and those I’m interested in learning more about. And, there’s always recommendations from people I admire and authors I’ve previously read.
This fluid record, given in no particular order, is the list I highly recommend to anyone who’s ready to finally get their shit together.
Corrie Ort Ph.D. gets sole credit for detoxing me. She also gets the credit for turning me on to this book: The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. She made sure she stressed to not assume that the concepts were “simple” and to “hang in there and allow the book to unfold”. Olson’s simple concept is: small, intentional changes made consistently over time produce compounded life-changing results. Simple? You tell me. This is one of three books I read from cover to back in the first months of sobriety. Don’t borrow this book. Own it.
Conversations with God was on my nightstand the night my daddy died. I had just started to read it and ironically enough was at the part where God is explaining the soul’s desire to leave the physical realm. A few or so pages are devoted to the topic. Just a few, and these were the pages that got me through the worst night of my life. Being raised under the dogma of Seventh Day Adventists, this book opened my eyes to the idea that we are perfect, that God doesn’t judge or condemn but only loves us, and hell is…
I absolutely love this book. It’s one of three books I read in the beginning months of sobriety. I read it’s pages over and over and over again. It changed my view on religion and God and kept me sane when everything around me was falling apart. Sanity meant sobriety. This book literally saved both.
Damn, this book is good. I took me over two years to finish reading. Let me explain: I’ve taken this book to Cabo three times, it’s traveled with me on multiple long weekend getaways. I had every intention to finish this book within the first couple of weeks after I purchased. However, this ended up being impossible because each chapter is so chocked with examples and honest advice that I’d just read the same chapter over and over.
Ego Is The Enemy is an exploration into the inner workings of our biggest challenge: ego. Holiday is brilliant. His examples read like a history lesson. Except, it’s interesting. And the chapters are short. Once I realized that, I never turned the pages ahead to see how much more I had to go until I finished one. I can’t say it enough. READ THIS BOOK. And if you’ve ever thought you wanted to do more than what you’re doing, if you’re stuck wondering why things aren’t panning out for you, if you have some great vision or dream you’re trying to manifest, if you just sometimes live in the fear of failure, then PLEASE READ THIS BOOK.
