Many suffer from drug addiction. But by reading books on the topic, you can overcome your addiction, heal, and become a better person.
Whether you seek help for yourself or a loved one, these drug addiction books offer helpful information and strategies for overcoming the worst of drug addictions.
Best Drug Addiction Books (Practical, Advice-focused)
1. Clean by David Sheff
One of the most helpful drug addiction books, Clean draws on cutting-edge research to offer an approach to addiction treatment that works.
David Sheff argues that addiction is a preventable, treatable disease and not a moral failure.
Sheff explores how addiction really works and offers practical ways to fight it.
What’s in it for you:
- An exploration of the root of drug addiction from a psychological/medical viewpoint
2. Unbroken Brain by Maia Szalavitz
Challenging conventional ideas, this drug addiction book offers a groundbreaking perspective that addictions are learning disorders.
By illustrating what addiction is and isn’t, the book shows how several factors come together to create illness and recovery—and why no single treatment works for all.
What’s in it for you:
- An unconventional look at the underlying causes of addiction
3. In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Maté
In this drug addiction book, Gabor Maté combines real-life stories with the latest research to present an effective approach to understanding drug abuse and addiction recovery.
Maté also explores the origins of addiction, its place in society, and self-compassion’s importance in recovery.
He traces addiction’s root causes to childhood trauma and examines the commonness of addiction in society.
What’s in it for you:
- Promotes compassionate self-understanding as the key to healing and wellness
- Offers positive, new solutions to drug addiction based on cutting-edge research
4. Rewired by Erica Spiegelman
Rewired offers a new approach to combating addiction and self-destructive behavior by recognizing our power to bring ourselves back from the brink.
The book will guide you toward physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional healing by identifying core principles within yourself, such as honesty and gratitude, and by embracing a need for solitude.
Rewired aims to help you build a healthy space for your recovery and create a personalized treatment plan that is right for you.
What’s in it for you:
- An empowering approach to addiction recovery that focuses on the whole self: mind, body, and soul
- Inspiring success stories of patients overcoming their addictions
- Personal stories about the author’s own struggle with addiction
5. Understanding Addiction by Dr. Charles Smith & Dr. Jason Hunt
In this drug addiction book, doctors Chuck Smith and Jason Hunt offer a unique perspective on addiction to help those suffering from it.
The book explores the science behind addiction and debunks myths.
What’s in it for you:
- Offers strategies for long-term recovery
- Discusses risk factors, detox, treatment strategies, and screening and intervention
6. The Addiction Recovery Skills Workbook by Suzette Glasner-Edwards
This workbook offers a seven-step program to help you permanently overcome drug addiction.
Addiction expert Suzette Glasner-Edwards presents evidence-backed strategies to help you get rid of your addictive behaviors.
Combining research-based techniques with mindfulness, this book will help you create your own recovery plan.
What’s in it for you:
- An effective program for beating addiction and living a full, meaningful life
Best Drug Addiction Memoirs
7. Beautiful Boy by David Sheff
In Beautiful Boy, David Sheff narrates his son’s addiction to drugs and his struggles with recovery.
Sheff talks about how difficult it was to cope with his son’s addiction, recovery, and relapses. He is honest about his emotions, revealing his shame of having a drug addict as a son and his happiness in thinking about Nic before his addiction.
What’s in it for you: a heartbreaking, eye-opening memoir about how addiction can destroy an addict and cause pain to their loved ones
8. Recovery by Russell Brand
Movie star Russell Brand draws from his 14 years of recovery to share wisdom about overcoming an addiction.
He shares the tools that took him out of his addiction and helped him get clean and recover.
Brand mixes honesty, humor, and compassion to tell his own story to inspire you out of your own addictions.
What’s in it for you: an improved version of the traditional 12 steps to recovery
9. High Achiever by Tiffany Jenkins
High Achiever narrates Tiffany Jenkins’s life as an active opioid addict, her 120 days in jail, and her eventual recovery.
Jenkins gives you an up-close look at the pains of addiction and the desperate decisions it brings about.
From blackmail by an ex to a seedy deal with a drug dealer, her story brims with unexpected wit and suspense.
What’s in it for you: a captivating memoir that paints an up-close portrait of the mind of an addict
10. The Fifth Vital by Mike Majlak
For close to a decade, Mike Majlak dealt with an addiction that filled his life with darkness and despair.
Unable to overcome his addiction, Majlak eventually lost the support and trust of his loved ones.
Alone and lost, somehow he managed to survive, and now he offers his story to help others in the same situation as he was.
What’s in it for you: a story of survival and hope, even after all seems lost
Further Reading: Addiction series
- 10 Best Porn Addiction Books for Permanently Defeating Your Addiction
- 10 Best Drug Addiction Books for Permanently Beating Your Addiction (this page)