Eilene Zimmerman, author of Smacked, was a journalist before she wrote this insightful memoir about her ex-husband’s hidden drug addiction, and herself. Maybe that’s why it’s my favorite memoir, hands down—her straightforward style resonates with me. Or maybe it’s because I relate to her story and can see myself in the pages.

Elizabeth Vargas’s book, Between Breaths: a Memoir of Panic and Addiction, filled me with understanding and empathy more than other addiction books I’ve read.

I’ve read many addiction stories, but this one stands out as my favorite. The raw truth in The Weight of Air compelled me to keep turning pages.

Thanks to Tiffany Jenkins’ memoir, High Achiever, I better understand the unrelenting hook of chemical addiction.