8 Best Books for Quitting Alcohol You’ll Want to Read

The best books for quitting alcohol have practical advice to overcome the obstacles that come with addiction. Here’s our guide to the 8 best books to read.

Alcohol is a very serious disorder in the United States. The 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that 85.6 of adults in the United States admitted to drinking alcohol, and over a quarter of the population will binge drink each month. Alcohol is also quite addictive. Once you start drinking regularly, it is challenging to stop, and people battle alcoholism for their entire lives.

Thankfully, many authors have written on this topic, providing practical guides and strategies to help people overcome alcohol addiction and live a life free from the pull of a drink. While no book can substitute for professional help when needed, these are the top 10 options because they provide practical tips and tricks you can use every week.

Here Are The 8 Best Best Books for Quitting Alcohol

1. Quit Drinking Without Willpower: Be a Happy Nondrinker by Allen Care

Allen Carr is the creator of Easyway, one of the most successful tools to help people stop smoking. He uses the same strategies in his workbook to help people overcome the desire to drink without building up their willpower to a super-human level. When followed correctly, this unique method removes the desire to drink, giving the reader back control. Quit Drinking Without Willpower changes the narrative about quitting alcohol, which s why it deserves a spot on the list. Are you searching for books to give to someone? Check out our round-up of the best zen books! Or you can also search for our best book guides using our search bar. You might also be interested in these articles about driving under the influence.

“This book will enable you to stop drinking immediately, painlessly, and permanently.”

Allen Care, Quit Drinking Without Willpower

2. Alcohol Recovery for Women: 7 Essential Steps to Quit Drinking, Find the Road to Recovery and Take Control by Rubi Page

Written specifically for women, Alcohol Recovery from Women outlines seven proven steps the reader can use to break free of alcohol addiction. It also looks at creating goals and motivations to stick to a new alcohol-free lifestyle. In the book, Rubi Page gives practical solutions to common problems that people face that increase the risk of a relapse, providing coaching that can help newly sober women stay sober.

“In this modern age, alcohol has become increasingly popular among women, and it isn’t hard to miss because it is now readily available.”

Rubi Page, Alcohol Recovery from Women

3. Your Personal Stop Drinking Plan: The Revolutionary Method for Quitting Alcohol by Allen Carr

Your Personal Stop Drinking Plan is an interactive book by Allen Carr. It explores his Easyway method, a successful strategy that has helped millions of people stop their addictions. It is unique in that it is interactive and allows the reader to keep drinking until they finish the book and start all of the strategies. Carr claims the book will remove all desire for alcohol, but only for people who follow the plan he outlines in this book.

“You might still find it hard to believe that it’s possible to stop drinking without willpower. In this chapter, we explain why relying on willpower is actually more likely to make you fail.”

Allen Carr, Your Personal Stop Drinking Plan

4. When AA Doesn’t Work for You: Rational Steps to Quitting Alcohol by Albert Ellis

Alcoholics Anonymous may be the gold standard for dealing with addiction, but what can you do if it doesn’t help? AA discusses the thoughts and emotions of drinking, but it doesn’t always work. When AA Doesn’t Work for You explores what might work if you find that this tried-and-true option does not. You might also be interested in these essays about drugs.

“The fact that your mind is complex and creative provides great strength, but often contributes to your down-fall. You can easily hold contradictory opinions.”

Albert Ellis, When AA Doesn’t Work for You

5. Mindfulness for Alcohol Recovery: Making Peace with Drinking by Lewis David

Mindfulness activities are quite effective at addressing addictions of all types. Mindfulness for Alcohol Recovery puts these activities in a convenient workbook form. It also has mp3 files that users can use to make their recovery process more effective. Author Lewis Davis is a therapist and has two other alcohol detox or recovery books that have topped the Amazon bestseller list.

“Imagine your life has been like bumping around the dark, then suddenly someone hands you a flashlight that makes your path bright and clear. . . This book is that flashlight.”

Lewis David, Mindfulness for Alcohol Recovery

6. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Technically, Atomic Habits is not a book on alcohol. However, this New York Times bestseller can help those who want to stop drinking. It provides a framework for daily improvement, including eliminating bad habits. For someone struggling with alcohol abuse, that bad habit is drinking. Putting the practical strategies in this guide into daily practice can help break the cycles that trigger alcohol use.

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”

James Clear, Atomic Habits

7. Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol by Holly Whitaker

It’s no secret that modern society pairs alcohol with everything from celebrations to funerals. Quit Like a Woman shows how America’s drinking culture is hurting women. Author Holly Whitaker is a feminist who wants to help American women succeed in dropping their habits while also looking at why the historical oppression of women has caused an increase in the number of women struggling with alcohol addiction.

“Real power doesn’t come from having a million followers, good hair, a Louis Vuitton purse, a new car, a new home, a title, a partner, or anything that can be weighed, measured, or acquired. Real power is the thing you’ve always had inside you. Real power doesn’t need to be demonstrated or boasted. Real power is the ability to be in your skin, to know who you are, to know you will always be okay. Real power comes from your gut and your heart and your courage and your bravery and your love.”

Holly Whitaker, Quit Like a Woman

8. The Alcohol Experiment: A 30-Day, Alcohol-Free Challenge to Interrupt Your Habits and Help You Take Control by Annie Grace

Sometimes the best way to deal with a bad habit or addiction is to take the challenge to drop it and stick with that decision. This isn’t easy to do, but it can help greatly. The Alcohol Experiment gives practical advice to readers as they venture into a thirty-day alcohol-free challenge. It features daily prompts to help keep you motivated to stick with the challenge.

If you can stick with the 30 days, you’ll find that your habits change, and you will be better able to come up with a long-term plan to address your alcohol concerns. It is written as a workbook to help you stick with the plan. Looking for more books to binge on a weekend? Check out the best books for beach reading. Or you can also search for our best book guides using our search bar.

“Remember, all the wisdom you seek is actually inside you; the most important words in this Experiment are the ones you tell yourself.”

Annie Grace, The Alcohol Experiment