If you’re running your own opiate detox through an outpatient program like Suboxone or methadone, you are left to your own devices when it comes to the psychological aspect of your drug use and addiction. Reading is a great way to pass the time, and it can help you learn more about your addiction and yourself in the process. Check out some of the books below.

Autobiographies by Opiate Addicts

Do you sometimes feel like you’re going through this alone? Well there are a ton of books out there written by people just like you who have been where you were and are. Who knows. Maybe you’ll be inspired to pen your own memoir.

* The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star by Nikki Sixx
* How to Stop Time: Heroin from A to Z by Ann Marlowe
* A Small Journal of Heroin Addiction by Robin Marchesi

Fiction That Focuses on Opiate Addicts and Addiction

If nothing else, drug addiction provides an escape from the chaos of everyday life and the hammering of your own thoughts. It’s not quite the same, but books can do that for you, too, especially really well written fiction. I’ve picked out a few novels that tell the stories of addicts and addiction, in case you need a reminder of why you quit using in the first place.

* Smack by Melvin Burgess
* Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction by Luke Davies
* Beauty Queen by Linda Glovach
* Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

History of Opiates and Opiate Addiction

Oh, the endless debate about the origins of different drugs, drug legislation, drug usage, etc. Drug lore in general is, for some reason, an intoxicating aspect of drug use. Get the facts with any of the titles below.

* Medicating Modern America: Prescription Drugs in History by Andrea Tone and Elizabeth Watkins
* Dark Paradise: A History of Opiate Addiction in America by David T. Courtwright
* The History of Drugs - Opiates by Nancy Harris

About Opiate Addiction

Even more about addiction and the drugs we are addicted to, with a little bit of personal commentary by the author. Interesting viewpoints. Check it out:

* Heroin by Humberto Fernandez
* Prescription Drug Addiction: The Hidden Epidemic by Rod Colvin
* Addiction by Prescription by Joan E Gadsby

Interactive Books for Opiate Addicts in Recovery
 
If you’re looking for something a little more interactive, you might prefer a workbook type of book, one that guides you through your recovery and prompts you to dig deep and really get to the bottom of your addiction issues. Here are a couple you might be interested in:

* Overcoming Prescription Drug Addiction: A Guide to Coping and Understanding by Rod Colvin
* How to Quit Drugs for Good: A Complete Self-Help Guide by Jerry Dorsman

Anyone have any favorites they’d like to add to the list?