Addiction

Addiction affects millions of people around the world, yet the stigma of addiction remains. We hope this Collection inspires conversations about addiction, whether you are a professor looking to round out a syllabus or someone hoping to better understand your own experiences. Read on to discover Study Guides for both novels and memoirs tackling a variety of topics, such as alcoholism, methamphetamine and heroin addiction, myths surrounding addiction, and the effects of addiction on families.

Quitters Inc.

by Stephen King

Publication year 1978

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Love, Family, Safety & Danger, Apathy

Tags Addiction & Substance Abuse, Science Fiction, Horror & Suspense, American Literature, World History, Fantasy

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Ragged Company

by Richard Wagamese

Publication year 2008

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Fate, Family, Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Hope, Love, Memory, Forgiveness, Guilt, Indigenous Identity, Justice, Community

Tags Poverty, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Grief & Death, Relationships, Modern Classic Fiction, Canadian Literature

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Requiem for a Dream

by Hubert Selby Jr.

Publication year 1978

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Loneliness, Social Class

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Psychological Fiction, Addiction & Substance Abuse, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction

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Reunion

by John Cheever

Publication year 1962

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Fathers, Coming of Age, Memory, Daughters & Sons

Tags Addiction & Substance Abuse, Education, Education, American Literature, Dramatic Literature, Classic Fiction

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Rules of the Road

by Joan Bauer

Publication year 1998

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship, Fathers, Daughters & Sons, Family, Aging

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Travel Literature, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Humor

Rules Of The Road is a contemporary young adult novel by established author Joan Bauer, first published in 1998. It is the first book in the Rules of the Road series. The second book, Best Foot Forward, was published in 2005. Joan Bauer’s own complicated childhood with an alcohol-addicted father inspired Rules of the Road, which was met with critical acclaim. It won both the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Golden Kite Award... Read Rules of the Road Summary

Sadie

by Courtney Summers

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Femininity, Social Class, Safety & Danger

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Poverty, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Trauma & Abuse, Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction

Sadie is a young adult mystery novel published in 2018 by the Canadian author Courtney Summers. The book chronicles teenager Sadie Hunter’s quest to find the man who killed her sister. In alternating chapters, Sadie’s subsequent disappearance becomes the topic of West McCray’s podcast The Girls. Sadie won the 2018 Edgar Award and was chosen for many Best of 2018 book lists.Plot SummarySadie follows the journey of 19-year-old protagonist Sadie Hunter as she searches for... Read Sadie Summary

Safe Haven

by Nicholas Sparks

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Safety & Danger, Power & Greed, Love

Tags Romance, Love & Sexuality, Trauma & Abuse, Relationships, Addiction & Substance Abuse, American Literature, Modern Classic Fiction, Dramatic Literature

Safe Haven is a novel by New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks. Written in 2010, Safe Haven was adapted into a movie of the same name in 2013. Like most of Sparks’s novels, the setting of this story is North Carolina. The author often uses his home state as a backdrop to his romances, incorporating the beauty and history of the state as a central motif. In this novel, Sparks contrasts the beauty and... Read Safe Haven Summary

Shuggie Bain

by Douglas Stuart

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Sexual Identity, Mothers, Social Class

Tags Realistic Fiction, Addiction & Substance Abuse, LGBTQ+, Trauma & Abuse, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction

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Siege and Storm

by Leigh Bardugo

Publication year 2013

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Perseverance, Power & Greed, Wins & Losses, Safety & Danger, Religion & Spirituality, Good & Evil, War, Self Discovery, Animals, Loneliness

Tags Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Leadership, Love & Sexuality, Military & War, Politics & Government, Trauma & Abuse, Religion & Spirituality, Romance

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Simple Recipes

by Madeleine Thien

Publication year 2001

Genre Short Story Collection, Fiction

Themes Family, Memory, Immigration

Tags Psychological Fiction, Coming of Age, Dramatic Literature, Trauma & Abuse, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Immigration & Refugeeism, Food, Asian Literature

Madeleine Thien is a Canadian writer whose work explores the trans-cultural world of Asian art, politics, and family life within Canada’s diasporic Asian Communities. She was born in 1974 to a Malaysian Chinese father and a Hong Kong Chinese mother. Thien studied contemporary dance but switched to creative writing as an undergraduate in college. She earned her MFA in writing from the University of British Columbia.Thien’s collection of short stories, Simple Recipes (2001, Little Brown... Read Simple Recipes Summary

Solo

by Mary Rand Hess, Kwame Alexander

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel/Book in Verse, Fiction

Themes Family, Apathy, Conflict, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Grief, Gratitude, Hate & Anger, Joy, Guilt, Memory, Shame & Pride, Coming of Age, Daughters & Sons, Fathers, Mothers, Siblings, Art, Music, Trust & Doubt, Fame, Love, Death, Self Discovery, Social Class, Community, Colonialism, Appearance & Reality

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Prose, Free Verse, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Music, Modern Classic Fiction

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Stolen Focus

by Johann Hari

Publication year 2022

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Science & Technology, Literature, Education, Mental Health

Tags Psychology, Self-Improvement, Health, Science & Nature, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Leadership, Psychology, Mental Illness

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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

by Sherman Alexie

Publication year 2007

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Race, Masculinity, Friendship

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Race & Racism, Poverty, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Grief & Death, Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Humor

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a young adult novel by Sherman Alexie, published in 2007 with art by Ellen Forney. Alexie, a Spokane/Cour d’Alene Indian (a term he prefers to “Native American”), began the book as a memoir inspired by experiences he had growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington, and attending the predominantly white Reardan High School in Reardan, Washington. The book received much praise and many... Read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Summary

The Artist's Way

by Julia Cameron

Publication year 1992

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Literature, Religion & Spirituality, Self Discovery, Fear, Hate & Anger, The Past, Art, Language

Tags Self-Improvement, Psychology, Arts & Culture, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Religion & Spirituality, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy

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The Basketball Diaries

by Jim Carroll

Publication year 1978

Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction

Themes Coming of Age, Memory, Love, Perseverance, Conflict, Safety & Danger

Tags Addiction & Substance Abuse, Relationships, Trauma & Abuse, Sports, Modern Classic Fiction, Classic Fiction, Biography

The Basketball Diaries: The Classic About Growing Up Hip On New York’s Mean Streets is an autobiography written by Jim Carroll and published in 1978. The book comprises a series of short diary entries which serve as anecdotes and insights into his daily life as a teenager on the streets of New York City in the 1960s. Jim Carroll became a celebrated writer and poet, overcoming his addiction to heroin in the mid-1970s and publishing... Read The Basketball Diaries Summary

The Black Cat

by Edgar Allan Poe

Publication year 1843

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Guilt, Good & Evil, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Horror & Suspense, Classic Fiction, Gothic Literature, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Education, Education, Mystery & Crime Fiction, American Literature, World History

“The Black Cat” is a Gothic horror tale by Edgar Allan Poe, who relies on supernatural elements to portray the dark side of human nature. The tale was first published in The Saturday Evening Post in August 1843 and examines The Sources of Sin, The Consequences of Alcohol Addiction, and Science Versus the Supernatural through the lens of an unreliable narrator.This study guide refers to the version of “The Black Cat” published in The Complete... Read The Black Cat Summary