Books And Resources To Support Your Journey Beyond Food Addiction
Introduction
When I first found recovery, I was looking for answers. I knew food had become a problem, but I didn’t fully understand why I couldn’t just stop. I wanted someone to explain what was happening and show me how to build a life that didn’t revolve around food.
That’s a big part of why I created Abstinent Kitchen. I remember how much I needed practical help, good recovery resources, and someone to say, “Here, start with this.” So I’m sharing some of the books and resources that have helped me along the way.
Some recommendations are about food addiction and working the steps. Others have helped me with the emotional and spiritual parts of recovery and learning how to live beyond food. Some I have read and used myself, and some I use with my sponsees.
Think of this space as my recovery bookshelf. You don’t need to read everything here. Just start with where you are, take what helps, and keep going. This page will be updated and added to periodically, so check back often!
And because I want these resources to be easy to find (and not a way to make money from your recovery), I do not use affiliate links.
Books To Start With
The Daily Journal, Overeaters Anonymous Region One
This is one of the tools I personally use every day in my recovery, and its the journal I have all my sponsees use. I love it because it gives us a simple place to slow down, get honest, and look at our day through the lens of recovery rather than simply reacting to whatever happens around us.
The journal provides prompts for reflection, gratitude, spiritual connection, your daily food plan, and the ways we are practicing the principles of recovery in our daily lives. It helps turn recovery from something we think about into something we actually practice.
For me, this isn’t about filling out a journal perfectly. It’s about creating a daily pause where I can look at what happened, notice where I was spiritually fit (or wasn’t), become willing to make things right, and ask my Higher Power for guidance for the day ahead.
The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous,
This is the OG text for recovery. For many people recovering from food addiction through a 12-Step program, The Big Book becomes one of the most important books in their recovery library. While it was written about alcoholism, the principles of addiction, powerlessness, surrender, spiritual awakening, inventory, amends, and living differently are the foundation upon which many other 12-Step fellowships were built.
If you’ve ever wondered how food could have such a powerful hold on you even when you desperately wanted to stop, the stories and ideas i this book can help put addiction into a different perspective. It isn’t a book about food, but it can help us understand why food isn’t really the problem and why recovery requires more than simply trying harder to control what we eat.
For me, The Big Book is about discovering the principles of recovery and learning ow they can be lived out one day at a time. It is a book you can come back to throughout your recovery because something that didn’t makes sense when you read it six months ago may make perfect sense today.
The Twelve Steps and The Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition
If you’re ready to go a little deeper into the Twelve Steps, this is a great companion for the work. The book walks you through each of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions from the perspective of recovery from compulsive eating. This book offers explanations, reflection, and practical ways to understand the principles behind the program. This is a resource you will return to again and again as your recovery grows and your understanding of the steps changes along the way.
God Grant Me: A Daily Meditation Book, Hazelden Publishing
Although this daily reader was specifically written for alcoholics in recovery, I have personally found it to be a wonderful daily companion in food addiction recovery. The substance may differ, but the spiritual principles of recovery are the same. We learn to surrender our addiction, accept what we cannot control, practice honesty, turn to our Higher Power, and live differently one day at a time.
For those of us recovering from food addiction, the daily battle isn’t what we eat. We are learning how to respond to stress, resentment, fear, disappointment, loneliness, and all the emotins tht once sent us running to food. The principles in the daily readings give us something to practice, help us pause before reacting, and remember we don’t have to solve or soothe anything with food.
This book is not specifically about food, and that’s why I find it so valuable. Recovery is ultimately about learning to live without needing food to manage our lives.
Food Junkies: Recovery From Food Addiction, by Vera Tarman, MD
If you are trying to understand food addiction, this is one I would put near the top of the bookshelf. Dr. Vera Tarman looks at food addiction via addiction medicine, while also sharing the real-life experiences of people who have struggled with compulsive overeating and found recovery.
What I appreciate about this book is that it explains why food can feel so different for some of us. It looks at cravings, compulsive eating, addiction, withdrawal, relapse, and the difference between simply overeating and experiencing an addictive relationship with food. It also explores what recovery can look like once we stop treating the problem as more than just a lack of willpower.
For me, this is the book that can help put words around something that is really hard to explain to people who haven’t experienced it. Sometimes just understanding that you’re not crazy, broken, or uniquely incapable of controlling food can be a powerful first step toward recovery.
A Woman’s Way Through The Twelve Steps, by Stephanie S. Covington
Sometimes we need to hear the same recovery principles explained in a way that feels a little more like our own experience. This book looks at the Twelve Steps as it relates to women’s lives, including relationships, spirituality, self-worth, and the everyday challenges that can show up in recovery.
I appreciate that this book does not try to replace the steps or change what they are. Instead, it helps explore how we can actually live the principles in our own lives. For women who have ever picked up 12-step literature and wondered how it applies to their lives, this book is a helpful tool.
I especially like this as a resource for slowing down, reflecting, and looking at recovery as more than simply abstaining from our addictive behavior. Recovery is about becoming the woman we’re meant to be on the other side of it, too.
In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With Addiction, by Gabor Mate, MD
This is not a book about food addiction specifically, but it is an important book that belongs on a recovery bookshelf because it can change the way we understand addiction. Dr. Gabor Mate looks at addiction via personal history, emotional development, trauma, brain chemistry, and the ways we learn to cope with pain. He recognizes food and other compulsive behaviors as part of the larger picture of addiction.
What I appreciate most is the compassion behind this book. It challenges the idea that addiction is simply about weak willpower or making bad choices, and instead invites us to get curious about what might be underneath the behavior. For those of us recovering from food addiction, that can be an important shift.
This is a deeper read, but if you’ve ever wondered “why do I keep doing this when I know I don’t want to?” this book offers a lot of food for thougth.
A Note About These Recommendations
The books and resources are listed here because I believe they may offer support, understanding, and hope to the people navigating food addiction recovery. Abstinent Kitchen does not earn affiliate income from the books or resources listed on this page. When a purchase link is provided, it is simply a way to help you find the material through its official source.
Please remember that recovery is a personal journey, and not every book or approach will be right for everyone. Use your own discernment, and reach out to your sponsor, recovery fellowship, or qualified professional when you need additional support.
© 2026 Intentional Recovery Foundation dba Abstinent Kitchen. All Rights Reserved. Abstinent Kitchen is not affiliated with and does not represent Overeaters Anonymous or any other recovery program or retreat. Intentional Recovery Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization; our profits support local recovery community programs. Content on this website and any affiliated pages or platforms are not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Consult your healthcare provider for personalized medical guidance.
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