Ruined lives, remade
Christian addiction & recovery stories
Some of the most powerful conversion stories are of men who were enslaved to drink, gambling, and reckless living — and were genuinely changed. Several then spent their lives pulling others out of the same pit. These are their firsthand testimonies, free to read in the public domain and offered here as clean editions.
- 1
1876 · The New York slums · River thief & drunkard
Transformed; or, The History of a River Thief
Jerry McAuley · 1876
Jerry McAuley ran with river-thief gangs and drank himself down before a conversion in Sing Sing turned him around. He opened America's first rescue mission on Water Street in 1872 — told in his own plain words.
- 2
1858 · England & America · The drunkard orator
The Autobiography of John B. Gough
John B. Gough · 1858
John B. Gough sank into years of helpless drunkenness, signed the temperance pledge in 1842, fell and rose again, and became the most famous temperance orator of the century — his own unflinching account of the long climb back out.
- 3
1837 · Prussia & England · Theft, drink & gambling
A Narrative of Some of the Lord's Dealings with George Müller, Written by Himself
George Müller · 1837
Before the orphan houses, George Müller was a thieving, hard-drinking, gambling student who was jailed for fraud. His own narrative traces the turn from that life to one of radical faith.
- 4
1856 · The American frontier · The wild years
Autobiography of Peter Cartwright
Peter Cartwright · 1856
By his own account a wild, card-playing, hard-living youth, Peter Cartwright was converted at a camp meeting and became a rough-and-ready frontier preacher who spent his life calling others out of the same.
- 5
1764 · The Atlantic · Profane & reckless
An Authentic Narrative
John Newton · 1764
John Newton describes years as a profane, reckless sailor and slave-trader — a man, in his own words, beyond reforming — and the long turning that ended in faith and 'Amazing Grace.'
- 6
1666 · England · A profane young life
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners
John Bunyan · 1666
Bunyan's own account of a profane, irreligious youth gripped by guilt and despair before finding grace — a classic of the ruined-life-remade testimony.
Questions about these recovery testimonies
- What are these books?
- Historical first-person conversion testimonies — real men who were enslaved to drink, gambling, and reckless living and were genuinely and lastingly changed. Several, like Jerry McAuley and John B. Gough, then gave their lives to pulling others out of the same pit. They make honest, encouraging reading.
- Which stories are the most powerful?
- Jerry McAuley — a river thief and drunkard whose conversion in Sing Sing led him to found New York's first rescue mission — and John B. Gough, who drank himself down and rose to become the century's great temperance orator, are the clearest 'ruined life transformed' accounts. George Müller (theft, drink, gambling) and John Newton (a dissolute sailor remade) are close behind.
- Are the texts free to read?
- All the titles above are in the public domain, with a free source linked on each page. Our clean editions add readable typesetting; buying one supports the library.
More reading lists
T.S. Baker Books — transformed lives in clean editions, free sources linked.