Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

170 reviews

chloe2709's review against another edition

dark informative sad medium-paced

5.0

A stunning account of capitalist greed pushed to the extreme. I couldn’t hold back a sob at the description of the families who, still awaiting a true day of reckoning for the loss of their loved ones to the opioid crisis, and looking for any way their voices could be heard, tried to speak at the bankruptcy hearing in memory of their family members. 

The juxtaposition between their sincerity and sorrow, and the response of the judge who represents a world where money can buy you anything, even justice, was insanely powerful.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Grief, and Medical trauma

aziraphale2002's review against another edition

dark informative sad slow-paced

3.75

This book is about one of the most despicable families in America. While the origins, personalities, and practices were interesting in the beginning, they very quickly become insufferable,  which made reading to the end harder. Not the author's fault, but reading how these horrible people slime their way out of punishment...ugh.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Suicide

lbzerfas's review against another edition

challenging informative sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use

Moderate: Addiction

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Medical content

Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Suicide, Stalking, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Racism

medical racism

wayward's review against another edition

dark informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Suicide

nifty_'s review against another edition

dark emotional informative tense slow-paced

5.0

The author does an amazing job illustrating the Sackler dynasty and the horrors they inflicted on America through the opioid crisis 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Suicide

siobhanward's review against another edition

challenging dark informative slow-paced

4.0

NYT Notable Books 2021: 22/100

Patrick Radden Keefe is an absolute gift to the world of nonfiction. He takes topics that are challenging to read about, both in terms of heaviness and complexity, and manages to make them accessible and interesting. While I didn't love this as much as <i> Say Nothing </i> I think that had more to do with my interest in the topic than the quality of the book. I knew very little about the Sacklers and Purdue and oh man this was a wild ride. This was hard to read at times, especially when the Sacklers kept repeatedly denying they had anything to do with everything and were shocked by facing consequences. This was a wild ride. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, and Suicide

silodear's review against another edition

dark informative sad fast-paced

4.75

This book is extremely well researched and thoughtful. It’s a completely damning look into the origin of the opiate epidemic as an intentional marketing ploy of a family obsessed with money. I guess we’re all just fine with rich people wreaking endless horror upon the world and experiencing zero consequences for their actions? This book reinforced everything I understand to be true about absurdly rich wealth hoarders. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, and Mental illness

mayawazana's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

There aren’t any graphic descriptions that narrating the process of drug use, but the concept of the book is addiction and opioid use so that is of course discussed at length.

kathrynshields's review against another edition

challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

5.0

My spooky season reading started a little early with this absolute horror story. I was familiar with the Sackler family’s connection to the opioid epidemic, but Patrick Radden Keefe expertly untangles a complex and complicated history spanning three generations. The material is dense at times, but the story is captivating. This is an important work of journalism and storytelling that everyone, directly or indirectly affected by opioids, should read. 

*Extra points to the author for a consistently correct pronunciation of “Appalachia” in the audiobook.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Medical trauma and Classism

Minor: Cancer