Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

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

90 reviews

luckyone's review against another edition

challenging informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Classism, Bullying, and Antisemitism

Minor: Suicide, Chronic illness, Stalking, Ableism, and Antisemitism

sydapel's review against another edition

dark informative slow-paced

4.5

Easily my favorite of Radden Keefe's books so far, and an incredibly thoughtful and in depth story about the now infamous Sackler family. there's so much in here about how this family has been taking advantage of the system since Day 1, how their philanthropy has always been an offshoot of their need to elevate their name and their refusal to halt the train of profit lead to a chilling downfall. I wish the book had going into a bit more detail about how capitalist systems allow and even actively encourage this type of greed, but the author does admit he was more focused on the members of this elusive family. Highly recommend! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse

Moderate: Suicide, Antisemitism, and Death

madisophi's review against another edition

informative

4.75

The origins of the opioid crisis told through 3 generations of a single family. How the founders of the family pioneered a new way of drug advertising and how their children would carry on the legacy ten fold. If you’ve ever heard the name Sackler before, this is a must read. The author did an amazing job researching this book and outlining this story in a way that, while long, feels concise into the point. Highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, and Drug use

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Suicide

dannythestreet's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Stalking, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Suicide, Classism, and Drug use

waybeyondblue's review against another edition

challenging dark informative tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content

Moderate: Classism, Death, Addiction, Stalking, and Suicide

yilliun's review against another edition

dark informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Such an amazing and informative book about the family who (allegedly) fueled the opioid crisis both in the US and now abroad. The author does a great job with outlining each of these people and their motives. He certainly proves that people don’t become billionaires without exploiting others along the way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Addiction

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Suicide attempt and Suicide

fdallachy's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.0

I found this really interesting, knowing next to nothing about the history of the Sackler family or, indeed, about OxyContin. The tone is very journalistic, which means it's easy to read but, at times, feels slightly gossipy especially when trying to give an impression of the personalities of its protagonists. Nonetheless, there are pretty thorough end notes which helps support the veracity of even these comments (although then you have to wonder to what extent the author has selected those which fit the picture they're painting etc etc) The upside of this, though, is that it helps you remember all the names as you whizz through years of dubious business practices and stony refusal to egage with the consequences of those decisions.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Suicide

idamoaa's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Suicide, and Medical content

readandfindout's review against another edition

dark informative slow-paced

4.5

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Perspective: 5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Death, Child death, and Addiction

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Antisemitism

isaarusilor's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death, Drug abuse, and Drug use