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Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe
15 reviews
kdsmoove's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
5.0
“It is a peculiar hallmark of the American economy that you can produce a dangerous product and effectively off-load any legal liability for whatever destruction that product may cause by pointing to the individual responsibility of the consumer.”
*insert annie screaming gif”
the amount of times i screamed at the radio or texted someone “just when i thought these people couldn’t get any worse, they fucking do!” throughout reading this is not a low number. when i tell you i was HOOKED from the beginning and somehow not intimidated by the length.
i knew some about the opioid crisis, even enough to associate the sackler name with it but i had *no idea* just how deep the rot went. i didn’t realize that arthur sackler was the mastermind behind the way the entire pharmaceutical marketing schemes work now. that he basically invented sales and created his own fucking sources and oh my GOD. it was a solid five or six hours in before we even got to Reagan and i did the whole *leo pointing at the tv gif* thing to the stereo.
and of course today to tidy it up it HAD to be the fucking trump administration willing to let them off with a slap on the wrist. i am so mad, i will be staying mad. you should read this. but beware, there’s a lot of trigger warnings to check and it will make you very mad. One of the lines he used was “rip shit pissed” which sounds a lot funnier out loud than it does written down but i will be using it moving forward.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Medical content, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Suicide
idun_aurora's review against another edition
dark
informative
medium-paced
5.0
The amount of work that has gone into this book is commendable. It's packed with information without ever getting trudgy, shedding light on not just the Sacklers and the opioid crisis, but many parts of the (ridiculous) American health care system and the marketing of prescription drugs.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, and Suicide
carpfish's review against another edition
challenging
informative
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Suicide, Mental illness, and Drug use
Moderate: Medical trauma and Medical content
laurenkimoto's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Antisemitism
nothingforpomegranted's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
This book has absolutely everything I like, and it was done so well. Well-developed characters with complex relationships in a comprehensively researched, utterly compelling narrative nonfiction story spanning decades. A Jewish immigrant family in New York with connections to Columbia University and, of course, a critical look at the opioid crisis and the many contributors to its horrors.
I was fascinated by every element of this book (though the introduction of Arthur Sackler and the family history developed in Part 1 was my favorite section), and it was one of those audiobooks that had me seeking out more household chores in order to keep listening. Patrick Radden Keefe narrates his own writing fabulously, and he wrote an absolutely incredibly piece of investigative journalism that never bothered me with its length or detail.
I was fascinated by every element of this book (though the introduction of Arthur Sackler and the family history developed in Part 1 was my favorite section), and it was one of those audiobooks that had me seeking out more household chores in order to keep listening. Patrick Radden Keefe narrates his own writing fabulously, and he wrote an absolutely incredibly piece of investigative journalism that never bothered me with its length or detail.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical trauma, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
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