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lonebookshelf's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
lsparrow's review
4.0
I appreciated this look at addictions - I feel that this is best a perspective from a systems and provider perspective.
From a personal / family perspective I left this book feeling even more hopeless. And although I can agree and see the childhood trauma lense - and feel it has validity - I was left feeling so hopeless.
I wish the book had spent more time talking about how we change our brains as adults.
From a personal / family perspective I left this book feeling even more hopeless. And although I can agree and see the childhood trauma lense - and feel it has validity - I was left feeling so hopeless.
I wish the book had spent more time talking about how we change our brains as adults.
drpeeper's review
4.0
When a coworker at the psych hospital where I work saw me reading this, she mentioned that she had tried to read it as well but had been unable to finish because it was too verbose and meandering. As she put it, “he needs a editor” (referring to the author). What frustrates me about this book is that the meandering seems to be a little self indulgent, and if there was any system organization of topics, I couldn’t find it, or at least, it didn’t work for me. The author had a lot to say and a lot of topics to cover, including his own experience with addiction, stories about patients he has seen in his clinical practice, research on the topic of addiction, and even some philosophy, but I think these topics could have been covered in fewer pages with the help of better structuring. Still a valuable read, but very difficult to get through. As a nurse working on a chemical dependency/detox unit, I definitely got something out of this, but it took a LOT of digging to get there.
imjustannaok's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Dense dense audiobook I'll probably revisit in hardcopy. Heartbreaking and brutal stories that shed empathy on addiction & why we could all use some more love. MUCH TO THINK ABOUT
jasoncomely's review
5.0
It would be a far more compassionate world if everyone read this book. Everyone can benefit from it.
11corvus11's review
3.0
DNF. It was really quite a good read until he got to the more scientific rather than clinical aspects. I can only read so many accounts of cruel animal abuse via forced drug addictions, genetic mutations, maternal separations, brain surgeries, and other forms of deliberate suffering before I give up. Another disappointment from someone who put curiosity ahead of ethics which is sad because the author is kind in regards to humans dealing with addiction.
mepsem's review
4.0
A hard read, yet an insightful reflection of health and wellbeing. Overall, a ghastly underlining of addiction and its unwavering connection to trauma, abuse and the world we live. Crucial.