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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
A thorough and exhausting historical examination addiction not limited to a single substance. I got the sense that as a person who has relatively few friends and family who suffer from addiction, this book was not necessarily written for me.
With that being said, I very much enjoyed the author’s frequent pivots between his own practice, his struggle with addiction, and the history of addiction itself. The frequent shifts led to an entertaining read that did not necessarily linger on one of these three elements too often.
With that being said, I very much enjoyed the author’s frequent pivots between his own practice, his struggle with addiction, and the history of addiction itself. The frequent shifts led to an entertaining read that did not necessarily linger on one of these three elements too often.
Deep examination of the history of addiction, particularly in the United States. Carl Erik Fisher mixes his analysis of stigma and treatment over the past 100+ years with his own journey to sobriety. As he studied/worked to become a board certified doctor, he was in and out of treatment programs himself for alcoholism and substance abuse. His account focuses more on the politics driving the different eras of addiction - everything from the junkie/addict stigma to the drug war that was targeting poverty-stricken African Americans despite the high incidence of white, middle class addiction. Ultimately, Fisher provides his own POV on how we as a society should treat addiction: as a journey and illness and less of a character flaw. What I liked: Fisher's personal account of his journey. What I disliked: nothing in particular, historical policy journey was sometimes dry but informative.
informative
medium-paced
slow-paced
Seamless combination of memoir with research-based nonfiction. Who knew there was a Samuel Taylor Coleridge IN ADDITION TO the composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor ??? I did not
Generally this book was well written but maybe just not my cup of tea. It truly felt like a history book (I know, it’s in the title) but for the majority of the book it lacked an arc, a point or a claim. The beginning and end really did tie everything together though.
America has a long history of vacillating between aggressive, abstinence-focused, zero tolerance and even violent approaches to drugs and addiction, and more progressive, people-first approaches to supporting people recovering. Ultimately, addiction is extremely nuanced and complicated, but our politics, religious fundamentalism, system racism and economy push for overly simplified and harmful approaches to addiction and the people who suffer from it.
Helpful read that increased my empathy and knowledge of the history of addiction in America, just really slow from time to time.
America has a long history of vacillating between aggressive, abstinence-focused, zero tolerance and even violent approaches to drugs and addiction, and more progressive, people-first approaches to supporting people recovering. Ultimately, addiction is extremely nuanced and complicated, but our politics, religious fundamentalism, system racism and economy push for overly simplified and harmful approaches to addiction and the people who suffer from it.
Helpful read that increased my empathy and knowledge of the history of addiction in America, just really slow from time to time.
This was a great look at the history of addiction and the various responses to it throughout history. I appreciated how Fisher inserted his own story of addiction and recovery throughout. The conclusion that the author comes to about addiction, I think, is an important one.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
dark
informative
slow-paced
excellent- the personal anecdotes and history lessons were great