Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

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

145 reviews

jhbandcats's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

The first section of Empire of Pain is background on the three brothers who started what became Perdue Pharma; the rest of the book is about how OxyContin came to destroy so many lives. The whole experience of reading the second and third sections of this book is one of deep frustration and often anger. 

Keefe’s dense, heavily researched account of the rise of the Sackler family (they developed Valium so they were knew about addiction from early on) and the way they created the opioid epidemic is absolutely maddening. To see them literally getting away with murder is, well, criminal. 

Keefe interviewed two hundred people and had access to hundreds of thousands of pages of correspondence and depositions. He’s able to wade through this mass of information and create a cohesive, easily understood narrative. I know little about medicine and even less about business but the story he details was accessible even to a layman. 

Literally more than half the book includes references, footnotes, an index - this is a phenomenally well-documented work. Everyone should read it. It’s a testament to how the rich control the lives of the rest of us. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Medical content, Trafficking, Gaslighting, and Classism

eelizard's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

_meeg's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Death

radmartigan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Pandemic/Epidemic

daniellel's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, and Suicide

lottiestarling's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective tense

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use

Moderate: Addiction

jbosio's review against another edition

emotional informative fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction

thundrflap's review against another edition

challenging informative tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

tiernanhunter's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Antisemitism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

daphreads's review against another edition

slow-paced

5.0

One of the most well written pieces of nonfiction that I have ever read. The research and investigation that went into it is unparalleled - I cannot imagine the lengths he went to in order to get information that has never been public anywhere else. But more-so, the author is able to entwine all this information into a deeply interesting and well-flowing narrative structure; its witty, funny, and draws you in. It managed to make me gasp out loud as if I was reading a thriller, but it was simply history hold is such a compelling way that it completely drew me in. And the information that is being presented is so so important- I'm so grateful that this information has finally come to light, in any attempt to hold a family that has created insurmountable harm to millions of people in America and around the world. It is a phenomenal teaching lesson for doctors and any of those who are prescribing, to do their own research for the sake of their patients. I cannot say enough good things about this book, and wish I could personally thank the author for everything he did to make it possible. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Suicide