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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
Nothing wrong with this book, just many other, better, books on the same topic. While I liked the use of interviews, I found that it sometimes kept the book a bit shallow, with lots of interesting small scope stories, but not really being able to turn them into a bigger picture.
challenging
informative
sad
tense
There were interesting bits in this book, but having to slog through the repetitive uninteresting parts was work.
i wasn’t able to stop talking about this book while i was reading the first 3/4. the tales of mexico intertwined with the rust belt within the world of pharmaceuticals was fascinating, infuriating and poignant. i could have done less with the authors’ broad sweeping generalizations of addicted generations that permeated the last quarter of the book, but i would highly recommend this as a launching point to a better understanding of the opioid epidemic.
Read this for book club. It was interesting, engaging, and educational on a topic I did not know much about. Reading about the Xalisco boys I felt like I was listening to an NPR episode of, "How I Built This" My only complaint was that I thought the book could use a bit more editing. It seemed odd that the author kept adding in paragraphs summarizing the history of the Xalisco boys as if we didn't know who they were, despite already having read 150 pages about them.
A fantastic book recommended by a great friend.
While on the surface this book is about how the pharmaceutical industry and Mexican heroin trade destroyed a generation of rural Americans, it is really a classic story of hubris, greed, and racism.
We allowed legalized drug cartels to hollow out sections of America, and turned a blind eye because drug abuse was thought of as poor moral fiber, not a disease. Because it was negros and Mexicans, and their death was irrelevant.
We scorned the victim and lauded the culprit, and paid an astronomical price - with our money , our culture and our souls.
If you can read this book and still believe that a drug user is weak and low moral fiber, then there is a special place in hell reserved for you.
It is time to make a whole culture that protects everyone without stigma or judgement and holds the truly guilty to account.
While on the surface this book is about how the pharmaceutical industry and Mexican heroin trade destroyed a generation of rural Americans, it is really a classic story of hubris, greed, and racism.
We allowed legalized drug cartels to hollow out sections of America, and turned a blind eye because drug abuse was thought of as poor moral fiber, not a disease. Because it was negros and Mexicans, and their death was irrelevant.
We scorned the victim and lauded the culprit, and paid an astronomical price - with our money , our culture and our souls.
If you can read this book and still believe that a drug user is weak and low moral fiber, then there is a special place in hell reserved for you.
It is time to make a whole culture that protects everyone without stigma or judgement and holds the truly guilty to account.
dark
emotional
informative
fast-paced
This is a book the highlights how OxyContin pills led to entire communities being decimated by black tar Heroin. It is devastating.
Too long & repetitive
I love this information and feel informed having it read it. But it loops through different cities and timelines and then back around and repeats points multiple times over. Could have been much more succinct and concise.
I love this information and feel informed having it read it. But it loops through different cities and timelines and then back around and repeats points multiple times over. Could have been much more succinct and concise.
emotional
informative
medium-paced
“Cahana believed that what insurance companies reimbursed for distilled many unfortunate values of the country. “We overtest, perform surgery, stick needles; these people are worse off,” he said. “If we work on their nutrition, diet, sleep habits, smoke habits, helping [them] find work—then they improve. You have to be accountable. If you give a treatment that kills people or makes people worse, you gotta stop. You can’t continue making money on stuff that doesn’t work.”
“It’s inconceivable to think there are problems that don’t have a technological solution. To go from ‘I can do anything’ to ‘I deserve everything’ is very quick. “All of a sudden, we can’t go to college without Adderall; you can’t do athletics without testosterone; you can’t have intimacy without Viagra. We’re all the time focused on the stuff and not on the people. I tell pain patients, ‘Forget all that; the treatment is you. Take charge of your life and be healthy and do what you love and love what you do.’”
“The U.S. medical system is good at fighting disease, Cahana believes, and awful at leading people to wellness.”
“It’s inconceivable to think there are problems that don’t have a technological solution. To go from ‘I can do anything’ to ‘I deserve everything’ is very quick. “All of a sudden, we can’t go to college without Adderall; you can’t do athletics without testosterone; you can’t have intimacy without Viagra. We’re all the time focused on the stuff and not on the people. I tell pain patients, ‘Forget all that; the treatment is you. Take charge of your life and be healthy and do what you love and love what you do.’”
“The U.S. medical system is good at fighting disease, Cahana believes, and awful at leading people to wellness.”