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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
This book was quite heavy. I already knew that opiates were a problem in the United States, but oh my.. I did not know that it was this bad. This really opened my eyes to the major flaws and mistakes that led up to this point, and it seems that little is done to actually change things on a deeper than surface level.
So, why 3 stars? Well it was well written, I feel like the writer had done a lot of research. However, a lot felt like repetition. He obviously had to make clear in how many places this was happening, and how separate these situations were being treated until people finally started to connect the dots. But often I found myself wondering if I was reading a part for the second time and my ereader somehow made a mistake or didn't save my progress.. This was not the case, just a lot of the same descriptions for very similar situations.
So, why 3 stars? Well it was well written, I feel like the writer had done a lot of research. However, a lot felt like repetition. He obviously had to make clear in how many places this was happening, and how separate these situations were being treated until people finally started to connect the dots. But often I found myself wondering if I was reading a part for the second time and my ereader somehow made a mistake or didn't save my progress.. This was not the case, just a lot of the same descriptions for very similar situations.
Lost stars from me due to problematic, stigmatizing language and redundancy of material explored. But the meat of this book is important info every American should know more about.
this book made me cry yet gave me many reasons to be hopeful and optimistic about the strength and resilience of this country (a tall order in such a bleak year) - a surprisingly restorative read on an important albeit devastating topic.
Such a beautifully written, extensively researched book on a man-made epidemic that has swept the nation. I was fully immersed in this novel from beginning to end--the writing is that delicious.
“I spent years researching the causes of the opioid epidemic which I will outline repetitively and in detail for hundreds of pages and then for some reason at the very end conclude abruptly suggest that it was actually caused by SNOWFLAKE college students expecting TRIGGER WARNINGS and SAFE SPACES, citing one anecdotal article in The Atlantic and literally no research. The years of interviews I did are much weaker evidence than the Vibes I feel.” this man is so fucking annoying!! Anti-intellectual excuse for a journalist utterly uninterested in examining his preexisting biases. I learned more about the opioid epidemic from 10 pages of Empire of Pain.
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- OxyContin to heroin
- Heroin epidemic- just how well organized and thought out. The cells, only driving with what they can fit in their mouth, families, the relationship with users!, seeking out addicts, free samples to hook people/ keep them when they’re quitting.
- Race: white teenagers are the demographic now (whole life, money), parallel between leaders of the pharmaceutical industry and Mexican drug cartels: how different the way society views them when they’re literally just the same. Simultaneously humanizing the boys that are drivers and dispatchers (immigration!) while still highlighting the harm they’re doing.
- Len Bias homicide- different prosecution from Portland!
- Did bring drug epidemic closer to upper class white Americans. Leverage with prisons and legislation.
- Athletes- medication for sports injury
- Addiction and self control- how much is a lack of willpower vs a biological predisposition? Narrative of addicts
- America and pain- pain laws protecting doctors
- Reality of rehab and the years of active prevention required. Two years for dopamine receptors to start functioning naturally again
most of this book is about Ohio
sigh
not a surprise but still -
Let go of all your preconceived notions of 'junkies' and addiction, of ghetto dealers and morality-based judgments - better yet, of any judgment at all, because statistically speaking, if you don't already know someone who is addicted to an opiate or has died from an opiate addiction, you will. So start paying attention. Speak up. The biggest feeder of this epidemic is silence - shame. Shame will keep others from knowing the signs of addiction, from seeking help, from saving someone from the grave.
Many thanks to Quinones for this clearly written, fact-based outline of the current epidemic, from its origins to the present, from the 'stars aligning' timing of Mexican dealers with a way of selling unlike any in the past (or present) and big pharmaceutical companies manipulating data to promote the use of painkillers in ways that lead to inconceivably life-threatening addiction. This is a terrifying, sad yet hopeful and very personal look (detailed stories from affected individuals and families) at the rise of a drug meant to help under specific conditions but death-dealing in others, which will be eye-opening for readers who think their social, economic, or racial group is protected. That is exactly the kind of attitude that will land friends, family members, or possibly you in the ground. It's a brutal reality, but ignoring it will only make it worse.
This is right at our back door - for those us in Northeast Ohio, take a look at page 295 and beyond where The University of Akron's football team and their drug problem (is it in the past? hopefully) is noted, names and all. Someone close to me with an addiction explained how human traffickers look for teen addicts and potential addicts to pick up, using their addiction (and the shame of it, as well as from their behavior while under a trafficker's influence) to keep them working. Addiction makes users vulnerable to all kinds of exploitation and abuse - so read, think, and talk. If someone seems troubled, sick, in need of help - ask. Offer. If you don't, who will?
sigh
not a surprise but still -
Let go of all your preconceived notions of 'junkies' and addiction, of ghetto dealers and morality-based judgments - better yet, of any judgment at all, because statistically speaking, if you don't already know someone who is addicted to an opiate or has died from an opiate addiction, you will. So start paying attention. Speak up. The biggest feeder of this epidemic is silence - shame. Shame will keep others from knowing the signs of addiction, from seeking help, from saving someone from the grave.
Many thanks to Quinones for this clearly written, fact-based outline of the current epidemic, from its origins to the present, from the 'stars aligning' timing of Mexican dealers with a way of selling unlike any in the past (or present) and big pharmaceutical companies manipulating data to promote the use of painkillers in ways that lead to inconceivably life-threatening addiction. This is a terrifying, sad yet hopeful and very personal look (detailed stories from affected individuals and families) at the rise of a drug meant to help under specific conditions but death-dealing in others, which will be eye-opening for readers who think their social, economic, or racial group is protected. That is exactly the kind of attitude that will land friends, family members, or possibly you in the ground. It's a brutal reality, but ignoring it will only make it worse.
This is right at our back door - for those us in Northeast Ohio, take a look at page 295 and beyond where The University of Akron's football team and their drug problem (is it in the past? hopefully) is noted, names and all. Someone close to me with an addiction explained how human traffickers look for teen addicts and potential addicts to pick up, using their addiction (and the shame of it, as well as from their behavior while under a trafficker's influence) to keep them working. Addiction makes users vulnerable to all kinds of exploitation and abuse - so read, think, and talk. If someone seems troubled, sick, in need of help - ask. Offer. If you don't, who will?
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Excellent writing & journalism, consistently thought provoking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Death
informative
inspiring
slow-paced