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lyonsmw's review
4.0
Can a book be both gutting and hopeful? Beth Macy’s “Raising Lazarus” is exactly that. Gutting that the reprehensible S*ckler family, aptly referred to as a cartel throughout the book, have essentially escaped scot-free. Macy shows them no mercy. Hopeful as Macy empathetically details the heroic efforts of harm reduction specialists to save those ensnared in opioid addiction. This is a difficult, important read.
turtlewoman101's review
4.0
In Raising Lazarus, Beth Macy takes us into the trenches to meet the everyday people who are fighting the opioid epidemic. I read Dopesick in 2019 and found this was a good companion, but it isn't necessary to read both to get the full picture of how opioid addiction has ravaged so many communities. This was not an easy read, but a worthwhile one.
juliebcooper's review against another edition
4.0
I JUST WROTE A WHOLE LONG PARAGRAPH AND THIS STUPID APP FROZE ON ME.
Since I don’t feel like rewriting it - I’ll say the following:
3.5 rounded up
1) I consider this to be a companion to Dopesick.
2) Macy tries to cover a bit too much ground and would have been better off sticking to just the (well-written and poignant) stories of those working in the trenches and those who are in recovery.
3) We need to focus on harm reduction. Drugs aren’t going anywhere.
Since I don’t feel like rewriting it - I’ll say the following:
3.5 rounded up
1) I consider this to be a companion to Dopesick.
2) Macy tries to cover a bit too much ground and would have been better off sticking to just the (well-written and poignant) stories of those working in the trenches and those who are in recovery.
3) We need to focus on harm reduction. Drugs aren’t going anywhere.
elizabeth_1898's review
2.0
Although perhaps I should blame my preoccupied mind and not the book, I had a lot of difficulty following this one. It seemed to jump all over the place, from story to story, without a central theme or purpose. Although I read many personal anecdotes and stories, I do not feel like I know any more about the opioid epidemic than I did from, say, reading articles in The Atlantic .
roomforastory's review
4.0
A telling of the overdose crisis going into the COVID pandemic that profiles changemakers in the world of opioid substance use disorder while counterpointing with the story of lawsuits against the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma. Macy illustrates well that if we want to see improvements in opioid addiction and its cascading effects, we have to change the way we view those who struggle with SUD and the way we help them along with systemic changes like housing and medical care as basic human rights.
catiesbooksandthings's review
2.0
This is a follow up book to Dopesick. I read Dopesick back in 2018 when it first came out. I am from Beth Macy's home town of Roanoke, VA and the book was definitely an eye opening read for me because I knew a lot of the people discussed in the book and was completely naïve to what people I went to school with were doing.
Unfortunately, I was not a huge fan of this follow up book. I was drawn to this book because the first book was so eye opening and I wanted to see what was being done to help quell this crisis. Sadly, this book did not do that for me. First, the book had terrible structure bouncing back and forth between the Sackler bankruptcy case (which should have not been mentioned so much) and the few front line people trying to help with the opioid crisis. Secondly and my biggest issue with this book, was how highly political it was. I felt that she allowed her political views to way to much on this book and she was constantly saying how the Republicans were the problem even though during the height of this crisis Obama was in office. There is not one person or side that is responsible. They are all involved in worsening this crisis and it is an extremely complex issue that does not have a quick or easy fix. Her blatant political agenda did get old for me and had me now wanting to finish this book.
As much as I was hopeful in this book, this one was a let down for me. I would definitely recommend reading the first book Dopesick, but I would not recommend Raising Lazarus unless you want to read about Macy's political views on the opioid crisis.
Unfortunately, I was not a huge fan of this follow up book. I was drawn to this book because the first book was so eye opening and I wanted to see what was being done to help quell this crisis. Sadly, this book did not do that for me. First, the book had terrible structure bouncing back and forth between the Sackler bankruptcy case (which should have not been mentioned so much) and the few front line people trying to help with the opioid crisis. Secondly and my biggest issue with this book, was how highly political it was. I felt that she allowed her political views to way to much on this book and she was constantly saying how the Republicans were the problem even though during the height of this crisis Obama was in office. There is not one person or side that is responsible. They are all involved in worsening this crisis and it is an extremely complex issue that does not have a quick or easy fix. Her blatant political agenda did get old for me and had me now wanting to finish this book.
As much as I was hopeful in this book, this one was a let down for me. I would definitely recommend reading the first book Dopesick, but I would not recommend Raising Lazarus unless you want to read about Macy's political views on the opioid crisis.