mapdock 's review for:

Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones

5.0

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The cast of characters in this sad chronicle of the prescription drug and (related) heroin epidemic in the US would make even George R.R. Martin's head spin. Only a few are recurring and central to the story, while the others are intended to illustrate how many different facets there are to this problem. It's a crazy collection of stories, crazier still for how many of them are relatable. The author does a great job of deliberately and very clearly showing how misinformation and overeager marketing contributed first to a flood of strong prescription drugs, followed by physician abuse (intentional and unintentional), followed by heroin dealers filling the void left when money for prescriptions ran out. Not an uplifting book by any means, but an important one to read.