An Academic and A Pop Take on the Opioid Crisis

An Academic and A Pop Take on the Opioid CrisisTitle: Drug Dealer, MD: How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It’s So Hard to Stop
Author: Anna Lembke
Source: Library
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:three-stars

When trying to read a lot on one topic, I worry that the books might get repetitive. So far though, I’ve found that each book brings something unique to the table. In this case, the author is a doctor who works with people suffering from addiction. This is also the only book from an academic press on my list. It did read more like an academic text, with language that was more technical and less descriptive. Short chapters and even shorter sections with descriptive titles helped keep this feeling like any easy read. It was interesting to hear from a doctors’ perspective about the systemic pressures promoting prescriptions as a quick fix to people’s problems. The section on the way the author perceives the behavior of patients seeking medication was another unique element. The author did include a number of patient stories, which were moving simply based on the facts of the situation. Still there was a clinical feel to the stories that meant they weren’t this book’s strongest suit.

An Academic and A Pop Take on the Opioid CrisisTitle: Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America
Author: Beth Macy
Source: Library
Links: Bookshop (affiliate link) |Goodreads
Rating:four-stars

This book basically reads like an extension of Barry Meir’s Pain Killer. It was written in a similarly engaging narrative style. The first third of this book covered similar ground to Pain Killer, but included new patient stories and enough of a new perspective that it didn’t feel repetitive. The remainder of the book addressed how the opioid crisis progressed after the first Purdue Pharma trial and the introduction of abuse-resistant OxyContin. I enjoyed this book, as I do any narrative nonfiction that gives us a lens into other people’s lives. However, like Pain Killer, I felt like the story was missing something. I think what I’m missing is a detailed accounting of the interior deliberations at Purdue Pharma and/or an ending that provides a little more justice. Obviously, a true story doesn’t have to provide that neat of a narrative or a satisfying ending. However, I’m very much looking forward to reading the most recent book on my list, Empire of Pain, because I believe that recent court cases revealed documents that might give this story more detail and resolution.

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