Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America

Where do I begin with this?Firstly, I think myself very lucky to live in England with a National Health Service that has looked after us all since day one. The events in this book are incredibly heartbreaking to read and it must have been a mammoth task in itself just to commit tragedy after tragedy to print.This book details the phenomenal rise in opioid painkillers and the abuse of the system by reps, gps and patients alike. The history detailing opium in its many forms is enlightening and gives an insight into how easy it has always been to obtain in the USA.There are no punches pulled in the waves of grieving parents when overdose after overdose occurs so frequently that it almost becomes the norm. Gone are the stereotypes of the 'typical junkie' when the affluent neighbourhoods are flooded with Oxycontin and Heroin as the drugs of choice, and normal life is forever destroyed.A typical extract from the book stood out as particularly harrowing when a family were checking up on their daughter who had not been in touch. Upon entering the house she was found dead on her bed from an overdose with her baby cooing on the bed beside her...I cannot begin to imagine how difficult this must have been to write this having had to stop reading on multiple occasions due to the intense pain that comes across in this text. The author has been very fair in portraying the victims as human beings with feelings as everybody else, and the detailing of the families and communities tirelessly battling to get addiction recognised as an illness rather than be stigmatised is very well done. I can't praise this book enough for how well this has been put together and would recommend this to anybody interested in the subject of drugs and addiction - regardless of where you are from.

Very few books have the shock and heaviness of 'Dopesick' by Beth Macy. This is a book that at times left me both bewildered and stunned throughout. The questions do arise; How did this become the epidemic that it clearly is in 2020? Why did it start? How can it be fixed? Amazingly Beth Macy manages to give astute and deep answers to these questions in, what is essentially a brilliant exploration of Opioid Addiction.Fortunately 'Dopesick' is both well written and scoped, enabling the reader to experience the dilemma of both Heroin and Oxycontin and the connection of both becoming a recipe for disaster. This is a book that manages to convey educational character-experience and also an in-depth approach starting with addiction going back to the late 1800's.In essence, it's an extremely well-written piece of writing that manages to not be preachy but instead is painfully honest in parts. Although not an easy going book, due to the depth of following the people who become addicted. It is however, a very useful and worthwhile read and must be admired for being so impressive when it hits it's stride. Beth Macy does a very fine job in research and following the sources. Eventually it becomes apparent that this Opioid Addiction epidemic is unfortunately not going away quickly.If you find yourself becoming fascinated by the crisis, it seems to study and read about it, may be the only solution apart from not taking OxyContin in the first place but 'Dopesick' manages to make a very persuasive case for delving deep and becoming a dire warning for those who are sadly heavily addicted.

This book wasn’t an easy read but it was an important read. There was so much in here that I didn’t realise had happened. It certainly opened my eyes to a few things and made me so grateful once again for our health care in this country

I got the book after watching the Disney series expecting it to describe in more detail the storyline of that TV drama. Whilst you can identify its basis and some of characters of some of the series the focus isn’t necessarily on Purdue and OxyContin which seem to be mentioned in passing. It’s more about the drug problem in general and it’s sometimes difficult to follow the time lines and those involved. Although some it is interesting the series producers did a good job of identifying a watchable storyline from the mish-mash of the book.

Well written and detailed account, with very moving portaits of how so many peoples' lives were destroyed. Shame on all responsible.

Until reading this book, I was somewhat aware of the drug problem that is rampant in the United States. Mostly, however, this awareness centred on the use of cocaine and crack cocaine.But what I hadn't been aware of was the devastation caused by the use of opioids, kicked off by the over-prescription of pain-killers. The death rate resulting from use of these drugs matches death rates from war.Beth Macy paints a harrowing picture of folk in the grip of these drugs.One fact that emerged from the tale that made a worthwhile comment on recent news was that legalising the use of marijuana created another problem. Drug dealers who had relied on an income from selling marijuana were forced to change to selling alternative drugs, - including opioids. Quite thought provoking.At times the book tended to be a bit over-long, and I found myself speed reading over sections.All-in-all, though, this book is well worth having on ones bookshelf, and it tells a grim but readable modern tale.

It's hard to recommend a book like this but I do. The forensic dissection of the opioid crisis, woven through the lives of it's victims in rural America, is heart breaking. But this won't go away without understanding and Macy paints such a clear, factual picture.Not a light read but a very good one.

The content of the book is sad but brilliant in the same time, is a mind opener, makes you realise that drugs can happen near you, under your eyes, and helps you understand the addicts, not to be judgemental.

Relato real que dá uma dimensão do problema dos opióides nos USA

If you shall read only one book about this tragedy- read this one

La couverture est abîmée dans les coins

The fact that Macy begins the book with a narrative followed by historic contextualisation of the problem hooks the reader immediately.The research is excellent and excellently presented.The only "fault" I find is that many, many people are mentioned as the story unfolds, so I found that, especially if I had put the book down for a while, I had to reread parts to know who exactly the people involved were. A list of characters at the end would have helped that process. But, this is a tiny detail.

I feel confident that this book could have been reduced by 50% - there are just so many individual stories, and a ton of names to keep track of - and whilst many are interesting in themselves, the connection to the overall red thread is sometimes a bit lost. Nevertheless, important investigative journalism that I am happy to have read.