An instant New York Times bestseller, Dopesick is the only book to tell the full story of the opioid crisis, from the boardroom to the courtroom and into the living rooms of Americans struggling to save themselves and their families: "masterfully interlaces stories of communities in crisis with dark histories of corporate greed and regulatory indifference" from a journalist who has lived through it (New York Times).

In this extraordinary work, Beth Macy takes us into the epicenter of a national drama that has unfolded over two decades. From the labs and marketing departments of big pharma to local doctor's offices; wealthy suburbs to distressed small communities in Central Appalachia; from distant cities to once-idyllic farm towns; the spread of opioid addiction follows a tortuous trajectory that illustrates how this crisis has persisted for so long and become so firmly entrenched.

Beginning with a single dealer who lands in a small Virginia town and sets about turning high school football stars into heroin overdose statistics, Macy sets out to answer a grieving mother's question-why her only son died-and comes away with a gripping, unputdownable story of greed and need. From the introduction of OxyContin in 1996, Macy investigates the powerful forces that led America's doctors and patients to embrace a medical culture where overtreatment with painkillers became the norm. In some of the same communities featured in her bestselling book Factory Man, the unemployed use painkillers both to numb the pain of joblessness and pay their bills, while privileged teens trade pills in cul-de-sacs, and even high school standouts fall prey to prostitution, jail, and death.

Through unsparing, compelling, andunforgettably humane portraits of families and first responders determined toameliorate this epidemic, each facet of the crisis comes into focus. In thesepolitically fragmented times, Beth Macy shows that one thing uniting Americans across geographic, partisan, and class lines is opioid drug abuse. But even in the midst of twin crises in drug abuse and healthcare, Macy finds reason to hope and ample signs of the spirit and tenacity that are helping the countless ordinary people ensnared by addiction build a better future for themselves, their families, and their communities.

"An impressive feat of journalism, monumental in scope and urgent in its implications."-Jennifer Latson, The Boston Globe - (Grand Central Pub)

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* Award-winning Virginia-based journalist Macy, author of best-sellers Factory Man (2014) and Truevine (2016), carefully constructs the through line from the midnineties introduction of the prescription painkiller OxyContin to the current U.S. opioid crisis: 300,000 deaths over the last 15 years, with that number predicted to double in the next 5. Its addictiveness initially far underreported, Oxy was outrageously marketed to doctors and overprescribed to patients, who quickly couldn't do without it. The much-later introduction of an abuse-resistant formula made heroin cheap and easily accessible, a natural next step. Macy's years of following the issue have earned her remarkable access to those suffering from opioid-addiction disorder as well as the people who tirelessly love and care for them and, in many cases, honor their memories. Again and again, she hears of the devotion the addicted claim to the drug, over every other aspect of their lives, and the motivating fear of "dopesickness," gutting withdrawal symptoms. And despite its proven long-term success, medication-assisted treatment remains stigmatized and often too difficult to access. Although the realities are devastating, the doctors, the bereaved, and the advocates Macy introduces do offer hope. Hers is a crucial and many-faceted look at a still-unfolding national crisis, making this a timely and necessary read. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.

Library Journal Reviews

New York Times best-selling author Macy (Factory Man; Truevine) starts with a drug dealer who set about hooking high school football stars in a small Virginia town, then moves to users, families, and first responders to show that America's opioid crisis is rooted in both greed and desperation. Addiction thrives on the pain engendered by unemployment and diminished opportunity in this country today. With a 100,000-copy first printing.

Library Journal Reviews

"Americans, representing 5 percent of the world's population, consume 80 percent of its opioids." Macy (Factory Man; Truevine) brings that statistic down to the personal level as she relates individual stories of OxyContin use in the United States, while also tracing its regulatory history and legal, medical, and social ramifications. The intertwined factors that have led to today's opioid epidemic play out in stories of health-care providers, patients, pharmaceutical companies, politicians, drug dealers, users, and family members. Starting with her own community of Roanoke, VA, Macy effectively shows how opioid abuse plays no favorites as it works its way into all socioeconomic levels, races, and ethnicities. The accounts of addicts and their families leave no doubt about the power the chemicals hold over the brains they alter. Addicts soon begin using to avoid the symptoms of withdrawal (dopesick) rather than gaining any pleasurable high. Controversies abound over what treatments work. Abstinence versus medication-assisted therapy is an ongoing debate, while profit motives and insurance problems are also factors. VERDICT Macy's use of current research by various experts makes clear how complex the opioid problem is, but the strength of this narrative comes from the people in the day-to-day battle.—Richard Maxwell, Porter Adventist Hosp. Lib., Denver