Welcome to Litsy!

I‘m trying to go through and read books I bought a long time ago on my kindle. This book came out in 2018 and already feels dated to me. Although the title mentions “the drug company that addicted America,” very little of the book discusses Purdue Pharma and instead focuses on personal stories of families dealing with addiction. While I sympathize with their struggles, I wanted more time spent on the macro level of addiction and the drug companies

I think this is the third time I‘ve read this book. It‘s so good. I wish this particular David versus Goliath story had a happier ending.

Santa Fe International Literary Festival, Day 2:
Also had the privilege of listening to journalist Beth Macy read from her latest book, “Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America‘s Overdose Crisis” and talk about the PTSD she suffered after researching and writing “Dopesick” (which was also produced as a series on Hulu). She was joined in conversation by Hampton Sides, an illustrious author and historian in his own right.

Heartbreaking. Depressing. Enraging. But most importantly, empathy inducing. Going to need to rewatch the series to better identify characters. Not sure who Tess from the book was in the series, but she may be the person who sticks with me the longest. So much needs to change in how we deal with this opioid crisis.

I had to to take this one slowly because it was such a disturbing read. I appreciate that Macy took the time to get to know the people the Sacklers destroyed. Such a vile family. 🤬 And the doctors that prescribe this willy nilly are equally culpable. There are so many layers to this tragedy and sadly, no one seems to have any solutions.

Wow ! Just watched first episode. I didn‘t read the book but did read Empire of Pain . Depressing & infuriating.On Hulu .

Terrifying, tragic and infuriating. Planning to watch some of the Netflix documentaries on the opioid crisis after I finish this.

Reads like a long form magazine article: detailed and well researched, but also includes the human elements. This is a haunting glimpse into the opioid crisis.

1: dressing up & trick or treating with my boys.
2: the tagged. I read this book last year after my sister went into opioid treatment, my sister-in-law died & a friend‘s fiancée died from substance abuse. I was so scared for a long time my sister would die, too. She‘s now been sober almost 18 months, doing better than ever, and helping others! Last year, I was devouring books about opioids & addiction.
3: just here on Litsy

#WondrousWednesday

A very informative examination into the opioid epidemic in Roanoke, VA. Provided up close look at the community. Dreamland is another great book - frightening and disturbing how decisions were made to so many‘s detriment!

This book was very informative as well as frustrating to listen to. It gave me a much better understanding of the history and current state of opioid addiction across the U.S. The situation is presented clearly, or at least as clearly as this complex situation can be, and with empathy for those fighting addiction as well as their families.

#nonfiction #audiobook #NonfictionNerds

To me, this is about the way capitalism allows one group of people to harm another, all in pursuit of the almighty dollar and in the guise of treating a very real condition. It‘s truly complex to tease out the right and wrong here. Macy also pulls you inside actual lives of those fighting addiction, which makes it even more real.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2020 #nonfictionchallenge2020 #aboutaddictionopioidcrisis

Ummmmm... WoW! Just W.O.W!

Why, Oh, Why, does this not surprise me...

I really enjoyed this audiobook on my walks this week. I learned a lot about the opioid crisis in America and I like that it didn‘t focus on the inner cities for once. It was well rounded with a look inside the users, dealers, pharma companies, doctors etc.

And this is what happens when we let companies self-regulate...

WoW... just WOW...

Incredible well researched, informative, incredible sad and eye opening book about roots of use and abuse of opioids. #NonFiction2020 #OpioidsCrisis

Taking this one on next. Guaranteed to make me mad, just in case current events don‘t do enough. I listened to about 30 minutes today, and I‘m already invested. Just hoping for less rain in the coming week so I can take this on longer walks.

#nonfictionchalleng2020 #aboutaddiction
#quarantineread #audiowalking

Amazing insight into the opioid epidemic!

This book was a difficult read because my sister is an addict who started with pain pills, but I found it to be a well done account of a terrible crisis. Macy gives several different viewpoints from people and her research into the drug company was informative and insightful.

Another book marked off for #Nonfiction2020. @Riveted_Reader_Melissa

This book was informative, sad, and infuriating all at the same time. Macy gave a good background on how the opioid crisis began as well as stories of those personally hurt by the crisis. 6/15 #Jumpstart2020
#WinterBookBingo - Takes place locally (a lot of this is based in Kentucky). #Nonfiction2020 - About drug addiction/Opioid crisis.

I‘ve also exceeded one of my #Jumpstart2020 goals by reading 3 nonfiction books 🥳🥳

1. Snow! The cold means I can stay home by three fireplace.
2. The tagged book... I find myself referencing it a lot. It was fascinating and horrifying.
3. Horror, typically.
4. New ones? Idk... welcome newbies!

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

So enlightening. Perfect mix of (recent) history and narrative.

This book was a tough read. We all know that pharmaceutical companies can be unethical, but reading how they deliberately preyed on people for profit is truly awful. The links between OxyContin abuse and heroin addiction is quite scary. Whilst this book was not perfectly written, I did find it interesting.

Trying to understand this horrible disease that has touched my life & broken my heart in unimaginable ways this year. 2 funerals, dropped a family member off at detox, another coming out of her 90 day rehab is now living in a sober home on naltrexone 150+ days sober. I am so scared for them & hope everyday they can get past this & live their best lives. I don‘t want to lose anyone else too soon. Hard to balance the line between help & enabling.

Damn, guys. This was such a tough listen. My hopes for some of the people in the narrative were just crushed (the epilogue about Tess really got me) and I'm so mad that this is a situation we created (well, $$ created, actually) and that it's still going. The lack of sympathy and knowledge about addicts is just.. 😔

#goodreads (70 | 80)

This is really interesting, but not easy to listen to.

#Overdrive

While eating my lunch at work ...
Coworker: “Why are you reading on an iPad if you have a book?”
Me: “Because one is nonfiction and one is fiction, and I‘m reading both. And I don‘t know which one I‘ll feel like reading until I‘m actually sitting down to read.”
Coworker (walking away with raised eyebrows and a look on her face that screams “What a weirdo...”)
Me (thinking, “you just don‘t get it...”) 🙄

Rough topic and at times hard to listen to because of the depth of the problems. Well written and researched.

This is a must read for everyone! The information is so real that everyone can walk away being better educated about addiction, socioeconomic drivers and how drug dealer and users tick. This book hits home because I'm from Southwest, VA (Appalachia) and now reside in the midsize city of Roanoke, VA where the author calls home and where addiction has impacted everyone in some shape or form. Take the time to read and re-read you can't go wrong.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 This book follows the opioid epidemic and it was incredibly eye-opening for me. I heard the author say in an interview that she hoped to inspire empathy for those impacted by this epidemic and she certainly did for me. I listened to this on audiobook. The author narrates it and does a wonderful job. This book is heartbreaking but so important.