Dopesick

Strong depiction of the current opioid crisis from several angles - the pharmaceutical company that introduced OxyContin and lied about its addictive qualities, the law enforcement personnel who know that every time they arrest a big-time dealer another is waiting to take his place, the treatment providers who are underfunded and overwhelmed, the parents who try to do the right thing and most of all the individuals who are addicted. Macy does a good job at making them sympathetic (for the most part), and the ones who don't make it break your heart, but I wish she had tried a little harder to explain how the opioid addiction feels and why it so quickly and devastatingly takes over their lives. Also I did not realize that the geographic scope of the book was so narrow, focused almost exclusively on Roanoke and nearby southwestern Virginia communities without exploring how the epidemic has affected other parts of the country and how it looks different in urban areas.

Still, a very well-written, important book about a devastating problem that shows few signs of improving.