A portrait of the devastating opioid crisis in America from a New York Times bestselling author and journalist who has lived through it.

'A shocking investigation... Dopesick is essential'The Times

'Unfolds with all the pace of a thriller'Observer

'A deep – and deeply needed – look into the troubled soul of America' Tom Hanks

'Essential reading'New York Times

Beth Macy reveals the disturbing truth behind America's opioid crisis and explains how a nation has become enslaved to prescription drugs.

This powerful and moving story explains how a large corporation, Purdue, encouraged small town doctors to prescribe OxyContin to a country already awash in painkillers. The drug's dangerously addictive nature was hidden, whilst many used it as an escape, to numb the pain of of joblessness and the need to pay the bills. Macy tries to answer a grieving mother's question – why her only son died – and comes away with a harrowing tale of greed and need.