cover image Painkillers, Heroin, and the Road to Sanity: Real Solutions for Long-Term Recovery from Opiate Addiction

Painkillers, Heroin, and the Road to Sanity: Real Solutions for Long-Term Recovery from Opiate Addiction

Joani Gammill. Hazelden, $14.95 trade paper (180p) ISBN 978-1-61649-521-3

Gammill, who regularly leads interventions on Dr. Phil, addresses a rise in opiate abuse in the United States and the nature of addiction and recovery, informed by her own lifelong struggle with prescription painkillers. Two million Americans are currently afflicted with opiate addiction, and with new uncrushable Oxycontin pills, many users have switched to heroin. The ages of first-time users is skewing younger than ever and have a higher rate of relapse after recovery. Gammill became addicted to pain medication post-surgery, using it to deal with residual pain from being molested as a child, alongside untreated anxiety and depression. She recounts her experiences with “doctor shopping,” seasonal “euphoric recall,” thoughts of suicide, and compulsive behaviors. Gammill critiques the “managed care” healthcare system in which hurried doctors dole out pills with little forethought, pharmaceutical companies unscrupulously push medications, and insurance companies fail to cover rehab expenses while their CEOs net huge profits. Gammill recommends working a 12-step program and provides strategies for maintaining sobriety as well as other options if you cannot afford treatment. This book provides a welcome education on opiate addiction and thoughtful words of support from someone who has been there and come out the other side. (June)