Friday Reads: Dreamland

TGIF! Today our Cataloging & Acquisitions Librarian, Adam Pellman, shares about the book he's reading, Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones.

Adam is reading Dreamland

"Our country is facing a public health emergency, as tens of thousands of Americans die every year of overdoses from opioids such as prescription painkillers and heroin, and millions more are addicted to these same substances.  Dreamland explains how this epidemic came to be.

"The author, an investigative journalist and author of two previous non-fiction books about Mexico and Mexican immigration, presents a clear-eyed history of the problem.  The book's focus is two-fold.  Part of the story follows the development, marketing, and unfettered prescription of pain medications like OxyContin in the 1990s and early 2000s, which led to extensive drug abuse and related crime.  The book's other main focus is the expansion of a black tar heroin trafficking network based in a small county in western Mexico, where the heroin trade became a cottage industry of sorts.  These two developments coalesced into a perfect storm, as heroin dealers found a ready client base in towns already devastated by painkiller abuse.

"The book is illuminating and heartbreaking in equal measure, and it's written in a compulsively readable style that gives it the feel of a true crime narrative.  It's timely, essential reading for anyone interested in this topic, or anyone who has been touched by tragedy as a result of this epidemic.  Much of the book focuses on my native Ohio, where addiction to painkillers, heroin, and fentanyl has been widespread, so this is a story that hits close to home for me."