Mother of Methadone: A Doctor's Quest, a Forgotten History, and a Modern-Day Crisis

by Melody Glenn

Brings together the stories of two doctors battling the opioid epidemic half a century apart to reveal the origins of today's public health crisis

A call to remove the stigma against addiction, people who use drugs, and treatment providers

Dr. Melody Glenn was a burned-out emergency physician who had grown to resent the large population of opioid dependent patients passing through her ER. While working at a methadone clinic, she realized how effective harm reduction treatments could be and set out to discover why they weren’t used more broadly. That’s when she found Dr. Marie Nyswander.

In the 1960’s, Nyswander defied the DEA and medical establishment to co-develop methadone maintenance as a treatment for heroin addiction. According to some addiction specialists, this life-saving practice could be considered as monumental as the discovery of penicillin. Yet, it still carries a stigma today.

Deftly weaving together interviews, media coverage, and historical documents, Glenn recovers Nyswander’s important legacy and reveals how the forces of racism, fearmongering politicians, and misinformation colluded to set us back decades in our understandings of opioids.

With Nyswander as her guide, Glenn also shares her journey through addiction medicine as she confronts her own personal and philosophical quandaries around bias, ambition, and saviorism in the medical field.

As the US continues to struggle with opioid and fentanyl use in communities, Mother of Methadone is a powerful reminder of the ways biases have prevented doctors from saving countless lives.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Health, Medicine, Addiction

232 pages, Hardcover

Published July 22, 2025

Reviews

[Sunny Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I think anyone who cares about public health or is a medical doctor/pursuing medicine as a field needs to read. Part memoir of a doctor and mother, part personal history of Dr. Marie Nyswander, and part examination of the healthcare system’s approach to harm reduction—this was such an interesting examination of addiction and overdose as public health crises, from the purview of one woman who actually cares, and who feels like she’s floundering amidst so many other healthcare professionals who just don’t seem to care at all. The book documents Dr. Glenn’s experience learning about Marie, addiction treatment, harm reduction, attitudes towards drug users, stigma, and being a better doctor.

[07170 · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is really much more about navigating modern barriers for treatment and harm reduction than it is about nyswander, and i think it works better that way. the writing is a lot stronger in the narrative parts than it is in the sometimes speculative biography sections. as far as biographies go, this is much less than what i was expecting. i am also grateful for that. if youre interested in unlearning bias against drug users (which is so pervasive it is sickening) then please read this

[M L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific book! I read a hard copy while simultaneously listening to Empire of Pain about the Sacklers. Such a contrast that speaks to how differently our country treats medication development, approvals, regulation and implementation- treatment for those with addiction vs not. Very thankful for the focus on Marie Nyswander- MD- and the authors weaving of her personal career challenges and insights. We should all be so lucky to come upon a doctor like this author in our local community.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It has everything I want in a book: biography, history of science, politics, great storytelling, and the author’s journey. This isn’t a science book, but a book about people. The book has a highly conversational tone and whatever science there is, Dr. Glenn did a great job of explaining. The writing is compelling and the story well-paced. The writing is fluid and the pages go by quickly. I also thought that Dr Glenn’s advocacy was well-done; making a strong case without browbeating the reader. Thank you to Edelweiss and Beacon Press for the advance reader copy.

[LenCam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came at the perfect time. I was lucky enough to work with Dr. Glenn on a couple of projects and I still follow her work (and cheer from the sidelines). She excels at infusing history, sociology, medicine with humanity. I feel newly energized to keep up the work in substance use disorders.

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

well-researched, useful, also really interesting and a well told story! I found it inspiring and hopeful about care for addiction. both the author and the subject (marie nyswander) are fascinating people with unusual and instructive stories of their evolutions as clinicians. pairing them makes for an interesting twinned narrative. I know a lot about the topic and I still learned a lot.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part memoir about working in addiction medicine, part story of Marie Nyswander and the rise of methadone maintenance. I found it pretty interesting to learn about the metabolic understanding of addiction and the role that methadone, buprenorphine, naloxone, and general harm reduction can play in treatment.

[Jeanne]

Dnf

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF. An important topic but I was very put off by the author’s perspective.

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Sarah B · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good!!!!! Julie & Julia of opioid use, addiction, treatment, and regulation in the US. Couldn’t put it down. So clarifying/enraging/motivating.

[sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

memory-style narrative that felt very relevant given what i've been doing in school. bonus points for meeting the author irl!