Addiction Nation: What the Opioid Crisis Reveals about Us

by Timothy McMahan King

“Opioids claim the lives of 115 people per day. One of them could have been me.”

When a near-fatal illness led his doctors to prescribe narcotics, media consultant Timothy McMahan King ended up where millions of others addicted. Eventually King learned to manage pain without opioids—but not before he began asking profound questions about the spiritual and moral nature of addiction, the companies complicit in creating the opioid epidemic, and the paths toward healing and recovery.
We have become a society not only damaged by addiction but fueled by it. In Addiction Nation , King investigates the ways that addiction robs us of freedom and holds us back from being fully human. Through stories, theology, philosophy, and cultural analysis, King examines today’s most common addictions and their destructive consequences. In stark yet intimate prose, he looks not only at the rise of opioid abuse but at policy, pain, virtue, and habit. He also unpacks research showing patterns of addiction to technology, stress, and even political partisanship.
Addiction of any kind dims the image of God and corrupts who we were created to be. Addiction Nation nudges us toward healing from the ravages of addiction and draws us toward a spirituality sturdy enough to sate our deepest longings.
 

Genres: Nonfiction

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 11, 2019

Reviews

[Tanja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timothy King's Addiction Nation will have you wrapped up in your emotions and ready for a change. We are told that it was not only by the blood of the lamb but the power of our testimony and Timothy shares just that. From the first chapter, your heart is invoked in his story. I applaud Timothy for sharing such a vulnerable part of his life. I know people will be set free from his authenticity and transoarency. I give Addiction Nation a 5/5.

[Kristen Mcknight · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because its author is a friend of my husband's. The addiction topic is interesting to me as a psychologist, but I thought the book was more memoir (he did share some of his story, but only briefly here and there) than about the complicated nature of addictions.
The author covered a vast array of addiction statistics, and I skipped over much of this information.
In my opinion, this book could be utilized as a textbook for a class in addiction.

[Cynthia Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

A call to compassionate engagement in the opioid crisis; an informed, hopeful depiction of what is happening, how we got here, and how to help people and communities (including American society as a whole) impacted by addiction.

[Wintermote · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Most people don’t consciously make choices to bring chaos, confusion, hurt, or distraction into their lives. What can seem obvious in hindsight is not always clear to the decision maker in the moment. The time that making different decisions would have been most effective is the time when the decision maker has the least amount of reason or motivation to do anything differently.” P. 208

This was a wonderful book to help all of us understand the realities of addiction…and just how many of us struggle with various addictions. It also helped us understand the opioid crisis more specifically and why it should matter to us. But most of all, this book crates an empathetic understanding of how someone developed an addiction and how we can lovingly walk alongside someone on the road to recovery.

[Cristie Underwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was too academic for me, as it felt like I was reading a textbook. There were way too many statistics and information that could have been summarized versus written about in length. I would have enjoyed this more if there were stories from individuals from all parts of the Country that have been touched by addiction. I felt like this was something I was required to read for one of my psychology classes versus reading it for enjoyment.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Tim’s thoughtful analysis of his personal journey through addiction as well as the missteps we are taking as a society are important for all of us to consider. I highly recommend this book. It includes some touching personal aspects as well as well researched facts about our national response to the opioid crisis.

[Brandi Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mixture of research and personal story King provides an insightful reflection on not just the opioid crisis but also how addiction impacts us all. Then he meets it with solutions akin to virtue ethics in their holistic and compassionate grounding.

I highly recommend this book.