Hereford Book Club discussion

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the inaugural post of the new online Hereford Book Club, Goodreads version. While we are waiting out COVID-19 and caring for ourselves and our loved ones, I've created this venue to continue our book habit. I know many of you may not be finished Dopesick, but we're interested in your thoughts nonetheless. So, the first question to ponder: From all the news media reports on the opioid crisis, has this book changed what you thought you knew about this epidemic and how?

I ended up reading the alternative BC Reads selection
"Long Bright River" By Liz Moore. The book dramatically showed what life is like for families dealing with an opioid addicted relative - the concern, the anger, the fear and the agony. Well written and seemed sadly realistic. I'm anxious to hear reactions of other members who read Dopesick.

I read Dopesick, a sad, horrifying, mostly hidden epidemic. I've read articles and seen information online about this, but the book made it much more palpable. Using real people and situations and interweaving the actual stories with history, opioid drug development and prescription writing is very effective. From this book, I learned that MAT, medication assisted treatment, should be made more available.

Dopesick gave me a lot more detail about the opioid epidemic than I was familiar with before. I never really knew about the "dopesick" concept. I had seen a bit about the legal action against pharmaceuticals on 60 Minutes. But the rest of the book was a much deeper look into this crisis than I've ever seen before. My biggest takeaway is the dopesickness that plagues people who try to withdraw from opioids, and that MAT is probably the best solution to this.

Laura wrote: "I ended up reading the alternative BC Reads selection
"Long Bright River" By Liz Moore. The book dramatically showed what life is like for families dealing with an opioid addicted relative - the co..."

Hi Laura, I haven't read Long Bright River. Thanks for adding that to the mix. It was probably easier to get a hold of than Dopesick, too.

Hi Laurel and Andrew,

My take was similar. The author really brought us into the story of these individuals and their towns. One thing that I didn't completely realize but maybe should have - is the genesis of the epidemic - in these rural, depressed areas like central Appalachia. A couple of the areas mentioned in Virginia are not far from where my father-in-law's family was from, Lebanon, VA. All the times we traveled down that stretch when our kids were really young was when this epidemic was taking root. Eye opening. What did you think about Macy's writing style? I saw that her own father was addicted to alcohol, which made this subject difficult to tackle for her.

There is also an excellent Netflix documentary called Heroin(e) about women fighting addiction in Appalachia. Highly recommend.

Cynthia wrote: "Hi Laurel and Andrew,

My take was similar. The author really brought us into the story of these individuals and their towns. One thing that I didn't completely realize but maybe should have - is ..."

Thanks Cynthia.

So eerie to be reading about one health crisis while in the midst of another... I never knew just how 'dopesick' people could get from these drugs and just how hard it is to get free from the addiction. Using real people to tell the story was very effective. I've read many rap sheets of drug offenders as they pass in and out of our local jails but this book tells their back-stories from an entirely different perspective. I agree with others' take that we need more compassionate MAT treatments.

Hi Nancy,

I agree, and after having just finished reading about the pandemic of 1918, too. A thoughtful and effective narrative.