Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis

Award-winning journalist Macy (Dopesick) imbues empathy and compassion into her follow-up book about the opioid crisis. Narrating her own work, Macy heartbreakingly delivers exemplary stories of activists and ordinary people fighting to help those experiencing opioid-use disorder, pleading their cases in courts, and educating others to help remove the stigma of substance-use disorder. She objectively details several types of programs that have experienced successes and have been shut down by local governments, such as needle-exchange programs to slow the spread of HIV, hepatitis C, and deaths from dirty needles; treatment modalities for those with mental illness and addiction; and use of buprenorphine as a tool to help treat opioid addiction. Blame for the opioid crisis is placed squarely on Richard Sackler, the billionaire U.S. businessman and physician who was chairman and president of Purdue Pharma. Sackler covered up OxyContin’s high addictiveness and instructed pharmaceutical representatives to promote higher doses to increase company profits. Macy puts a face on this ongoing crisis with stories of hope and success, options to explore, and comfort to grieving families.