Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe

22 reviews

rhubarbpi3's review

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This was absolutely riveting!!! I listened to the audiobook and it was wonderfully researched. I loved the way that the story built on the idea of dynasty and legacy — I think it really set up the later questions about responsibility and culpability very well. Fuck the Sacklers obvi. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Classism

bibliomich's review against another edition

dark informative medium-paced

5.0

Patrick Radden Keefe is an author who has been on my radar for a long time, and I'm glad that I finally decided to listen to Empire of Pain.

First of all, I want to note that Keefe narrates his own audiobook, and he is an excellent narrator, so I highly recommend the audiobook, should you enjoy/prefer listening to your books.

The core thesis of this book is that the decisions of several generations of one single family shaped the pharmaceutical industry of today, as well as significantly contributed to the current opioid crisis. Keefe's research is thorough, substantial, and tremendously convincing. The story is compelling, devastating, and infuriating.

I highly recommend Empire of Pain and personally intend to read Keefe's other books soon.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Suicide, and Medical content

Minor: Cancer and Antisemitism

Patrick Radden Keefe is an author who has been on my radar for a long time, and I'm glad that I finally decided to listen to Empire of Pain. First of all, I want to note that Keefe narrates his own audiobook, and he is an excellent narrator, so I highly recommend the audiobook, should you enjoy/prefer listening to your books. The core thesis of this book is that the decisions of several generations of one single family shaped the pharmaceutical industry of today, as well as significantly contributed to the current opioid crisis. Keefe's research is thorough, substantial, and tremendously convincing. The story is compelling, devastating, and infuriating. I highly recommend Empire of Pain and personally intend to read Keefe's other books soon.

annikathereader's review

challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Grief, and Medical trauma

abigail_lo's review

challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

5.0

the only reason it took me so long to read this book is how goddamn infuriating it is. multiple times, i had to close the book before i became overpowered by sheer rage at the fucking nerve of the sacklers + everyone else they bought off. in terms of my takeaways: immense wealth and nepotism will be the literal death of our society. when corporations are allowed to buy their way through all the regulations in place in what amounts to a caricature of free-market capitalism, real people will always suffer. like he says in the afterword: while pain management is a very complex question and opioids are helpful to many people, my heart aches for those who lost their lives due to big pharma's (and specifically purdue's) lust for money. fuck capitalism -- eat the rich <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicide

Moderate: Mental illness and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, and Pandemic/Epidemic

mariawie's review against another edition

challenging dark informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Medical content

Minor: Cancer, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

tiernanhunter's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Antisemitism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

taliakdean's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Mental illness

dannythestreet's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Classism

matildak28's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

this is an incredible piece of non fiction writing — Patrick Redden Keefe is sharp and reflective, presents the facts through a deeply engaging narrative and I literally couldn’t stop listening - I listened to this non stop over the course of 3 days. This may be one of the most precise, excellent non fiction books I’ve ever read. I’ve watched a lot of documentaries about the opioid crisis in America (I’m from the UK and have no personal connection), and all of them have very limited details about the family — I feel like I have learned a lot despite already knowing a fair deal. 

Quite simply, this is incredible and this writer is nothing short of brilliant. I will be seeking out his other works immediately. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Grief, Medical trauma, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

readandfindout's review

dark informative slow-paced

4.5

Style/writing: 4 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Perspective: 5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Antisemitism