Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

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

24 reviews

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

nassuada's review

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Forced institutionalization

mayukiiq's review against another edition

challenging dark informative

4.5

I went into this with no prior knowledge of the Sackler family— such an insane and horrifying legacy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Mental illness

kdsmoove's review against another edition

dark informative sad slow-paced

5.0

“It is a peculiar hallmark of the American economy that you can produce a dangerous product and effectively off-load any legal liability for whatever destruction that product may cause by pointing to the individual responsibility of the consumer.”

*insert annie screaming gif”

the amount of times i screamed at the radio or texted someone “just when i thought these people couldn’t get any worse, they fucking do!” throughout reading this is not a low number. when i tell you i was HOOKED from the beginning and somehow not intimidated by the length. 

i knew some about the opioid crisis, even enough to associate the sackler name with it but i had *no idea* just how deep the rot went. i didn’t realize that arthur sackler was the mastermind behind the way the entire pharmaceutical marketing schemes work now. that he basically invented sales and created his own fucking sources and oh my GOD. it was a solid five or six hours in before we even got to Reagan and i did the whole *leo pointing at the tv gif* thing to the stereo. 

and of course today to tidy it up it HAD to be the fucking trump administration willing to let them off with a slap on the wrist. i am so mad, i will be staying mad. you should read this. but beware, there’s a lot of trigger warnings to check and it will make you very mad. One of the lines he used was “rip shit pissed” which sounds a lot funnier out loud than it does written down but i will be using it moving forward.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

_fallinglight_'s review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad tense medium-paced

4.5

Surreal, insightful, albeit and clinical deep dive into the depraved and unhinged Sackler criminal billionaire family. This book is one of many definitive proofs that the billionaire is incompatible with humanity at this point and greed is an addiction as equally destructive and demoralizing as any substance addiction if not more or worse. The lengths the rotting rich go to to keep their corrosive money are so twisted but it's also morbidly impressive how they weave the web of connections and buy their way into getting the results they want. Particularly this family who honestly wouldn't have made it without ass kissers and enablers and unscrupulous people making their perversity possible bc most of them are so offensively insensitive and stupid.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, and Classism

Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Suicide, Antisemitism, and Suicide attempt

____emily____'s review against another edition

informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Death, Antisemitism, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Mental illness and Suicide

samarakroeger's review

challenging dark informative slow-paced

4.25

fascinating and extensive look at the villain origin story behind the opioid epidemic.  as addicting to read as oxy (although this is certainly a slow release). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide, Antisemitism, and Gaslighting

megang519's review

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: Cancer and Chronic illness

Minor: Suicide, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

carpfish's review

challenging informative fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Medical content and Medical trauma