by David Sheff
First published 2013
Addiction represents a medical condition that responds to treatment, not a character flaw requiring moral correction. David Sheff dismantles widespread myths about drug abuse in this examination of current research across psychology, neuroscience, and medicine. The author of Beautiful Boy argues that conventional treatment systems, including Twelve Step programs and rehabilitation centers, succeed with some patients but leave many others without effective help. Sheff interviewed dozens of researchers, physicians, therapists, and families affected by addiction to understand how the disease operates and which interventions actually work. The book provides practical guidance for parents seeking to prevent substance abuse problems and for individuals and families dealing with addiction at any stage. Clean reframes addiction as the most pressing public health crisis of our era and offers science-based solutions that move beyond faith, tradition, and ineffective conventional wisdom.
Genres: addiction, medical, non-fiction, health
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: informed-consent
374 pages · Hardcover · Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Content warnings: addiction, drug-use, substance-abuse