The most recommended books about the opioid crisis

The Last Exchange has everything — memorable characters, a driving plotline, stunning twists, and—an extra delight for me as an author — writing that sometimes feels poetic without being pretentious.

This is the kind of storyline that makes you care. Real-world situations (like opioid addiction) are handled thoughtfully and portrayed realistically. Readers will find themselves invested in the compelling characters, rooting for their happy endings.

I've already recommended this book to a wide range of reader friends because I was so impressed with it. This was definitely a standout read of 2023 for me.

Meier’s takedown of Purdue Pharma was ahead of its time. First published in 2003, Pain Killer was updated and re-published in 2018, Meier’s book is a hard-hitting account of the early causes of the opioid crisis. He shows how Purdue tried to hide information about OxyContin’s widespread abuse and the painkiller’s addictive nature. He also spotlights the Justice Department’s repeated failures to combat the drug epidemic. Meier is a former reporter at The New York Times. At one point, the Times’ editors yanked Meier off the opioid beat in response to complaints by Purdue Pharma lawyers. The complaints, of course, were unfounded, and editors later admitted they had been duped. I’m glad it didn’t stop Meier from writing and updating this landmark book.

The New Yorker writer and author of the New York Times bestseller Say Anything—unveils the secrets and lies of the Sackler family, the billionaire owners of Purdue Pharma. Keefe is a master of narrative storytelling and an incredible researcher, and this book made me want to scream at the greed and callousness of the Sacklers. Many see the family as downright evil, and understandably so. Since Keefe’s book came out, a number of museums and organizations have tried to distance themselves from the Sacklers. Keefe also testified before a congressional committee that aimed to hold the Sacklers accountable for the opioid crisis. Keefe poured through hundreds of thousands of documents—including messages sent from one family member to another—as part of his definitive investigation of the Sacklers. I admire reporters like Keefe who are willing to do the tedious work of scouring records.

For years, Dreamland has been my go-to book to understand the opioid crisis. Quinones, a former reporter with The Los Angeles Times, skillfully weaves the stories of a heroin drug syndicate based in Mexico—known as the “Xalisco Boys”—and the unfettered prescribing of pain pills in the U.S. The combination battered towns and cities. His book won the National Book Critics’ Circle Award for nonfiction.    

McGreal’s book fell a bit under the radar, but in my mind, it’s one of the best books of reportage on the opioid epidemic. As a reporter for The Guardian, McGreal covered the drug crisis for years. American Overdose connects all the dots that caused it. The book starts out, “Even as a teenager, Henry Vinson wanted to be an undertaker,” then takes flight from the hollows of West Virginia to the halls of Congress. McGreal is a tenacious reporter and a superb writer. He’s one of the first reporters to lay bare the Food and Drug Administration’s cozy relationship with Purdue Pharma. And he introduces readers to former DEA agent Joe Rannazzisi, who tried to put the brakes on massive shipments of painkillers to small towns across America, but was forced to step aside after Big Pharma complained about him to powerful U.S. lawmakers. The story builds from… show more.

Why Did I Ever falls into my favorite genre of fiction, which I will describe loosely as “narrated by a sardonic, wincingly funny, tragic woman.” (See also: Lorrie Moore, Amy Hempel, Lauren Groff, Mary Gaitskill, among others.)

The narrator, Money, is a self-sabotaging script doctor whose daughter, Mev, is addicted to opioids, and whose son is under police protection following a violent assault. 

As a seemingly directionless woman who spends much of the book driving or sourcing Ritalin, Money counts, in my books, as a “transgressive” mother. She’s also charming and likable. This book is dark and deeply affecting at times. At many other times, it’s hilarious. I recommend it to anyone who loves that hinterland — between the tragic and darkly funny.

There’s a seedy side to the pharmaceutical industry that started well before the creation of the FDA, and continues through the modern era, fueling the epidemic of opioid drug dependency.

In Pharma, Posner’s comprehensive reporting introduces us to brilliant scientists, incorruptible government regulators, and brave whistleblowers facing off against company executives often blinded by greed.

We learn how the Sacklers built a culture of pain relief on the shoulders of oxycontin – one that ultimately led to the lowest survival rates for Americans in a century.

I can’t even tell you how many times in many years working for newspapers that I rushed out after hearing a body had been found in an empty house or neglected alley. In almost every case, I would arrive to have police officers tell me, “No story here. No homicide. Just another overdose.” The newspaper didn’t tally overdose deaths as it did murders, even if many fatalities are linked to heroin that has been mixed with fentanyl without the users’ knowledge. It’s very rare for those who sell the killer substance to face homicide charges. 

The city is basically another character in this book. While the opioid epidemic had touched communities across the country, Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood is widely acknowledged as a disaster zone. A 2018 New York Times article called Kensington is the largest open-air narcotics market on the east coast. 

The plot centers on Philadelphia police officer Mickey… show more.

It’s hard to say I love this book because it is not an easy book to read—even though I read it compulsively.

Beth Macy is a great journalist who spent years covering the opioid crisis as it was developing. It is tricky to turn social ills into narratives in non-fiction, but Macy doesn’t use cheap tricks to grab her readers by the throat.

Her research and compassion—and well-placed anger—drive this investigation of a terrible epidemic driven by greed. Yet Macy paints with a nuanced brush, delving into the complexity of modern life that paved the way for this heartbreaking and horrifying scourge.

Tara McGuire’s exquisite writing made me see the opioid crisis through new eyes.

Wisely, she steers clear of the brutal statistics and non-stop anguish that make many books about overdose painful to read. Instead, through a skillful blend of memoir and speculative fiction, she made me laugh, cry, and vow not to moralize. Combining journalistic research with cinematic descriptions of her son Holden’s private life, McGuire drew me into the events and decisions that led to his sudden death at 21.

Holden, like most drug users, cannot be dismissed as a self-destructive loser. Talented and vulnerable, hopeful yet flawed, he was a worthy human being. McGuire helped me understand his inner world.