• Dopesick

  • By: Beth Macy
  • Narrated by: Beth Macy
  • Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (3,537 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Dopesick  By  cover art

Dopesick

By: Beth Macy
Narrated by: Beth Macy
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.83

Buy for $21.83

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

A Hulu limited series inspired by the New York Times bestselling book by Beth Macy.

Journalist Beth Macy's definitive account of America's opioid epidemic "masterfully interlaces stories of communities in crisis with dark histories of corporate greed and regulatory indifference" (New York Times)—from the boardroom to the courtroom and into the living rooms of Americans.

In this extraordinary work, Beth Macy takes us into the epicenter of a national drama that has unfolded over two decades. From the labs and marketing departments of big pharma to local doctor's offices; wealthy suburbs to distressed small communities in Central Appalachia; from distant cities to once-idyllic farm towns; the spread of opioid addiction follows a tortuous trajectory that illustrates how this crisis has persisted for so long and become so firmly entrenched.

Beginning with a single dealer who lands in a small Virginia town and sets about turning high school football stars into heroin overdose statistics, Macy sets out to answer a grieving mother's question—why her only son died—and comes away with a gripping, binge-worthy story of greed and need. From the introduction of OxyContin in 1996, Macy investigates the powerful forces that led America's doctors and patients to embrace a medical culture where overtreatment with painkillers became the norm. In some of the same communities featured in her best-selling book Factory Man, the unemployed use painkillers both to numb the pain of joblessness and pay their bills, while privileged teens trade pills in cul-de-sacs, and even high school standouts fall prey to prostitution, jail, and death.

Through unsparing, compelling, and unforgettably humane portraits of families and first responders determined to ameliorate this epidemic, each facet of the crisis comes into focus. In these politically fragmented times, Beth Macy shows that one thing uniting Americans across geographic, partisan, and class lines is opioid drug abuse. But even in the midst of twin crises in drug abuse and healthcare, Macy finds reason to hope and ample signs of the spirit and tenacity that are helping the countless ordinary people ensnared by addiction build a better future for themselves, their families, and their communities.

"An impressive feat of journalism, monumental in scope and urgent in its implications."—Jennifer Latson, The Boston Globe

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2018 Beth Macy (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

A New York Times Bestseller

Winner of the 2019 Library of Virginia People's Choice Award in Nonfiction

LA Times Book Prize for Science & Technology Winner

American Society of Addiction Medicine Annual Media Award Winner

2018 Kirkus Prize Finalist

2019 Library of Virginia People's Choice Award for Nonfiction finalist

2019 Ohioana Book Award in nonfiction finalist

Andrew Carnegie Medal shortlist

800-CEO-READ 2018 Business Book Awards Longlist

A New York Times Bestseller

One of New York Times Book Review's 100 Notable Books of 2018

New York Times critic Janet Maslin's Top Five Best Books

An NPR's On Point Top Title of 2018

One of Literary Hub's Ultimate Best Books of 2018

One of ALA's 2018 Notable Books

A Chicago Tribune Best Book of the Year

One of Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Best Southern Books of 2018

One of Newsweek's 61 Best Books of 2018

Washington Post Best Book of the Year

An Amazon Best Book of 2018

One of Anne Lamott's Favorite Books of 2018

"Macy's harrowing account of the opioid epidemic in which hundreds of thousands have already died masterfully interlaces stories of communities in crisis with dark histories of corporate greed and regulatory indifference."—New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice

"A harrowing, deeply compassionate dispatch from the heart of a national emergency...a masterwork of narrative journalism, interlacing stories of communities in crisis with dark histories of corporate greed and regulatory indifference."—Jessica Bruder, New York Times Book Review

"This book is comprehensive, compassionate and forceful. No matter what you already know about the opiod crisis, Dopesick's toughness and intimacy make it a must."—Janet Maslin, New York Times

Featured Article: All the Best Literary Screen Adaptations to Stream in 2021


There is so much to look forward to in film and TV this year—and so much audio to make you the ultimate insider. You may be surprised by how many movies and TV shows were adapted from excellent audiobooks. Get ready to dig in, because this covers just about every great adaptation for 2021, and then some. Find something great in this guide whether you listen before you watch or take a deep dive after the credits roll.

What listeners say about Dopesick

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,350
  • 4 Stars
    802
  • 3 Stars
    287
  • 2 Stars
    50
  • 1 Stars
    48
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,862
  • 4 Stars
    717
  • 3 Stars
    368
  • 2 Stars
    99
  • 1 Stars
    85
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,157
  • 4 Stars
    643
  • 3 Stars
    234
  • 2 Stars
    39
  • 1 Stars
    42

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Useful, but recommend Dreamland instead

Dopesick is good, interesting, and compelling. It is very focused on big pharma and individual stories, however. For a more comprehensive, investigative journalistic account, I recommend Dreamland, by Sam Quinones. Quinones not only tells the whole story of falsely-interpreted medical studies that led to the "statistics" used by big pharma to say that opiods weren't addictive; he also traces the production of heroin to Mexican villages and examines its distribution in the United States.
Beth Macy's book is getting a lot of press right now, and it's worthy of the press, but Sam Quinones published his book at the outset of this epidemic and gives a far more in-depth report of its complete takeover. I'm sorry he hasn't received as much attention for his good work.

Additionally, Beth Macy may be a good writer, but she is a terrible and distracting narrator. Stumbling over words, she sounds like an unrehearsed reader in church trying to read a Biblical passage with particularly unpronounceable family and place names.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

248 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

This book is BRUTAL.

oh I don’t know where to even start. This is a book about pharmaceuticals. The author spent one chapter talking about the history. There is literally no context. There’s no counter story. There’s nothing.

And the author reads it herself and it is UNLISTENABLE. there are dozens of grammar mistakes. Mispronunciations. And just flat out indiscernible parts of her speaking. If I didn’t know any better I’d assume she was running up the stairs the whole time she read it. There are entire sentence repeats where she messes up rereads it and just goes on. No editing.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

199 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Authors should stop narrating

I'm sure this is a good book with terrific information, but my brain could not process the author's monotone, un-nuanced rambling. After a few chapters, I realized I couldn't recount anything from the previous chapters and deemed the listen a waste of time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

104 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazingly sad scary and informative.

I am one of those people who is caught in the middle. I need pain control. Do not abuse. Am extremely cautious and had meds cut because of others abuse this book showed the side I did not see. Have to say thank you for opening my eyes

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

68 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Front line worker

As an emergency room nurse who sees the daily prescriptions for narcotics, the chronic pain patients, the addicted to narcotics patients, and the overdose patients...this is a book I hope reaches the general masses.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

63 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thorough, incisive, compassionate

I began this book with some skepticism. I had just completed an intense study of books on drugs and addiction in preparation for leading a group at my church this fall, having read Mate, Quinones, Hari, Szalavitz, Onkret, Hart, and others, and I wondered if this book would be merely a rehash of those works, or worse, contradictory. I’m glad I decided to add this book to my list of resources. Dope Sick is up to date, with events and developments right up to 2018, including attitudes of the Trump administration. The author drives home the indispensable place harm reduction must have in the quest for solutions. The story builds to an emotional conclusion that left me deeply moved. I will be enthusiastically recommending this book as background reading to my study group.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

62 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Extraordinarily useful for a parent of an addict.

As the parent of an adult addict I find myself in a constant search for how and why this mess started. When you go through years of struggle trying to save the life of your child knowing damn well that you'll likely fail, you want answers. I've found myself, more and more, searching out books that give history rather than books that I think will help. I can't save my child, but I want to know what we're going to do, as a country, to prevent this from spreading.

I applaud and want to thank the author for all her hard work. I think book should be a staple learning tool in high school, of not late middle school.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

47 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Revealing insight!

This gives me a unique insight into the opioid epidemic. I'm an emergency nurse, and I've thought for a long time it was a matter of "Just say no". From this book I've learned it's not and realize I as a nurse am a part of the problem. I now want to align myself to be a part of the solution.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

36 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Eye opening. Jaw dropping. Heart breaking. Game changing.

First a caveat. Beth Macy is a good friend of my family and me. I’m confident I would feel the same way about this book if I’d never met her.

I grew up in Wise County, VA, and have lived in Roanoke for 28 years now. Both of these communities factor enormously in the gripping, gritty reporting Macy does here. She’s always a brilliant story reteller, somehow able to get deeper into lives than most of us would be brave enough to consider. Her previous books — Factory Man and Truevine — prove this.

Dopesick is far deeper, rawer and more personal than I’m usually comfortable with. It has to be. The opioid and heroin crises that decimated my home towns came out of nowhere, like a tornado that has already razed the trailer park, yet is just now starting to make a sound. The pictures Dopesick paints are bleak and gray and grainy. If you’re a parent of a young person, you will question every conversation you ever had with your kids, every prescription med you made them swallow. And you will wonder how the hell we’ll ever get past this national emergency. You’ll cling to your people. You’ll lose some sleep. You’ll probably even tear up.

But mostly you’ll be grateful that people like Macy are telling this story. You’ll be amazed at how open some people are about their broken lives. If we’re going to defeat this monster, the battle surely starts here.

I know this sounds like hyperbole. It’s not. You’ll see.

A note about the audiobook. It’s read by the author. This can be a turnoff for some listeners. It’s not in this case. Beth’s is the voice you want breaking this news to you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

32 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Required reading for all Americans

As a child of rural Ohio who moved away to the “big city”, I’m ashamed of my ignorance of the effects of opioids as explained in layman’s terms by the author. My own sibling has tangled with addiction, including opioids, for 20 years. This is the first journalistic study of the history of this plague and its devastation on middle America that I have read. The individual stories so vividly shared by the author clearly echoed tragic events from my own hometown (countless overdose deaths, kids being surrendered to the foster care system or elderly grandparents, family’s savings being spent on rehab after non-evidenced based rehab, crowded court dockets, meager rehabilitation resources, and prison sentences). Like the billboards currently peppering the highway roadside “Denial, Ohio is everywhere” (and clearly I have lived in some degree of willful ignorance concerning addiction for far too long!) The tragedies in this book are spread too far and wide to really comprehend. This story made me weep at my own ignorance and makes my heart tight with anger at the corporate greed and misguided public policies that continue to compound the problems of addiction and literally destroy the lives of my generation (and future generations). The despair of rural America really is difficult to grasp (even for someone who should know better). This book needs to be forced into the hands of every aspiring politician of any stripe and piled on the bookshelves of every public and school library across the nation. Opioids don’t just impact those that are addicted, they are not “someone else’s problem”, they are literally killing modern America across every race, class, and zip code. This book has made me angry and incredibly depressed. Thank you, Beth Macy for telling this terrible story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

27 people found this helpful