How We Hurt

"Pain is the root of the opioid crisis. In this stunning book, Melina Sherman takes us to the depths of American despair, the heights of pharmaceutical corruption, and the netherworld where narcotic promises dissolve. How We Hurt is an incendiary, infuriating, and utterly necessary book."" Eric Klinenberg, author of 2020: A Social Autopsy and Palaces for the People How We Hurt is the most rigorous analysis to date on the causes and consequences of the opioid epidemic that has killed over one million people and wrecked families and communities around America. Brilliantly written, it will redefine the terms of the public debate. Essential reading for policy makers, students, journalists, and concerned citizens."" Manuel Castells, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley Sherman's book is incredibly timely, important, and absolutely unique. She offers readers an often overlooked history of the opioid crisis, and makes crucial connections between the regulation of pharmaceutical drugs, the moral and social panics around the opioid ""epidemic"" the branding of painkillers as a ""right to be free from pain,"" and the histories of physicians and medications, giving us in the process a beautifully written and urgent framework for critically analyzing the different dimensions of drug use, and over-use, in US society. Her important critique of the structures of constraint, control and exclusion that characterize what we now call the opioid epidemic is essential reading for not only academics but also the public at large. An absolute must-read!"" Sarah Banet-Weiser, Professor, Annenberg School for Communication"