Pill Head: The Secret Life of a Painkiller Addict Book

Even though this book was written by a friend of a friend of mine, life got in the way of me reading it when it first came out, and so I picked it up when I saw it in an airport before Christmas.

For a book about addiction, it's a fun read. Josh Lyon keeps a sense of humor as he combines his own experiences as an addict with relevant research about opiate addition. He's not just echoing other people's research: he filters the perspectives of the scientists and the government agencies and even the harm reduction activists through his insight as an addict. He keeps it real, and keeps the people he interviews honest.

As well as his own story, Josh includes stories about other opiate addicts and their paths (successful or not) to recovery. Interestingly enough, I found myself having little to no sympathy for the people in this book, even as they struggle with their addictions. They all seemed like hyper-privileged hipsters, which Josh seems to be aware of, especially as he keeps reminding himself that he is no "better" than the meth or crack heads he (or the other addicts in the book) meet in their respective recovery programs.

All in all, it was a quick and interesting read, and includes resources at the end for opiate addicts and their loved ones, which readers might need at the end of the book, since the beginning really left me wanting to take a pill or two.