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By Darryl S. Inaba, 2014.
This edition incorporates the most current and comprehensive information on the physiology, neurochemistry and sociology of drugs in to one of the best test/reference books on the subject. Recommended reading for AOD counseling certification and adopted by hundreds of colleges and universities as well as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, this text provides readers at every level with a thoughtful and through examination of the physical and mental effects of psychoactive drugs and compulsive behaviors.
With a completely redesigned format, this edition contains over 300 illustrations, photos, and graphics to provide readers with visual interpretations of complex ideas. Written in a clear, concise, style, this textbook will be a valuable addition to the library of an instructor, student, or treatment professional.
A companion Study Guide containing chapter outlines, guided reviews, practice tests, a drug identification table, and an extended glossary is available for download. Key ideas and concepts are highlighted throughout the book. This technique along with the Study Guide aids readers in processing the materials.
By MD Gabor Maté, 2010.
Based on Gabor Maté’s two decades of experience as a medical doctor and his groundbreaking work with the severely addicted on Vancouver’s skid row, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts radically reenvisions this much misunderstood field by taking a holistic approach. Dr. Maté presents addiction not as a discrete phenomenon confined to an unfortunate or weak-willed few, but as a continuum that runs throughout (and perhaps underpins) our society; not a medical “condition” distinct from the lives it affects, rather the result of a complex interplay among personal history, emotional, and neurological development, brain chemistry, and the drugs (and behaviors) of addiction. Simplifying a wide array of brain and addiction research findings from around the globe, the book avoids glib self-help remedies, instead promoting a thorough and compassionate self-understanding as the first key to healing and wellness.
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts argues persuasively against contemporary health, social, and criminal justice policies toward addiction and those impacted by it. The mix of personal stories—including the author’s candid discussion of his own “high-status” addictive tendencies—and science with positive solutions makes the book equally useful for lay readers and professionals.
By Judith Grisel, 2019.
From a renowned behavioral neuroscientist and recovering addict, a rare page-turning work of science that draws on personal insights to reveal how drugs work, the dangerous hold they can take on the brain, and the surprising way to combat today’s epidemic of addiction.
By David Sheff , 2013
A myth-shattering look at drug abuse and addiction treatment, based on cutting-edge research. Addiction is a preventable, treatable disease, not a moral failing. As with other illnesses, the approaches most likely to work are based on science — not on faith, tradition, contrition, or wishful thinking. These facts are the foundation of Clean. The existing addiction treatments, including Twelve Step programs and rehabs, have helped some, but they have failed to help many more. To discover why, David Sheff spent time with scores of scientists, doctors, counselors, and addicts and their families, and explored the latest research in psychology, neuroscience, and medicine. In Clean, he reveals how addiction really works, and how we can combat it.
By David and Nic Sheff, 2019
This book tells it as it is, with testimonials from peers who have been there and families who have lived through the addiction of a loved one, along with the cold, hard facts about what drugs and alcohol do to our bodies. From how to navigate peer pressure to outlets for stress to the potential consequences of experimenting, Nic and David Sheff lay out the facts so that middle grade readers can educate themselves.
By David Sheff, 2008
What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong? Those are the wrenching questions that haunted David Sheff’s journey through his son Nic’s addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery. Before Nic became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets. David Sheff traces the first warning signs: the denial, the three a.m. phone calls—is it Nic? the police? the hospital? His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself. But as a journalist, he instinctively researched every treatment that might save his son. And he refused to give up on Nic.
By Nic Sheff, 2007
Nic Sheff was drunk for the first time at age eleven. In the years that followed, he would regularly smoke pot, do cocaine and Ecstasy, and develop addictions to crystal meth and heroin. Even so, he felt like he would always be able to quit and put his life together whenever he needed to. It took a violent relapse one summer in California to convince him otherwise. In a voice that is raw and honest, Nic spares no detail in telling us the compelling, heartbreaking, and true story of his relapse and the road to recovery. As we watch Nic plunge into the mental and physical depths of drug addiction, he paints a picture for us of a person at odds with his past, with his family, with his substances, and with himself. It’s a harrowing portrait—but not one without hope.
By Nic Sheff, 2011
In this powerful and immensely engaging follow-up to his first memoir, Sheff picks up where he left off and reveals his first-person account of stints at in-patient rehabilitation facilities, devastating relapses with alcohol and marijuana, and hard-won realizations about what it means to be a young adult living with addiction.
In We All Fall Down, Nic voices a truth that many addicts understand: not every treatment works for every addict. By candidly revealing his own failures and small personal triumphs, he inspires young people to maintain hope and to remember that they are not alone in their battles.
By Russell Brand, 2017
With a rare mix of honesty, humor, and compassion, comedian and movie star Russell Brand mines his own wild story and shares the advice and wisdom he has gained through his 14 years of recovery. Brand speaks to those suffering along the full spectrum of addiction – from drugs, alcohol, caffeine, and sugar addictions to addictions to work, stress, bad relationships, digital media, and fame. Brand understands that addiction can take many shapes and sizes and how the process of staying clean, sane, and unhooked is a daily activity. He believes that the question is not “why are you addicted?” but “what pain is your addiction masking? Why are you running – into the wrong job, the wrong life, the wrong person’s arms?”
Russell has been in all the 12-step fellowships going, he’s started his own men’s group, he’s a therapy regular and a practiced yogi – and while he’s worked on this material as part of his comedy and previous best sellers, he’s never before shared the tools that really took him out of it, that keep him clean and clear. Here he provides not only a recovery plan but an attempt to make sense of the ailing world.
By Daniel McGhee, 2019
This is a true story. A transparent story of the life of a young man in America, who, like many of our lost youth, found his way into the drug culture. This story is an autopsy into the mind, heart, and soul of an addict. It begins at childhood and takes us through the thoughts, turmoil, and inner conflicts of a person lost in the undercurrent of addiction, and ends in a climax of self-discovery and realization. It is a gripping tale of a suburban youth and his journey through the streets of Baltimore, institutions, prisons, addiction, and worst of all, his own mind. What makes it so unique is the vulnerability and transparency with which it is told. It is the goal of this story to not only to tell a vivid tale but to also share hope and experience with those who are actively struggling with their own demons, and to shed some light to those who have lost or are currently dealing with a loved one who is struggling with addiction, alcoholism and/or a lost sense of “self”.
By Charles Rubin, 1996
When kids turn to substance abuse, parents also become victims as they watch their children transform into irrational and antisocial individuals. This harrowing scenario finds parents buckling beneath the stress, often with catastrophic consequences: divorce, career upsets, breakdowns, and worse.
Don’t Let Your Kids Kill You is a landmark work that dares to focus on the plight of the confused, distressed parent and not the erring child. It sets aside any preconceived ideas that parents are to blame for what is essentially a full-blown global crisis. Drawing on interviews with parents who have survived the heartbreak of kids on drugs, combined with his own experience, Charles Rubin provides practical advice on how parents can help themselves and their families by first attending to their own needs.
By Beth Macy, 2018
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, unputdownable 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 bestselling 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.
Soon to be a mini-series on Hulu.
By Travis Lupick, 2018
Fighting for Space tells the powerful true story of a group of drug users and activists who fought for harm reduction in Vancouver, Canada. Faced with an escalating overdose crisis, they defied stigma, challenged government policies, and pioneered the first sanctioned safe injection site in North America. Journalist Travis Lupick captures their struggle for dignity, justice, and life-saving change, weaving personal stories with broader discussions on addiction, public health, and activism. This book is a compelling look at how grassroots efforts can reshape policies and save lives in the face of a public health crisis.
By Christina Dent 2023
Curious: A Foster Mom’s Discovery of an Unexpected Solution to Drugs and Addiction by Christina Dent is a powerful memoir that challenges traditional views on addiction. As a foster mom in Mississippi, Dent witnesses firsthand how punitive drug policies impact families, leading her to question everything she once believed. Through personal experiences and in-depth research, she explores a more compassionate, evidence-based approach to addiction—one that prioritizes healing over punishment. This thought-provoking book invites readers to reconsider how society treats addiction and offers a hopeful vision for change rooted in empathy, understanding, and effective solutions.
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