Simon & Schuster
Rehab: An American Scandal
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Pulitzer finalist Shoshana Walter exposes the country's failed response to the opioid crisis, and the malfeasance, corruption, and snake oil which blight the drug rehabilitation industry.
Our country's leaders all seem to agree: People who suffer from addiction need treatment. Today, more people have access to treatment than ever before. So why isn't it working? The answer is that in America--where anyone can get addicted--only certain people get a real chance to recover. Despite record numbers of overdose deaths, our default response is still to punish, while rehabs across the United States fail to incorporate scientifically proven strategies and exploit patients. We've heard a great deal about the opioid crisis foisted on America by Big Pharma, but we've heard too little about the other half of this epidemic--the reason why so many remain mired in addiction. Until now.
In this book, you'll find the stories of four people who represent the failures of the rehab-industrial complex, and the ways our treatment system often prevents recovery. April is a black mom in Philadelphia, who witnessed firsthand how the government's punitive response to the crack epidemic impeded her own mother's recovery--and then her own. Chris, a young middle-class white man from Louisiana, received more opportunities in his addiction than April, including the chance to go to treatment instead of prison. Yet the only program the judge permitted was one that forced him to perform unpaid back-breaking labor at for-profit companies. Wendy is a mother from a wealthy suburb of Los Angeles, whose son died in a sober living home. She began investigating for-profit treatment programs--yet law enforcement and regulators routinely ignored her warnings, allowing rehab patients to die, again and again. Larry is a surgeon who himself struggled with addiction, who would eventually become one of the first Suboxone prescribers in the nation, drawing the scrutiny of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Together, these four stories illustrate the pitfalls of a system that not only fails to meet the needs of people with addiction, but actively benefits from maintaining their lower status. They also offer insight into how we might fix that system and save lives.
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Book Details
ISBN:
9781982149826
EAN:
9781982149826
Binding:
Hardcover
Pages:
320
Authors:
Shoshana Walter
Publisher:
Simon & Schuster
Published Date: 2025-12-08
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Riveting and deeply disturbing, this book is a clear-eyed interrogation of our rehab industry. Walter expertly unpacks the myriad reasons that so many of our loved ones have fallen into a deadly cycle of relapse, without getting bogged down in arcane business minutiae. Every family in America needs a copy of this book.
This book had me crying at points, celebrating at others, and reflecting deeply on my 25 years in the field of substance use disorder treatment. Out of the four stories, April’s resonated most—the story of the mother, systemic barriers, and the impossible choices that so many women face when seeking treatment.Walter cites that by 2020, only 2% of facilities allowed women to bring their children, despite 70% of women needing care being mothers. We know this barrier doesn’t just delay treatment—it makes women more ill by the time they get help.Her reporting exposes not only systemic failures, but also the culture of “we know best because we’re in recovery ourselves”—a mindset that too often ignores research and perpetuates harm.If we tell our clients the first step is acceptance, then we as an industry need to take our own advice. We have to acknowledge the problem, listen to these stories, and commit to change.This book should be required reading for directors, practitioners, sober living operators, and policymakers alike.Thank you, Ms. Walter, for holding up a mirror to our field. Now the question is: what will we do with the reflection?
A brilliant book that reads like a mystery novel. It is so interesting and informative, poignant yet uplifting. Don't be surprised if this ends up on the Pulitzer Prize shortlist!
A compelling piece of non-fiction that chronicles the lives of four people impacted by the addition treatment industry.
As a person in recovery and a healthcare provider I cannot recommend this book enough! It’s informative and compassionate. Thank you for writing such a brilliant novel.
