The Addict: One Patient, One Doctor, One Year

Masterfully written, "The Addict" is a gripping account which captivates readers as potently as the prescription painkillers that have enraptured thousands. Offering an accurate portrayal of the struggles and triumphs which often go unnoticed, one cannot help being in some way transformed by Michael Stein's book. It is a compelling glimpse into an increasingly tragic phenomenon, stirring readers to the realization that during our lifetime we are more likely to require expert treatment for prescription drug dependence than for injuries related to a motor vehicle accident. Paula Davies Scimeca, RN, MS, Author of "Unbecoming A Nurse."

Painkillers are the newest drug epidemic in the US. THE ADDICT give us the story of one pill-head hooked on Vicodin, the most commonly prescribed pill of them all. The voice of the doctor who writes this book is dead-on honest. Maybe he's too honest. He knows a ton about addiction, a ton about his patient, and not a small amount about why the rest of us might hate her and every addict out there. He explains the ins and out of opiate addiction (he talks about lots of kinds of addiction in the process), offering an incredibly useful guide to any family member who wants to know what their loved one is doing to herself when she uses Oxycontin or heroin or pain pills without a prescription. It's as hard to watch someone recover as it is to watch them hurt themselves, Stein makes clear. Along the way, he offers a plain old good story filled with mysteries and unexpected turns that will pull at your heart.

A book of remarkable revelations about patients and doctors. The patient in this case is a 29 year old Vicodin addict whose parents won't admit that their college-educated daughter has had a decade of drug use and lost promise. Stein, Lucy Fields' doctor when she finally decides to make a change, gives us the first year of her recovery, and also tries to explain why he cares so much (and why we should) about people looking for a second chance. He explains how a doctor (or at least this doctor) thinks, and how addicts think, what they worry about and what they ignore. This is not a TV drama, but a more thoughtful reckoning of the slow work of getting better, not only from addiction but from not caring about one's best interests. A book for parents and children, for addicts and non-addicts, for lovers of medical drama and superb writing.

This is an amazing book. There has never been an addiction memoir like this, one that offers a savvy and compassionate clinician's view of the addicts he treats. When an addict writes about him or herself, there is sure to be the grandiose, false charm of the lucky survivor. Michael Stein's book is different; it tells an addiction story that not only gets into the head of one crafty Vicodin addict, but into her soul. Lucy Field's story, which she recounts to the doctor-author, is as sad as any until she decides to get herself help. With Stein's steady, persistent encouragement, she pulls her life together, doubting herself the whole way. Stein tells her story with compassion and care in a beautiful, writerly way.

In 2008, the most commonly prescribed drug in the United States is Vicodin. Not well known is that Vicodin shares a close "DNA" chemical imprinting with the illegal opiates. With that background, Dr. Stein provides a profound look at helping a Vicodin addict kick the habit, physically and psychologically. Twenty-nine years old Lucy Fields visited Dr. Field having become totally addicted to Vicodin after using it for years. Lucy is a college graduate coming from an affluent family. She is fully aware of her health crisis, which brought her to the medical school professor for treatment. This terrific memoir filled with pathos and compassion will nuke the concept held dearly by talking heads who refuse to accept American pharmaceutical addiction as a health issue perhaps even worse than the illegal drug problems they prefer to rant about. Dr. Stein stays professional for the most part except for some minor well-earned pontification. However, Lucy puts a human face on medically treating legal addictions as readers will be spellbound by her real story. Harriet Klausner