The Opioid Epidemic: What Everyone Needs to Know

Yngvild Olsen · Joshua M. Sharfstein

Sep 2019 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Laural Merlington

About this audiobook

The opioid epidemic is responsible for longest sustained decline in US life expectancy since the time of World War I and the Great Influenza. In 2017, nearly 50,000 Americans died from an opioid overdose-with an estimated two million more living with opioid addiction every day. The Opioid Epidemic: What Everyone Needs to Know is an accessible, nonpartisan overview of the causes, politics, and treatments tied to the most devastating health crisis of our time. Its comprehensive approach and Q&A format offer listeners a practical path to understanding the epidemic from all sides: the basic science of opioids; the nature of addiction; the underlying reasons for the opioid epidemic; effective approaches to helping individuals, families, communities, and national policy; and common myths related to opioid addiction. Written by two expert physicians and enriched with stories from their experiences in the crosshairs of this epidemic, this book is a critical resource for any general listener-and for the individuals and families fighting this fight in their own lives.

About the author

Yngvild Olsen is Medical Director of the Institutes for Behavior Resources, Inc., a comprehensive addiction treatment center in Baltimore City. She is the current Vice President and former Chair for Public Policy of the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Joshua M. Sharfstein is Vice Dean for Public Health Practice and Community Engagement and Professor of the Practice in Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He previously served as the Health Commissioner of Baltimore City.

Laural Merlington has recorded well over one hundred audiobooks and has received several AudioFile Earphones Awards, including one for Never Say Die by Susan Jacoby.