Wednesday Apr 03, 2019

Beth Macy's DOPESICK and Jarrett Krosoczka's HEY KIDDO - Obviously, We Read Both

In this Unabridged podcast episode, we talk about two books that look at drug addiction and its impact on families. Beth Macy's nonfiction book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America shows the bleak situation of the opioid crisis in America by focusing on the situation within three communities along I-81, the "Heroin Highway" in Virginia. Jarrett J. Krosoczka's Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction is a graphic memoir portraying Krosoczka's own experiences growing up as the son of a heroin addict who continued using throughout his adolescence.

Spoilers are inevitable throughout our Book Club discussion, so consider whether or not to listen if you haven't yet read the books Dopesick and Hey, Kiddo!

timeline

*Introduction: 00:00 - 02:13

*Dopesick: 02:13 - 49:58

*Hey Kiddo: 50:10 - 70:40

*Book Pairings: 70:50 - 85:49

*Classroom Connections: 85:50 - 91:33

book pairings

*Ashley - When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullers and Asha Bandele and Blankets by Craig Thompson

*Jen - David Sheff’s Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey through His Son's Addiction and Nic Sheff’s Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines

*Sara - Ellen Hopkins's Crank (Glass and Fallout are the second and third in the trilogy) and Laurie Halse Anderson's Wintergirls

other mentions

*Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

*Chris McGreal's American Overdose: The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts