America’s opioid epidemic is responsible for the deaths of over half a million American people in the last two decades. Now, a slew of books, programmes and podcasts seeks to tell the story of the Sackler family, their company Purdue Pharma, the prescription opioid they developed, and the damage wrought by it all.

Here, we have tracked down seven ways to get a grip on the crisis.

Demon Copperhead By Barbara Kingsolver


Demon Copperhead By Barbara Kingsolver

This Sunday Times bestseller won the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023. It is hard to picture a novel that could better encapsulate the far-reaching agony that addiction to the opioid OxyContin caused in small-town America. The heart wrenching tale of Kingsolver’s protagonist, loosely based on David Copperfield, will stay with you for ever.


‘A Nun, A Doctor And A Lawyer — And Deep Regret Over The Nation’s Handling Of Opioids’ By Barry Meier In The New York Times


In her Acknowledgments, Kingsolver thanks Dr Van Zee ‘for his ground-breaking exposure of dangerous prescription opioids’. She believes it is what ultimately brought the crisis to public attention. This New York Times article grippingly sets out how Van Zee, his wife and a local nun became passionate activists in their Appalachian town against the giants at Purdue Pharma.


Painkiller





Currently at the top of Netflix’s most watched shows is Painkiller, in which Matthew Broderick plays the member of the Sackler family responsible bringing OxyContin to the market – and how. The series shines a light on the Sacklers – who are thought to have made $10 billion out of OxyContin – as well as the drug’s victims and the people who attempted to clean up its mess.


Dopesick





Another great watch is the eight-part miniseries, Dopesick. Based on Beth Macy’s bestselling book of the same name, this 2021 show – starring Michael Keaton – also examines Purdue Pharma’s role in the opioid crisis.


‘The Family That Built An Empire Of Pain’ By Patrick Radden Keefe In The New Yorker


Empire Of Pain- The Secret History Of The Sackler Dynasty

The investigative journalist Patrick Radden Keefe wrote this brilliant article, about how the crisis came about, in 2017. If you pursue nothing else on our list, make sure you read his piece.


Empire Of Pain: The Secret History Of The Sackler Dynasty By Patrick Radden Keefe


Published in 2021, Empire of Pain is an extension of that 2017 article above. The non-fiction title won several prizes and glowing reviews. The Guardian says: ‘Empire of Pain is a gripping tale of capitalism at its most innovative and ruthless that Keefe tells with a masterful grasp of the material.’


The Adam Buxton Podcast Interview With Patrick Radden Keefe





Want to get your facts from podcasts, rather than the written word? Listen to this excellent interview with Patrick Radden Keefe. In it, the celebrated writer tells the British comedian, Adam Buxton, why he spent lockdown writing Empire of Pain. The answer? He wanted to write the sort of book on the opioid crisis that he would want to read.

By Becky Ladenburg
September 2023