Innovation + Leadership Presents DOPESICK: Dealers, Doctors, And The Drug Company That Addicted America

On Tuesday, August 21, investigative reporter Beth Macy will visit The Music Hall as part of its Innovation + Leadership series to discuss her inside account of today's opioid crisis, DOPESICK: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America. The book has been heralded in the press as an unforgettable portrait of families and first responders on the front lines that offers an honest assessment of the epidemic and possible solutions for slowing, even stopping, it.

The 7pm event includes a presentation by the author and moderated Q&A, plus a post-event book signing and meet-and-greet. It will be held at The Music Hall Loft at 131 Congress St., in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The event will be moderated by Chris Curtis, Film and Outreach Manager at the Music Hall.

"Here at The Music Hall we have had several public forums and films on this critical topic, and we are honored to be continuing the dialogue with this investigative expert. The opioid crisis is affecting all of us at all income levels across the country, and some of us, quite personally," said Curtis. "DOPESICK not only chronicles the epidemic's origins and effects, but also confronts the future by considering the effects of proposed policies, surveying what remains systemically broken, and highlighting new approaches from across the US that show promise."

ABOUT THE BOOK

In this masterful work, Beth Macy takes us into the epicenter of America's twenty-plus year struggle with opioid addiction. From distressed small communities in Central Appalachia to wealthy suburbs; from disparate cities to once-idyllic farm towns; it's a heartbreaking trajectory that illustrates how this national crisis has persisted for so long and become so firmly entrenched.

Beginning with a single dealer who lands in a small Virginia town and sets about turning high school football stars into heroin overdose statistics, Macy endeavors to answer a grieving mother's question-why her only son died-and comes away with a harrowing story of greed and need. From the introduction of OxyContin in 1996, Macy parses how America embraced a medical culture where overtreatment with painkillers became the norm. In some of the same distressed communities featured in her bestselling book Factory Man, the unemployed use painkillers both to numb the pain of joblessness and pay their bills, while privileged teens trade pills in cul-de-sacs, and even high school standouts fall prey to prostitution, jail, and death.

Through unsparing, yet deeply human portraits of the families and first responders struggling to ameliorate this epidemic, each facet of the crisis comes into focus. In these politically fragmented times, Beth Macy shows, astonishingly, that the only thing that unites Americans across geographic and class lines is opioid drug abuse. But in a country unable to provide basic healthcare for all, Macy still finds reason to hope-and finds signs of the spirit and tenacity necessary in those facing addiction to build a better future for themselves and their families.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Beth Macy is the author of the widely acclaimed and bestselling books Truevine and Factory Man. Based in Roanoke, Virginia for three decades, her reporting has won more than a dozen national awards, including a Nieman Fellowship for Journalism at Harvard.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Chris Curtis, Film and Outreach Manager, has been with The Music Hall since 2006, coordinating School Days Series operations, managing youth arts outreach opportunities in collaboration with various local non-profits, and curating the year-round Film Series. He also curates and moderates the Innovation + Leadership documentary film series with expert post-film panel discussions. Mr. Curtis is an accomplished actor, musician and parent of two young children.

TICKETS

Tickets for Innovation + Leadership: Beth Macy on Tuesday, August 21, at 7:00pm are $42 ($40 for members) and include an autographed copy of DOPESICK: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America ($28 hardcover), bar beverage, reserved seat, author presentation, Q&A and book signing meet-and-greet. Packages can be purchased online at TheMusicHall.org, over the phone at 603.436.2400 or in person at the B2W Box Office at the Historic Theater, 28 Chestnut Street.

To post a comment, you must register and login.