What makes this book different? Click here to find out.

Addiction is a topic of great interest to a wide variety of people, from drug addicts and the people who love them, to physicians and healthcare professionals, to the criminal justice system, etc. But addiction is broadly and deeply misunderstood. The public doesn’t just lack the right information; they have grown up on wrong information. Even doctors share similar mindsets. This book addresses deep-rooted misconceptions about addiction.

This book addresses both medical and public misinformation. It was important for me to write this book for the general public, but I also want this book to be read by doctors, academics, and other stakeholders as well. 

Many people told me that writing a book for such a diverse audience would be impossible. But a lot of medical information is now produced for, and consumed by, people from all walks of life. Even as a physician, I often consult resources such as WebMD on medical topics outside my specialty. Einstein supposedly said of science, “You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.” Complex ideas can be stated in plain language.

Although I write in plain language, I try to present my information with scholarly rigor without jargon. I promise not to “dumb down” ideas. My message is consistent with conventional medical wisdom. I am not selling merchandise, peddling conspiracy theories, or claiming to possess some secret knowledge. 

Academics will insist that I back up claims with citations and references. However, I did not want to bog down the book with pages of academic citations that would be useless to people without access to academic libraries. Hyperlinks provide a modern way to provide more information for readers. That’s why I maintain reference pages in this website that provide references via hyperlinks anyone can access via a smartphone.

This book is for everyone.