Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty (Unabridged)

America’s ongoing opioid epidemic can be traced back not just to one drug but to one unscrupulous family. In this riveting account, investigative journalist Patrick Radden Keefe (Say Nothing) describes how the Sackler family—owners of Purdue Pharma—aggressively marketed the painkiller OxyContin, using their massive power and influence to get the highly addictive drug overprescribed. With the sweeping drama of a novel, Keefe tells the Sackler brothers’ story from the beginning. He charms us with tales of their humble roots and early positive medical contributions, which makes their moral downfall all the more shocking. Using hard numbers and statistics, Keefe illustrates the staggering scope of OxyContin’s devastation, and he also weaves in tragic real-life stories taken from court evidence, like a New Jersey mother whose fatal overdose was discovered by her four-year-old son. The author’s narration of his book is appropriately serious, though a welcome hint of snark peeks through as he digs into the Sacklers’ excesses. The OxyContin epidemic has always been heartbreaking. The rampant greed exposed in Empire of Pain makes it enraging.