Opioid Odyssey

Few people in the United States have not been deeply and personally affected by the opioid crisis. Opioid Odyssey: Discoveries of Recovery Through Medication Assisted Treatment shines a clarifying light on the largely-hidden but surprising truth of this much-discussed crisis. Whether it is a cousin, the son or daughter of a colleague, or a close neighbor who has fallen beneath the wave of opioid casualties, after completing Opioid Odyssey, you will understand the myriad causes of the explosion in opioid abuse, as well as the true basis of addiction itself. And perhaps most importantly, you will share the profound and powerful stories of those who have traversed the path to a positive destination.

Few people in the United States have not been deeply and personally affected by the opioid crisis. Opioid Odyssey: Discoveries of Recovery Through Medication Assisted Treatment shines a clarifying light on the largely hidden but surprising truth of this much-discussed crisis. Whether it is a cousin, the son or daughter of a colleague, or a close neighbor who has fallen beneath the wave of opioid casualties, after completing Opioid Odyssey, you will understand the myriad causes of the explosion in opioid abuse, as well as the true basis of addiction itself. And perhaps most importantly, you will share the profound and powerful stories of those who have traversed the path to a positive destination. What precisely is this "opioid crisis?" For that matter, what is "drug addiction?" What, really, is the "opioid dependency" discussed by so many so-called medical experts? And who, exactly, are these "drug addicts" who suffer by the millions each year, and whose tragic fates are reported daily in the media? Friends, family members, neighbors and colleagues continue to struggle to understand the sad fates of those who until that moment were just like us. Parents sadly remember loving, cheerful children, coaches recall mentoring excited athletes, teachers describe helping earnest adolescents focus on long-desired life goals—goals that now seem lost forever. How did this happen? How can it make sense? How did my daughter, my son, my brother or sister, my neighbor, my office-mate, my best friend—become a drug addict? What, if anything, could I have done? And now, after hard personal struggle to understand and even accept what has happened—what can I do? Opioid Odyssey provides revealing, real-life information about the surprising foundations of drug dependency, as well as the dramatic and heartwarming stories of those who have followed it to the deepest depths and survived. Long-term, stable recovery from opioid addiction is possible, even probable. Treatment, if properly planned and delivered, has helped most return to loving families, to full participation in employment and relationships, and to stand proudly in their communities. The devil, of course, is in the details, and Opioid Odyssey delivers those details in a package that gives hope and deep understanding to all who have felt perplexed, frustrated and even heartbroken by the strange opioid phenomenon, illuminating the way to a compassionate and pragmatic solution.

Dr. Michael J. Murphy is a psychologist, neuropsychologist and forensic psychologist who has been providing and supervising mental health services in correctional, psychiatric and outpatient settings for more than 30 years. He was a contributor to the original Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen, is a past recipient of the National Association of Newspaper Columnists award and is the author of Popsicle Fish: Tales of Fathering. Most recently he was Chief of Mental Health Services for the Vermont Department of Correction. He now maintains a private practice in Massachusetts and can be reached through his website at psychologicalinvestigations.com.