Finding Tess

A Mother’s Search for Answers in a Dopesick America

By: Beth Macy

Narrated by: Beth Macy

Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

On Christmas Eve, 2017, Tess Henry was found dead in a dumpster in Las Vegas. Tess was a 28-year-old new mother, a former honor roll student, and a high school basketball player from suburban Roanoke, Virginia, a place ravaged by the national opioid crisis. The New York Times best-selling author Beth Macy chronicled Tess and her mom, Patricia, through Tess' harrowing, years-long battle to recover from heroin addiction in her award-winning book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America. But just as Tess was on the brink of returning to a normal life with her young son, she was brutally murdered.

Finding Tess: A Mother’s Search for Answers in a Dopesick America is a psychosocial autopsy of sorts, not just a retracing of Tess’ final steps on the streets of Las Vegas but also a dissection of what went wrong during the six-year span of her opioid addiction as well as the changes inspired by her story. This exclusive audio documentary - a coda to Dopesick - features interviews with Tess, her family, and many of those who tried to help her along the way as well as the systems and the people who failed her. By tracing Tess’ final steps as she tried so hard to make her way back to Virginia - and to her son - Finding Tess illuminates a journey shared by too many of the 2.6 million Americans battling opioid addiction, offering lessons from a cast of unlikely heroes and, along with them, hope.

©2019 PaperGirl, LLC (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC

Heart shattering

I’ve never cried while listening to an audiobook or reading one for that matter. Then came chapter 4 of Finding Tess and I could do nothing but listen and weep. For Beth, for Patricia, for Rownan, for Megan, and for Tess.

Required reading for all healthcare professionals

This book is a peek into the reality of addiction. I am a nurse practitioner, previously a critical care nurse. I have personal experience with addiction as my daughter, too struggles with it. I cared for many overdoses, alcohol withdrawal patients, and witnessed the treatment that is described in this book. No one is immune to addiction. No one. As soon as I became a nurse practitioner, I became waivered to prescribe suboxone. It saves lives. Unfortunately we face yet another restriction, another limitation in providing MAT to patients. The waiver allows us to treat 100 people. (35 the first year). I am at my limit. I try to get my colleagues to get waivered, but most decline. I do have several of my preceptees who see the importance of this and are getting waivered, but there needs to be legislation to increase this number. Most of my patients are Medicaid, a few commercial... so this is not about money... it is about saving lives. This book is truly a wonderful portrayal of what families of an addict go through. Thank you. May Tess RIP and know that she made a difference in the world. My heart goes out to her mom and child.♥️

love the actual audio clips inserted

This was a very insightful listen. I especially love that audio clips from the addict and family were used instead of just the author voice reciting what was said. And very accurate picture of the life of an addict and the family around.

heartbreaking and eye opening

I cried at the end of this just a bit which is rare for me it really opened my eyes and is so very heartbreaking

Sad story, but opens ur eyes to an addict’s life..

Read several reviews before I got this book.. Beth Macy did a fine job on her pronunciation and narration of her book. I saw listeners previously remarked on this.. and so I listened intently... to find no mistakes. Yes, Beth reads in a somber tone.. but this audible is anything but happy... so what do U expect? Tessy’s life was unfortunately cut short, but her legacy lives on. Things are changing and Beth’s books about dopesickness are to the point... and it’s sad the society we live in makes it near to impossible for some patients like Tess to get help with suboxone or other therapy due to cost/ restrictions / clinic locations and most doctors don’t have prescribing rights to just prescribe it. We need to educate ppl
About this disease. Working in a pharmacy for over 10 years, I have seen countless people doctor shopping, filling rx too soon, etc.. and it’s truly sad. I never knew how difficult it truly was to get help for these addicts—-addiction is a disease. Prayers and hugs to Patricia and her family.. Beth, thanks for telling the story how things truly are.. and not sugar coating it. Sad situation in our world and it won’t get any better until we acknowledge the disease and work to improve our response to it. Good work, Beth. 😊

Eye Opening

Unbelievable! Thanks for writing this. It has opened my eyes to a different side of a hugh problem. my heart goes out to all who have lost loved one.

It sheds a whole new light on addiction

A gripping story. It opened my eyes to the severity of this problem. It makes me examine my own biases and ignorance of the struggles related to addiction. I graduated from nursing school in 1992. We were told repeatedly that we could treat pain with opioids and we should not worry about addiction because it did not happen when narcotics were used the way we did. We were not told how much is too much. Now we have an epidemic. My mom used to see a rheumatologist who had her taking many narcotics, and it seemed that each visit he added more. We're lucky she didn't become addicted. She was weaned off and she's better for it.

Eye Opening and Heartbreaking

Couldn't stop listening. I truly hope they are able to find out who murdered Tess some day. I hope through books like this that the stigma of addiction is diminished so we don't lose more Tess's!

Compelling from prologue to ending

I am sucked by what I have learned reading this excellent book. The narrator was empathetic to the subject and the subject was something I was unfamiliar with and M shocked to hear this could exist in America. I highly recommend this book for a knowledge and I have re read it once already.

I didn't know really how opioid addiction worked..

honestly, even being in health care i didn't understand more than the basics, give narcan for overdoses... this story is important for all to hear.