Pain Killer

An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America's Opioid Epidemic

By: Barry Meier

Narrated by: Ray Porter

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times reporter who first exposed the roots of the opioid epidemic and the secretive world of the Sackler family behind Purdue Pharma, Pain Killer is the celebrated landmark story of corporate greed and government negligence that inspired an upcoming Netflix series.

“This is the book that started it all. Barry Meier is a heroic reporter and Pain Killer is a muckraking classic.”—Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Empire of Pain

Between 1999 and 2017, an estimated 250,000 Americans died from overdoses involving prescription painkillers, a plague ignited by Purdue Pharma’s aggressive marketing of OxyContin. Families, working class and wealthy, have been torn apart, businesses destroyed, and public officials pushed to the brink. Meanwhile, the drugmaker’s owners, Raymond and Mortimer Sackler, whose names adorn museums worldwide, made enormous fortunes from the commercial success of OxyContin.

In Pain Killer, Barry Meier tells the story of how Purdue turned OxyContin into a billion-dollar blockbuster. Powerful narcotic painkillers, or opioids, were once used as drugs of last resort for pain sufferers. But Purdue launched an unprecedented marketing campaign claiming that the drug’s long-acting formulation made it safer to use than traditional painkillers for many types of pain. That illusion was quickly shattered as drug abusers learned that crushing an Oxy could release its narcotic payload all at once. Even in its prescribed form, Oxy proved fiercely addictive. As OxyContin’s use and abuse grew, Purdue concealed what it knew from regulators, doctors, and patients.

Here are the people who profited from the crisis and those who paid the price, those who plotted in boardrooms and those who tried to sound alarm bells. A country doctor in rural Virginia, Art Van Zee, took on Purdue and warned officials about OxyContin abuse. An ebullient high school cheerleader, Lindsey Myers, was reduced to stealing from her parents to feed her escalating Oxy habit. A hard-charging DEA official, Laura Nagel, tried to hold Purdue executives to account.

In Pain Killer, Barry Meier breaks new ground in his decades-long investigation into the opioid epidemic. He takes listeners inside Purdue to show how long the company withheld information about the abuse of OxyContin and gives a shocking account of the Justice Department’s failure to alter the trajectory of the opioid epidemic and protect thousands of lives. Equal parts crime thriller, medical detective story, and business exposé, Pain Killer is a hard-hitting look at how a supposed wonder drug became the gateway drug to a national tragedy.

©2018 Barry Meier (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Groundbreaking . . . Pain Killer is the shocking account of the origins of today’s opioid epidemic, the creators of this plague, and the way to help stop it.”—Sam Quinones, author of Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic

“Prescient . . . a landmark work of investigative journalism.”—David A. Kessler, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and author of The End of Overeating

“Fascinating.”—The New York Times

Shocking!!!!

This book was very eye-opening, sad and informative about the opioid crisis that the world is still battling to this day.

Pain joyride addiction

I'm person that doesn't even like talking Tylenol, never knew pain addiction was this huge. I could see why anyone would get addicted. Very informative and eye opening. as always love the narration bay Ray Porter

Better than I expected

I have borrowed a copy for my local library to do a research paper for my College English class, Then I discovered the The updated reference on audio book.

Shines light on humanity/opium in the 21st cenury

Humanity and opium have a history that goes back centuries. However there is no magic bullet for pain. Ibogaine from the iboga plant is supposed to eradicate an individual's addiction to opiates. Lost quite a few folks to heroin/pills/fentanyl and still counting.....

Essential

An important building block to understand the roots of the opioid crisis. If only we had all read it back when it was originally published in 2003 perhaps, as citizens, we would have forced our government to act and saved lives and stopped untold suffering. What a parable on the evil nexus of corporate greed and government complicity

Easy on the ear

Who doubted an American can narrate prose written in the English language? I have to fess up. This audiobook first catches your interest, then captures your imagination.
Job done!

What people won’t do for greed

This is shocking to realize what some people will do for money, even when they don’t need it. This family personally started an epidemic of opioid dependence to satisfy their greed. It also shows that monied people often do not go to jail no matter how heinous the crime. It seems that people believe that probation and fines were sufficient punishment in spite of the many deaths they were responsible for.

Well read and very interesting

My only problem with it was that it wasn’t longer. I greatly enjoyed the narration, and the story was excellent.

Outstanding book

Very detail book how addiction to pain killer have effected dearly people for those that abuse it and as well prescribed the drug for pain killer. It is very concerning with the rise of addiction nowadays.

An excellent review of the drug industry's sin

This book is an excellent resource for anyone who is looking for an understanding of the drug industry's involvement in the prescription drug abuse epidemic.