I have no words.

In No More Tears, Harris details the years of deception, lies and blatant disregard for safety and human life that drives the sales and marketing at Johnson and Johnson.

This was an infuriating read that made me realize I need to be a more conscious consumer.
I was originally interested in reading more literature involving the pharmaceutical industry after reading Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keeffe. Surprise surprise.... it turns out J&J was also involved in the making of the opioid crisis in the U.S.

If you are interested in picking up No More Tears you will learn about the deceptive practices Johnson and Johnson employs from their over the counter medications like Tylenol , to influencing the misuse of Risperdal in elderly patients, to knowingly selling faulty metal-on-metal hip implants that were linked to severe complications.

For fiction readers, this is a relatively easy read. It is comprehensive and well researched albeit a bit repetitive. If you're not used to reading non fiction, some chapters may read a bit dry. There are lulls in the story however it is such an important topic that I highly recommend you read if you are interested.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for an advanced reader's copy of No More Tears.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this title, but unfortunately it didn’t quite capture my interest. While the premise was promising, I found it difficult to stay engaged. That said, I’m sure it will find its audience with readers who connect more strongly with the writing style or pacing.

This is a hard-hitting exposé on corporate abuse that left me feeling both informed and outraged. The book dives deep into systemic problems, and the author’s straightforward style made it accessible without sugarcoating the issues. It’s not an easy read emotionally, but it’s an important one if you want to understand how these systems fail people. A valuable and impactful read for those interested in justice and accountability.
Rating: ★★★★☆

📚 DNF Alert: No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson and Johnson by Gardiner Harris 💧

I really thought this one would grab me — a deep dive into the Johnson & Johnson scandal sounded like a must-read. But unfortunately, it just didn’t deliver. The writing was too focused on the science and never really drew me in. I kept waiting for the juicy, behind-the-scenes details… but they never quite showed up (or took way too long to get there).

It might work for someone else, but this one just wasn’t for me. On to the next! 👋

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This book was very well-written and it was obvious that the author has done a lot of through research on each topic and the corruption in the medical industry.

Some of the topics like the clot jab (if you know, you know) I knew and had researched a lot about, but there were a few things that I didn't know about at all.

Kudos to the author for tackling a tough issue and doing it so well.

I received a complimentary e-book to review from Random House Publishing Group to review through Netgalley.

I was not required to write a positive review, and the thoughts above are my own.

No More Tears is an unflinching investigative exposé of historical machinations and skullduggery by the Johnson & Johnson corporation, written by Gardiner Harris. Released 8th April 2025 by Penguin Random House, it's 464 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

This is another well written exposé about corporate skullduggery in the international pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. The author has arranged a rogues' gallery laundry list of dirty and underhanded deeds, from unethical marketing for consumer products and health and beauty items, to prescription drugs, medical devices, opiates, and mishandling during the covid epidemic. The book is scrupulously annotated throughout, and often shocking. Where there was market share to be won and profit to be made, J&J just Did. Not. Care. about ethics or safety, where they could get away with it.

The chapter notes are extensive and will provide readers with many hours of additional reading material. Although it's not academically rigorous and is written in layman accessible language, it is often drily factual and intentionally not written in inflammatory language. The straight, unadorned telling is even more chilling and direct. It's an effective technique.

Four and a half stars. The corporate culture and executives have a lot to answer for. The book would be an excellent choice for public or secondary/post-secondary school library acquisition, as well as for nonfiction readers.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This book made me so angry. In the beginning the author said that Johnson & Johnson made the Sacklers look like pikers. They knew that there was dangerous asbestos in the baby powder causing ovarian cancer but they kept hiding the fact and it was never taken off the market until 2023. Unfortunately that wasn't the only time the company exhibited greed. There was Risperdal that was no better than an older antipsychotic Haldol. It had no benefit for children and nursing home patients but was pushed to be prescribed anyway. They reacted quickly when Tylenol was tampered with and laced with cyanide but they never did make it clear how the drug could damage the liver. They didn't do all bad things. They had some wins but the bad was really bad. Is Johnson & Johnson unique in the drug industry because of this? I have to say probably not. One think I know for myself is that I will never take a drug I see in a TV commercial until it has been around a long time.

The book is a hefty 464 pages but in reality about a third of that is devoted to acknowledgements and notes. Sometimes it was dry and text booky but it was very well researched and eye opening.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House - Random House for providing me with a digital copy.

Reading no more tears, gave me tears! There is a lot of information about the Johnson and Johnson company, which are all facts. It took five years for this journalist to put everything together, all backed by evidence. The book is well researched and it has all the credible sources in it. This book left a disturbing impact on me. It was very well written and thought provoking. Throughout the book, I had experienced several emotions while reading this. I felt angry, upset, mad, confused and frustrated. I have heard things about Johnson and Johnson in the past, but I had no idea on what all was going on. I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley, author and journalist Gardiner Harris, and Random House Publishing for this digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is set to be published on April 8, 2025!

This deeply researched expose peels back the blindfold on the myth of Johnson & Johnson as a benevolent healthcare company. Harris details decades of corporate gaslighting, fraudulent research, and nefarious advertising practices, all in the name of profits. J&J is a masterclass in how a family-friendly brand weaponized public trust, science, and regulatory loopholes to prioritize shareholder profits over human lives. From asbestos-laced baby powder and J&J's casual role in the opioid crisis, to promoting detrimental treatments for cancers and faulty total joint implants, this company has a long track record of sacrificing human health for profits. Highly recommend this book!

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and RandomHouse for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I need to preface my review with this; this is an important book, in that it calls out a "trusted" company and all of the choices that that company have made [good, bad, and in some instances, downright evil] for the general public, and I need to applaud the author for that. You can tell that this took years of research and interviews that really add to the overall story.

That said...

Much of this book is a very hot mess. There are sections that are so dry and boring, I found myself doing A N Y T H I N G but listen to this book. Which brings me to the narration [which I absolutely do not recommend], which unfortunately, was deeply unpleasant; the saying "just because one can doesn't mean one should" absolutely applies here. This might have been better had I been able to read read this [it was,regretfully, impossible for me at this time], but I am not really sure. Even the parts that WERE interesting [and there were enough to keep me from DNF'ing this book] were made difficult due to the narration that was filled with awkward pauses, mispronounced words [over and over and over again], and a rather flat delivery. I do not know the last time I was so thrilled to have a book be finished.

While there were good/interesting parts of this book [and I lived for those], some of the problem was that there was just SO MUCH INFORMATION, with many extraneous details [this book could have 100% been edited better] that should have been culled as they didn't add to the overall story at all, bogged it down, and in the end, all the good of this book is lost in that "oversharing". Add in the writing [which is mostly good] that sometimes devolved into "locker-room" speak that made want to quit more than once, which was really frustrating.

I DID learn a lot [I will say that finding the nuggets of gold amidst the extraneous details was difficult at times], and I cried over many of the absolutely heart-breaking stories of real people scammed by this company [and I am not looking at ways to rid and replace anything by J&J in my own home], but overall, I am just left disappointed.

I was invited to read/review this by the publisher [Random House Publishing Group - Random House], and I thank them, and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed No More Tears. I thought it was an easily readable non-fiction title despite having so many court cases and names to remember. I think this will be popular as a "I don't usually read non-fiction but loved this!" title for our readers.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this read. When I started hearing buzz about this book, my interest was instantly piqued. An expose on the unethical business practices of a big pharmaceutical company? It’s givingggg, the next Empire of Pain?? One line that stood out to me in the promo of this book was: J&J is not a drug company, but rather a “law firm that happens to sell drugs.” Sounds juicy!

But at some point in the narrative the tone shifted from investigative digging to anti-government conspiracy theories. Unsettled, I paused my reading at the halfway mark to do more research about the author. I was disturbed to learn of his connection to the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) movement and anti-vaccination spokespeople. One of the big “reveals” of this book is that the former head of the FDA was allegedly bribed to turn a blind eye to J&J’s wrongdoings– an allegation which Harris says he has proof of but cannot reveal his source (out of legal and ethical concerns).

If true, those allegations are obviously alarming. And as a nonfiction reader and lifelong learner, I’m all about healthy skepticism and challenging the status quo. But in these contemporary times when mistrust of government is at an all-time high and being used as justification to gut our public health infrastructure, I found this line of inquiry and implication dangerous. Harris seems to equate “big business” and “big government” as equally corrupt, rather than using the J&J case study as an example of why government regulations and oversight should be strengthened, not gutted.

this was a really interesting read, I do admit I skimmed over a lot of it because the writing just wasn't really intriguing to keep me entertained but the information is what I was focused on anyway. I've stopped using J&J products (at least the ones directly with their names that I know of) and after reading this I can say I'm glad. This was so eye-opening and honestly. bit scary, definitely recommend checking it out.

I was obsessed with this book. The author did such a good job of writing about the dark underbelly of J&J, a company I’ve long adored. Who knew that a company that touts itself as a baby company would be so corrupt and greedy? All corporations exist to make a profit and I’m never shocked that they lie, but I expect it to be small lie, not ones that knowingly kill or injure people. The absolute lack of a soul of the high ranking officers is mind boggling. This book reads like fiction, it’s so riveting and well written. It is an exceptional piece of journalism. I love the authors writing style and the fact that he so meticulously researched the subject. It made me angry and sad and frustrated over the pharmaceutical and medical companies who take our lives into their hands with so little regard for them. I actually plan on reading this again, I enjoyed it so much. And it’s made me think twice about what I’m willing to take or what I allow doctors to put in my body. Really drove home the importance of advocating for yourself and doing your own research. I received an advance copy and am leaving my review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was an eye-opening and thoroughly engaging read. The author’s investigative journalism skills are evident in every page as they expose the truth about the company and its practices. The writing is sharp, well-researched, and incredibly compelling. I found myself hooked from the beginning, and the author’s thorough exploration of the subject matter kept me turning the pages.

It’s a thought-provoking and enlightening book that sheds light on important issues, and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in corporate accountability or investigative journalism.

The cover is the icing on the cake!

Many thanks for the ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and the author/publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.

While we heard these stories from the mainstream media over the years, No More Tears exposes the behind the scenes cover-ups and deceitful practices as J&J grew into the world’s largest healthcare conglomerate. Harris gives an insider view from his years as a reporter covering the pharmaceutical industry in what I call a docu-story. How different would fighting the drug war have been if we had known that the deceptive marketing of J&J would be the drug crises accelerant.

Harris begins with baby powder, enlightens us about what was known from the start about Tylenol, the sales frenzy of anti-psychotics, the illegal marketing efforts of opioids, and wraps up with some Covid vaccine truths. It’s all nicely put together and a fascinating read.

I recommend this highly as it reads like good fiction. Book groups will find much to discuss here. Well done Gardiner Harris! This makes my 2025 favorites list.

This was heavy material, but it is very well written and easy to read. We assume a company, that is regulated by a federal agency, would do their best to protect the consumers. That’s not true. No More Tears explains all of the shady and ethically questionable practices J&J has been using over the years. This information should be readily available for all consumers and this type of in depth research should be required of all production companies.

J&J’s acts have been truly egregious and outrageous. I can’t believe there was asbestos in baby powder, for instance (and they just removed talc 2 years ago-SO recent!). I’m also getting really worried since so many women ended up with ovarian cancer and cysts due to using baby powder. I used it as a kid, and “randomly” ended up having to take one of my ovaries out, and no one could explain why it ended up with teeth and ruptured.

Notable lines (but there were far too many):
In regards to the talc reference (and beware of talc in makeup, etc): “Worse, the talc particles seemed to be located at the very core of the tumors, suggesting they were the primary irritant that led to the development of the ovarian cancer itself.”
In regards to Extra Strength Tylenol: “At least 150 Americans die every year and 30,000 are hospitalized from taking too much acetaminophen-and those are just the confirmed cases . . . acetaminophen has for decades been the nation’s leading cause of acute liver failure.”
“Chasing this gold mine required Johnson & Johnson to shift the focus of its marketing efforts from consumers to doctors . . . every doctor who served in leadership positions in the 1990s and 2000s had side gigs as part-time drug sales reps. As a result, millions of Americans died from or were injured by dangerous and inappropriate prescriptions.”
“But patients with lower back pain, arthritis, or a host of other kinds of chronic pain issues can live for decades. And once they’re physically addicted-a common outcome when opioids are used for longer than three months-patients are highly motivated to serve as repeat customers.”

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book is well written and easy to read, but the content is so dense that I often had to pause to think over what I had just read. Sadly, J&J is not alone in its shady and often criminal history. I found this book very well researched and engaging. Highly recommended.

No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson by Gardiner Harris is an explosive expose on a company we all think we know.

One day in 2004, Gardiner Harris who is a pharmaceutical reporter for the New York Times was at an airport bar. He struck up a convo with the person next to him. She happened to be a drug sales rep from Johnson & Johnson who shared with him, her story about the unethical sales practices and the devastating impact they have had on her family. This sparked a 5 year long research process for Gardiner and resulted in this 464 paged book.

No More Tears is divided into 4 sections: consumer products, prescription drugs, medical devices and vaccination. Harris takes us away from the company's child friend image of the "baby company" as he uncovers heaps of evidence that show deceitful and dangerous corporate practices.

The book covers multiple disasters such as the baby powder issue, where the baby powder was contaminated with asbestos and the talc itself is a proven cancer causing agent. It has been proven that the company was aware these dangerous products were involved and still marketed them to babies, the youngest and most vulnerable of us all.
It covered the deliberate misselling of Risperdal. A drug that was licensed for schizophrenia but was sold as a drug for anxiety, depression, dementia and childhood bad conduct. Basically a tranquilizer for kids and old people. It caused whoever took it to grow breasts and lactate, regardless of gender.

The book delves into the creation and support of the opioid epidemic. Supporting other opioids and creating and promoting one of their own, Duragesic (fentanyl), which is seventy-five times more powerful then mophine. Previously only for end of life palliative care was then given for osteoarthritis, back pain etc. claiming it did not have any addictive properties.

It also looked into the development and sale of Ortho Evra a contraceptive patch. The patch either emitted too high levels of estrogen putting the women in danger of heart attack, strokes etc. or too low leading to pregnancy.

I liked how the book was written to inform the public on things that should be their right to know, but wasn't written like a thesis. It was easy to read and kept me locked into the whole book. Throughout the book it dropped bits of knowledge that I had no clue about, such as how Johnson & Johnson are responsible for 70% of sutures worldwide! I knew the company was big but reading that fact made me wonder how big of an influence do they really have in the world?!

Huge thank you to Gardiner Harris for working with NetGalley. I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.