Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC on this very timely and important book. These are true stories of people across all ethnicities and economic backgrounds who are addicts and want to get clean. As someone who has had experience with this personally in my life with friends and family, we know that this Rehab industry is filled with scammers and schemers praising their almighty dollars. The families left behind when they lose one of their own to this disease while in a treatment center is terrifying. But the fact that the bureaucracy allows it and refuses to give consequences to those in charge is absolutely enraging. It took me longer than usual to finish this book because I was so upset and felt so helpless while reading he’s in passion please of mothers and fathers. This is a terribly important book and should be read by all this book was so well researched and so well written and explains everything in layman‘s terms. Highly Recommended!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the eARC.

Rehab is not an easy read. The stories and the truths that are bared on these pages are challenging, heart breaking, and provide a look into a space that not many are able to see. These people will stick with me for the rest of my life.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing an eARC of Shoshana Walter's latest.

"Profit and punishment have ruled our treatment system, but it is these same concepts that seem to rule the United States. It is an addiction, since the founding of this country, that we just can't seem to quit".

Wow, this is an incredibly tough but essential read for everyone in the United States right now. Addiction has affected almost everyone's life at this point. Whether it’s someone's own addiction or those of friends or family, the damage is the same. People want to blame others, point fingers, and can't understand why some people "can't just stop using." They don’t see why nobody is helping, where to turn for help, or why people even start using drugs in the first place.

This non-fiction masterpiece is divided into three parts and follows four individuals' journeys from start to (sometimes quite literally) the end. It exposes the dark, ugly side of addiction treatment in the US. Covering sober living, scams, court-ordered treatment, private options, insurance costs, and more. The story is raw and gripping, yet handled with great care. It's clear why Shoshana Walter is a Pulitzer finalist.

I recommend this book to everyone. This should be required reading for those working in counseling, social work, etc.

DNF @ p149

I grabbed this book because I hate every aspect of USian for-profit medical system, but especially as it impacts poor and disabled patients.

Walter's research is extremely thorough. And I thought she organized the book well, except I found it repetitive. Each case she shares is distinctive, but I don't think she highlights the distinctions, but the similarities, as that's kind of her point. But for me, in finding the material triggering (institutionalization and stigmatization of mental illness, like addiction), this kind of intentionally repetitive structure was difficult to read. I would have liked a diversion in the text, a subplot, a discussion, something besides more and more evidence of abuse and negligent murder of disabled people.

I still maintain that this is an excellent and necessary text for anyone wanting to know more about what goes on behind the curtain at residential mental health facilities of all kinds.

This is a subject matter that I care for a lot, so I was invested from the first word.

Unfortunately, the pace on this book is way too slow. We get to understand the narration ok, but the delivery is all off.