An orphan brought up by a pious uncle and an ineffectual aunt, Philip Carey eagerly launches himself into adventure at age eighteen. After some months spent wandering Europe in an attempt to find himself, he returns to London to train as a doctor. It is here that he encounters Mildred, the doomed but formidable object of an obsessive love affair that provides the pivot of this novel.

Politicians and the media tell us that people who take drugs, including alcohol or nicotine, cannot help themselves. They are supposedly victims of the disease of 'addiction', and they need 'treatment'. The same goes for sex addicts, shopping addicts, food addicts, gambling addicts, or even addicts to abusive relationships. This theory, which grew out of the Temperance movement and was developed and disseminated by the religious cult known as Alcoholics...

From the Publisher: We live in an age of obsession. Not only are we hopelessly devoted to our work, strangely addicted to our favorite television shows, and desperately impassioned about our cars, we admire obsession in others: we demand that lovers be infatuated with one another in films, we respond to the passion of single-minded musicians, we cheer on driven athletes. To be obsessive is to be American; to be obsessive is to be modern. But obsession...

"RAND researchers conducted a systematic review that synthesized evidence from randomized controlled trials of needle acupuncture--used adjunctively or as monotherapy--to provide estimates of its efficacy and safety for treating adults diagnosed with alcohol, opioid, stimulant, or cannabis use disorder"--Publisher's description

"Molly gets things stuck in her head sometimes. When she sees a jar of candy on Principal Shelton's desk, she absolutely needs to know how many candies are in that jar! Luckily, her two best friends, Simon and Rosie, are ready to help her find the answer--even if it means detention for all of them!"--

"Neuroscientist Lewis (Memoirs of an Addicted Brain) presents a strong argument against the disease model of addiction, which is currently predominant in medicine and popular culture alike, and bolsters it with informative and engaging narratives of addicts' lives ... Even when presenting more technical information, Lewis shows a keen ability to put a human face on the most groundbreaking research into addiction. Likewise, he manages to make complex...