Many scientists write about addiction, but how many are former addicts? Psychology professor Grisel mixes coverage of brain research with the warts-and-all story of her addictions, beginning with alcohol in seventh grade and progressing to marijuana, LSD, cocaine, and IV drug use ... Powerful stuff.
A timely, educational blend of neuroscience and memoir ... Drawing from her own experience as a recovering drug addict, Grisel is uniquely positioned to study the neuroscience of addiction. She understands both the allure of drugs and the devastation they leave in their wake ... Now a professor and scientist, Grisel is a compassionate and empathetic guide to the hard science behind drug use.
...[Grisel's] account of her wayward early 20s, chasing one high after another, is harrowing ... Grisel writes clearly and unsparingly about both her experiences and the science of addiction—tobacco and caffeine figure in, as well—making plain that there is still much that remains unknown or mysterious about the brain’s workings ... Illuminating reading for those seeking to understand the whos, hows, and wherefores of getting hooked.
Weaving anecdotes of her ordeal—some funny, others embarrassing—with basic brain science, she explains how drugs work, why some are more effective than others, and how addicts differ from nonaddicts ... Concluding that addiction is complicated, she offers some insight but unfortunately, if perhaps necessarily, leaves readers of her thoughtful book with no solutions to the many problems associated with addiction.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay[/caption]
