Slow Dancing with the Devil

<p> Susan Herrick's memoir follows the story of her beloved son and only child Luke through his struggle with opioid addiction recovery and sobriety and untimely and heartbreaking death. Luke suffered a near-fatal car accident that left him partially paralyzed and addicted to Oxycontin the very drug that helped save his life. Susan turned to the streets to obtain Suboxone a legal but medically restricted opioid blocker in an attempt to save her son's life. Remembering this she writes The day I became my son's drug dealer we both died in a way.</p><p> This poignant and compelling memoir exposes the rampant prescribing of Oxycontin upwards of 600mg daily in cases like Luke's and the role overprescribing plays in the disease of Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Through Luke's story the author addresses failed public policies misguided medical practices societal stigmas and enabling tendencies of loved ones that hinder recovery for those afflicted with SUD.</p>