The Addict: One Patient, One Doctor, One Year

291 Pages·2009·1.09 MB·English

by  Michael Stein

T H E
A D D I C T
O N E PAT I E N T, O N E D O C T O R , O N E Y E A R
M I C H A E L
S T E I N
FOR MY NEPHEWS AND NIECES,
ANNA, SAM, DAVID, ADAM, BEN, IAN, SAM T., AND RACHEL
OFF TO WAR AND AT HOME
People make momentous shifts, but not
the changes they imagine.
—Alice Munro, Differently

Contents
Epigraph iii
Author’s Note vii
PART ONE
CHAPTER ONE Wednesday, April 16 3
CHAPTER TWO Friday, April 18 39
CHAPTER THREE Monday, April 21 65
CHAPTER FOUR Monday, April 30 89
PART TWO
CHAPTER FIVE Monday, June 25 119
CHAPTER SIX Thursday, August 10 155
CHAPTER SEVEN Wednesday, November 22 186
CONTENTS
PART THREE
CHAPTER EIGHT Tuesday, December 24 215
CHAPTER NINE Wednesday, February 17 237
CHAPTER TEN Friday, April 9 259
Acknowledgments 276
About the Author
Other Books by Michael Stein
Credits
Cover
Copyright
About the Publisher
vi
Author’s Note
As an author of nonfiction who is also a doctor writing about his
patients, I have particular storytelling challenges. When I began
The Addict, I knew I wanted to portray a patient of mine, a young
woman whose story touched me deeply. I knew that I would have
to change names, places, and many details of her life to protect
her privacy. If she were ever to read this book, I wanted her to
remember things about herself but feel safely disguised. My goal
was to illuminate her story while widening her view and other
readers’ views of addiction.
I am not a journalist; I am a doctor. As a writer, I have a very
different relationship with my subjects than a journalist might,
because what I learn from patients is personal and medical, and
AUTHOR’S NOTE
it is not solicited with publication in mind. I never audiotape my
interviews, but I occasionally take notes.
Beyond the requirements of journalism, but in keeping with my
medical oath, I had to guard the confidentiality of all the patients
included in these pages. This was of great importance to me and
at times it conflicted with my oath as a writer—to give readers
the most realistic sense as possible of an addict’s psychology and
behavior from a doctor’s point of view. In writing about the
patient whom I discuss most extensively here, I gave her some
experiences and characteristics that belong to other patients. The
main challenge was to tell true stories that my patients would
recognize but not feel betrayed by in their reading.
Just as there is no single right way to help addicts, there is no
single perspective that captures the entire feel of addiction. I have
tried to illustrate the range and variety of terrible moments and
encouraging successes my patients live through. This is the story
of one addict, but it is also the story of all addicts.
viii