(Ordered from Amazon) "In America's uniquely profit-driven healthcare system, unethical business practices thrive," writes investigative journalist Shosahna Walter in her piercing new book Rehab: An American Scandal. The opioid crisis was depicted in two TV mini-series and Walter covers the aftermath. As a result of the tidal wave of addiction, rehabilitation entrepreneurs cashed in, but their facilities had very little, if any, regulation. As a result, too many clients relapsed or even died due to inappropriate treatment or lack of supervision. Walter focuses on four individuals caught in the web of the rehab industry. Chris is trapped in a rehab which farms out its patients as essentially slave labor for profit. April is caught in an endless cycle of drugs, prostitution and homelessness (This section hit me hard because April finds herself in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia where my dad grew up in the 1930s, but which is now the most notorious drug and crime-infested section of the City of Brotherly Love.) Wendy has lost a son in one of the rehab centers and crusades to bring the owners to justice, even to the point of getting herself arrested. Dr. Larry, a recovering alcoholic, runs a rehab facility and runs afoul of federal agencies. It's a compelling and heartbreaking study.
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