Audiobooks by Ryan Hampton

Fentanyl Nation: Toxic Politics and America's Failed War on Drugs

A passionate call to abandon ineffective drug-war policies, reframe addiction as a public health issue, and end the Fentanyl crisis. The American overdose crisis has reached record-breaking heights; preventable overdoses are now responsible for more annual deaths than traffic accidents, suicide, or gun violence. Fentanyl—a potent, inexpensive, and easy-to-manufacture synthetic opioid—has thoroughly contaminated the drug supply, and while it frequently makes front page news across the country, it remains poorly understood by policymakers and the public. Why, despite all of our efforts to raise awareness and billions of dollars of investments, does this emergency keep getting worse? In Fentanyl Nation, recovery advocate Ryan Hampton separates the facts from the fiction surrounding Fentanyl, and shows how overdose deaths are ultimately policy failures. Instead of investing in education, harm reduction, effective treatment, and recovery, we have doubled down on more police, more incarceration, and harsher penalties for those caught in the grip of addiction. Yet history has shown time and time again that it is impossible to arrest our way out of a public health crisis; the government used the same strategy to fight the crack-cocaine epidemic of the 80s and 90s, and it only resulted in racially disparate policing and the destruction of marginalized communities. This urgent and informative manifesto reveals how prejudice, discrimination, and stigma have been codified into our drug laws, and calls for a compassionate and evidence-based approach that would address the core causes of addiction and save countless lives. We can end this crisis, but only if we get out of our own way.

Ryan Hampton (Author), Josh Bloomberg, TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Unsettled: How the Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Failed the Victims of the American Overdose Crisis

A shocking inside account of reckless capitalism and injustice in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy case. In September 2019, Purdue Pharma-the maker of OxyContin and a company controlled by the infamous billionaire Sackler family-filed for bankruptcy to protect itself from 2,600 lawsuits for its role in fueling the US overdose crisis. Author and activist Ryan Hampton served as cochair of the official creditors committee that acted as a watchdog during the process, one of only four victims appointed among representatives of big insurance companies, hospitals, and pharmacies. He entered the case believing that exposing the Sacklers and mobilizing against Purdue would be enough to right the scales of justice. But he soon learned that behind closed doors, justice had plenty of other competition-and it came with a hefty price tag. Unsettled is the inside story of Purdue's excruciating Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, the company's eventual restructuring, and the Sackler family's evasion of any true accountability. It's also the untold story of how a group of determined ordinary people tried to see justice done against the odds-and in the face of brutal opposition from powerful institutions and even government representatives.

Ryan Hampton (Author), Jonathan Yen (Narrator)

Audiobook

American Fix: Inside the Opioid Addiction Crisis - and How to End It

Nearly every American knows someone who has been affected by the opioid crisis. Addiction is a trans-partisan issue that impacts individuals from every walk of life. Millions of Americans, tired of watching their loved ones die while politicians ignore this issue. Where is the solution? Where is the hope? Where's the outrage? Ryan Hampton is a young man who has made addiction and recovery reform his life's mission. Through the wildly successful non-profit organization Facing Addiction, Hampton has been rocketed to the center of America's rising recovery movement-quickly emerging as the de facto leader of the national conversation on addiction. He understands firsthand how easy it is to develop a dependency on opioids, and how destructive it can quickly become. Now, he is waging a permanent campaign to change our way of thinking about and addressing addiction in this country. In American Fix, Hampton describes his personal struggle with addiction, outlines the challenges that the recovery movement currently faces, and offers a concrete, comprehensive plan of action towards making America's addiction crisis a thing of the past. Praise for American Fix: "The opioid crisis affects so many all across America - I'm proud that Ryan found help and is now helping others." - President Bill Clinton 'As someone who has experienced the problem of addiction from both sides, both as President Obama's drug czar and as a person in long term recovery myself, I'm able to attest to our woefully inadequate system of treatment, criminal justice and rehabilitation. Ryan Hampton's book is a powerful and timely contribution to understanding the dimensions of this crisis--and what we can do about it.' - Michael Botticelli, White House Drug Czar, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Obama

Ryan Hampton (Author), Ryan Hampton (Narrator)

Audiobook