Recommendations from the Crossroads team
Books have a remarkable ability to do what statistics alone cannot: they put a human face on hope, illuminate the roots of addiction, and make room for the kind of empathy that changes lives. At Crossroads, we believe that education is part of recovery, for our patients, their families, and every member of our team.
We asked our teammates, including counselors, coordinators, clinicians, and care team members, to share the books that shaped their understanding of opioid use disorder, harm reduction, and the resilience of people in recovery. What they shared was generous, personal, and powerful.
Whether you are living with OUD, supporting a loved one, or simply want to understand the epidemic that has touched nearly every community in America, these books are a place to start. Several speak directly to the science behind medication-assisted treatment (MAT), more recently known as medication for opioid dependence (MOUD), and harm reduction — the evidence-based approaches at the heart of what we do at Crossroads every day. Here are their picks.
No. 01
Demon Copperhead
Recommended by: Steven Rust · Crossroads Team
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Demon Copperhead reimagines Dickens’ David Copperfield in the hills of Appalachia during the opioid epidemic of the late 1980s and 1990s. Told through the eyes of a boy born into poverty, the novel traces how the flood of OxyContin into rural communities wasn’t an accident. It was a design. Kingsolver’s prose is fierce, funny, and heartbreaking, giving young people with OUD a literary voice rarely heard in mainstream conversation.
“Excellent retelling of David Copperfield set in Appalachia during the late ‘90s. Great portrayal of how the opioid epidemic impacted young people during this time.”
— Steven Rust, Crossroads Team
No. 02
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
Recommended by: Jacob McEndollar · Crossroads Team
If you’ve ever wondered how the opioid epidemic became a crisis of national scale, Empire of Pain answers with unflinching clarity. Patrick Radden Keefe’s landmark investigative work documents the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma’s creation and aggressive marketing of OxyContin, a story of greed, deception, and the devastation that followed. Masterfully reported and impossible to put down, it’s essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how millions of Americans became dependent on a drug they were told was safe.
“This book details the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma, makers of OxyContin. It lays out in detail how the opioid epidemic was started by an unscrupulous company.”
— Jacob McEndollar, Crossroads Team
No. 03
Undoing Drugs: The Untold Story of Harm Reduction and the Future of Addiction
Recommended by: Daniel Cohen · Crossroads Team
Harm reduction is at the core of what we do at Crossroads, and yet its history and philosophy are often misunderstood, even by those of us who practice it every day. Undoing Drugs traces the origins of harm reduction from the margins of public health to the center of the modern addiction conversation, following the extraordinary cast of characters including researchers, activists, and people who use drugs who built a movement out of necessity. It’s a book that doesn’t just inform; it transforms.
“I thought I understood Harm Reduction, but this book helped me understand it is more than a set of practices. It is a philosophy and a movement. The history she details and cast of characters involved are fascinating. It changed how I see the big picture, as well as my everyday clinical work.”
— Daniel Cohen, Crossroads Team
No. 04
Beautiful Boy
Recommended by: Jolanta Staniszewska · Crossroads Team
Beautiful Boy is one of the most honest accounts ever written of what it means to love someone in the grip of addiction. Journalist David Sheff chronicles his son Nic’s devastating methamphetamine and heroin addiction: the relapses, the desperate hope, and the agonizing reality that no amount of love alone can save someone. Adapted into a major film, the book remains more powerful than any screen adaptation could capture. It is essential reading for families standing alongside a loved one in their darkest moments.
“Such a fantastic book. Caring about an addict is as complex and fraught and debilitating as addiction itself.”
— Jolanta Staniszewska, Crossroads Team
No. 05
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction
Recommended by: Leigh Lumpkin · Crossroads Team
Drawing on his years working with severely addicted patients in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, one of Canada’s most impoverished communities, Dr. Gabor Maté weaves science, compassion, and memoir into an unforgettable exploration of why people use drugs. Rather than framing addiction as a moral failure, Maté argues compellingly that it is rooted in pain, trauma, and the brain’s search for relief. His patient-centered lens mirrors the values Crossroads holds closest: that every person deserves to be met with dignity exactly where they are.
“A well-known figure in addiction medicine, Gabor Maté writes from his experience working at methadone clinics in Canada. It’s an alternate framework for examining the work we do, especially for addressing the societal stigma our patients face every day.”
— Leigh Lumpkin, Crossroads Team
No. 06
Unbroken Brain: A Revolutionary New Way of Understanding Addiction
Recommended by: Leigh Lumpkin · Crossroads Team
Unbroken Brain challenges one of the most stubborn myths about addiction: that it is a disease of moral weakness or a simple disorder of the reward system. Drawing on neuroscience and her own story of recovery, Maia Szalavitz argues that addiction is better understood as a learning disorder shaped by early experiences, developmental influences, and the incredible plasticity of the brain. It’s a hopeful, scientifically grounded read that opens the door to a more compassionate and more effective approach to care.
“A great read exploring addiction as a learning and developmental disorder. It also highlights the author’s own personal struggles, which makes it both accessible and deeply human.”
— Leigh Lumpkin, Crossroads Team
No. 07
Reclaim Your Life: Love Without Enabling
Recommended by: Alexandria Bakos · Crossroads Team
This isn’t just a book. It’s a lifeline. Written by a mother who lost her son to overdose, Reclaim Your Life is a 12-week workbook designed specifically for parents of children struggling with addiction. Darlene Friend writes from the deepest place of love and loss, offering parents a structured, compassionate guide to setting healthy boundaries, releasing guilt, and finding their own footing while supporting a loved one through the chaos of addiction. It is the rare resource that holds space for a parent’s grief without ignoring their own need to heal.
“An acquaintance of mine recently lost a brother to overdose. Their mother wrote this 12-week parent workbook to support parents with children who are struggling with addiction. It speaks from the truest kind of experience.”
— Alexandria Bakos, Crossroads Team
No. 08
Moments of Clarity
Recommended by: Catherine Sparkman · Crossroads Team
Moments of Clarity collects the turning-point stories of people who have walked through addiction and come out the other side: celebrities, everyday people, and everyone in between. Editor and author Christopher Kennedy Lawford, himself in long-term recovery, created a book that is part anthology, part testimony, and entirely hopeful. Each chapter captures the singular moment when someone found the clarity to choose a different path. For anyone who has been waiting for their own moment, this book is a reminder: it can come.
“Inspiring and uplifting, a book for anyone struggling along in their journey.”
— Catherine Sparkman, Crossroads Team
No. 09
The Unfair Advantage: My Story of Conquering the Beast of Addiction
Recommended by: Paula Carralero · Crossroads Team
John Eddy’s memoir is a story of rock bottom and what lies beyond it. A former federal prisoner with multiple arrests and overdoses before the age of 30, Eddy writes his own story with disarming candor, refusing to look away from the worst of his addiction even as he describes the transformation that followed. Today he is a husband, a father, and a business owner. The Unfair Advantage is proof that the most painful chapters don’t have to be the final ones, and that with help, anyone can rewrite their story.
“He writes and tells his own story with complete honesty. He is married with kids, owns his own business. It’s a powerful testament to what recovery makes possible.”
— Paula Carralero, Crossroads Team
No. 10
Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence
Recommended by: Leigh Lumpkin · Crossroads Team
From Stanford psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke, Dopamine Nation explores why compulsive overconsumption of drugs, screens, food, and more has become the defining crisis of modern life. Part science, part memoir, the book draws on case studies from Dr. Lembke’s clinical practice to explain how our brains process pleasure and pain, and what happens when that balance is thrown off. It’s accessible, urgent, and ultimately hopeful, offering a new way of understanding not just addiction but the anxious, overstimulated world we all live in.
Leigh also recommended this title as part of a broader reading list on opioid use disorder and treatment. We think it belongs here for a simple reason: understanding how the brain seeks relief is foundational to understanding addiction without judgment.
You Don’t Have to Walk This Road Alone
Recovery is a journey best traveled with support. If you or someone you love is struggling with opioid use disorder, our compassionate team at Crossroads is here. No judgment, just help.
Find a Crossroads Near YouThese books represent something important: the belief that understanding is the beginning of healing. Whether you read one or all of them, each offers a window into the lived experience of addiction, including the pain, the complexity, and the very real possibility of change.
At Crossroads, we’re committed to meeting our patients exactly where they are. We know that recovery isn’t linear, and we know that the people walking this road are not their addiction. They are whole, worthy, and capable of a life they can be proud of.
Crossroads Treatment Centers provides medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder including Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virgina. Our approach is evidence-based, compassionate, and patient-first, always. If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis, please call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or 1-800-662-4357 (SAMHSA National Helpline).