Van Warner Rick - On pills and needles: the relentless fight to save my son from opioid addiction

This is a compelling story about the opioid epidemic in our country that continues to claim so many young lives with no end in sight. You need to know how easy it is for teens to get OxyContin and other pharmaceutical opioids and how the spread of these pills has led to a pandemic of epic proportions. We need public outrage to end this problem. Most importantly, we need to do our best to make sure that no other parent ever gets the call we gotthat our beautiful eighteen-year-old daughter, Victoria, had died from a drug overdose. If only we had known what we know today, this tragedy might have been prevented.

David Siegel, president and CEO of Westgate Resorts, founder of Victorias Voice Foundation, and father of Victoria Rikki Siegel

Rick Van Warner is a wonderful storyteller. His book reads like fiction and captures the angst in families where addiction and its collateral damage impact loved ones. In this compelling and honestly disarming family memoir revolving around his sons addiction to synthetic opioids, Rick exposes the excesses and deceptions created by Big Pharma and shows a different path to treatment and recovery than conventional wisdom allows. His contribution to the field is significant, controversial, and a real page-turner.

Mark S. Freeman, PhD, psychotherapist and counselor

This is a brutally honest account of a fathers plea to a desperate son in his descent into a hell of drug addiction. This searing narrative of abiding love amid tales of pain, anger, and despair is an inspiration for all who have known the heartbreak of children stumbling down destructive paths.

Walter J. LaCentra, professor emeritus of philosophy and author of The Authentic Self

When OxyContin and its relatives were first introduced to my oncology practice in the late 1990s, everyone was excited by the claims of reduced-addiction risk, long duration of action, and morphine-like potency. It was only years later that we realized the information provided by the pharmaceutical reps was misleading and that this drug was highly addictive. On Pills and Needles shows how one family (and by extension, society) was affected by Big Pharma greed and ignorance. This is an excellent read, and I highly recommend it to everyone, not just those affected by the ongoing opioid epidemic.

David K. Smith, MD, medical oncologist

Ive known Rick and his family for more than twenty-five years. I saw firsthand the ongoing, gut-wrenching trials and tribulations they went through to save their son. On Pills and Needles tells the disturbing story of how prescription opioids were marketed as nonaddictive and allowed to flood the nation for more than a decade before lawmakers began recognizing a major problem. Through sharing his familys fight to save their son, Rick paints a sad portrait of a national epidemic that continues to kill thousands each year. This book is a story about a national darkness, personal courage, and a familys perseverance and refusal to give up on their son in the face of heartbreaking challenges.

Richard Walsh, CEO, The Knob Hill Companies

How Rick and his family survived their sons heartbreaking and gut-wrenching addiction to opioids is a story that is nothing short of horrific, yet ultimately inspirational. It is one mans blind determination as a father to save his son. This is the story todays politicians should be reading.

David Katz, CEO, Elvis Duran Group

Rick Van Warner is a loving father and a gifted writer. I have known him throughout his journey with his sons addiction, and he has done everything possible to help. I am excited that he has now written a book to share his moving story and considerable learnings. It has the potential to save many people from going through the agony Ricks family has endured.

Kim Lopdrup, CEO, Red Lobster Seafood Co.

Anyone wanting perspective on the toll opioid addiction takes on the entire family and the epic struggle to overcome the devastation it causes will find Ricks book compelling. Rick writes in an open, honest, and often vulnerable way in detailing the emotional turmoil for himself, his family, and his addicted son. He discusses, in his frank way, the numerous treatment centers and therapeutic approaches that seemed to offer hope but too often turned into sources of despair. Helplessness and powerlessness were a given. Yet somehow Ricks, his familys, and his sons heroic struggles bore fruit. As a psychologist, I use the term heroic because thats what they were and still are.

David Carter, psychologist

Every branch in my family tree has addiction hanging like kudzu from it. And this plague is not only present today but goes back as far as I can decipher from the letters and records of my ancestors lives. So I opened Ricks book with some concern that I would once again be battered by memories past and situations current. Instead, I found a fellow traveler, a friend who, instead of offering solutions, lent me another perspective. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever had a connection to addiction. Ricks net point, that love and presence conquer all, may be as old as the sacred writings but is brought up-to-date in suburban Orlando.

Tim McCarthy, founder of The Business of Good Foundation and author of Empty Abundance

Has there ever been a more timely publication of what will surely be a lifesaving book? Rick Van Warner not only takes us through the dangerous back streets of opioid addiction in America but also through the inner chambers of a loving parents heart. I found myself holding my breath until the very last page, and when I finished I felt like Id forever be a better person, parent, and friend. I learned a lot about opioid addiction but much more about love.

Bill Shore, CEO and founder of Share Our Strength

This book has opened my eyes to a world that I knew existed but had no understanding of. As a parent, I am frightened by the influences my child faces and the strength he needs to avoid being lured into the world of drugs and dependency. As a professional, I am now wondering who is silently suffering from dependency in my organization. We definitely plan on using Rick as our guide to navigate through these issues, help those in our care and employ who are struggling, and keep them from succumbing to the influence of opiate painkillers and drugs.

Jim Crystal, founder of The Revelry Group

This riveting tale tells about the struggle and emotional toll addiction takes on not just its victims but also their families and friends. In one of the most vivid, in-depth ways ever told, Rick Van Warner provides an absolute must-read for anyone who has dealt or is currently dealing with the realm of addiction.

Brandon Steiner, CEO and founder of Steiner Sports Marketing

This story is so powerful that, as the father of three girls, I found it challenging to read. This issue is in front of us every day, and to know that this actually happened to one of my close friends and associates is staggering. Working in the nonprofit community, I feel its so important for people like Rick to share their stories so that families can better support each other and help identify serious issues before they become deadly. Kudos to Rick for sharing, for reaching deep within himself to bring this story to life to help others.