__How could this have happened? How could this sixteen-year-old, who less than a week earlier had left home on a typical Friday morning for school, now be flirting with death by overdose?__   
When Rick Van Warner found himself searching abandoned buildings for his missing son, he had no idea that the synthetic, pill-form heroin that had snared his teen was already killing so many. In the years of pain and heartache that followed as he tried to save his son from addiction, Van Warner discovered what the public has just recently become aware of: prescription opioids are so addictive that even short-term use can create dependency, igniting an epidemic that now claims nearly 100 American lives each day.  
   
On Pills and Needles is one family's story, but it is also a wake-up call and crash course in opioid addiction. Through his harrowing personal journey, Van Warner exposes the common causes of opioid addiction, effective and ineffective ways it has been treated, and how families can walk alongside loved ones who are dealing with the daily agony of addiction.  
  
  
"Rick Van Warner is a wonderful storyteller. His compelling and honestly disarming book reads like fiction and captures the angst in families where addiction and its collateral damage impact loved ones. He also shows a different path to treatment and recovery than conventional wisdom allows. A real page-turner."--__Mark S. Freeman, PhD__, psychotherapist and counselor  
  
"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 parent's heart. I found myself holding my breath until the very last page."--__Bill Shore__, CEO and founder of Share Our Strength  
  
"A compelling story. 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 got--that our beautiful eighteen-year-old daughter, Victoria, had died from a drug overdose."--__David Siegel__, president and CEO of Westgate Resorts, founder of Victoria's Voice Foundation  
  
  
__Rick Van Warner__ is a thirty-year veteran of journalism, crisis management, and media relations. Rick was compelled to share his personal story to help other families after recognizing the endemic nature of the current opioid addiction epidemic. Rick lives in central Florida with his family.

__Rick Van Warner__ is a 30-year veteran of journalism, crisis management, and media relations. Rick was compelled to share his personal story to help other families after recognizing the endemic nature of the current opioid addiction epidemic. A graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Communications, Van Warner began his career as a daily newspaper reporter. Always willing to tackle tough challenges, he also volunteered as a social worker within the New York State youth justice division, where he counseled teens confined to group homes after committing serious crimes. Rick lives in central Florida with his family.

When Rick Van Warner found himself searching abandoned buildings and dangerous streets looking for his missing son, he had no idea that the synthetic, pill-form heroin that had snared his teen was already killing so many. In the years of pain and heartache that followed as he tried to save his son from opioid addiction, Van Warner discovered what the American public is just now becoming aware of: opioids prescribed for even minor pain relief are so addictive that even a few days of use can create dependency.   
  
On Pills and Needles is a memoir that also serves as a wake-up call and crash course in opioid addiction. Through his harrowing personal story, Van Warner exposes the common causes of opioid addiction, effective and ineffective ways it has been treated, and how families can walk alongside loved ones who are dealing with the daily realities of addiction.

One dad's heartbreaking and inspiring journey to recover his son from the awful grip of prescription drug addiction and understand the nationwide Opioid crisis.

Van Warner, Rick

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Endorsements

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. The Vanishing

2. Despair aboard the Oxy Express

3. Hunches and Heartaches

4. Coping with Chaos

5. Fighting Inside and Out

6. Out of Sight, Out of Mind

7. The Transporter

8. Boomerang of Agony

9. Cheating Death

10. Rise of the Opioid Kids

11. The Abduction

12. Pill Mills, Police, and Pain

13. Planning the Funeral

14. Fleas, Fiends, and Fractures

15. Groundhog Day: (The Movie)

16. Beyond Twelve Steps: The Business of Recovery

17. Back to the Brink

18. Breakthrough

19. Dangerous Demons Return

20. Death and Discovery

21. Collect Memories, Not Stuff

22. The Path to Acceptance

23. Battleground Musings

24. Twenty-Four and So Much More

25. The Flow

Notes

About the Author

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