In 'Dopesick,' journalist Beth Macy unfolds the alarming narrative of the opioid epidemic that has gripped America. Macy illuminates the bleak reality of a country held captive by prescription painkillers, tracing the roots from aggressive pharmaceutical marketing strategies to the despair in small-town doctor's offices. The saga begins with Purdue Pharma's promotion of OxyContin and reveals a tragic pattern of addiction and death. Macy delves into a Virginia town, showcasing the journey from high school football heroes to victims of heroin, answering a bereaved mother's haunting question regarding her son's death. Through her investigative lens, Macy profiles the numerous lives entwined with this disaster, uniting Americans across the divides of geography, politics, and class to confront an insidious drug crisis that continues to claim lives and shatter families.