Review of Why Can't Johnny Just Quit?

[Fareed Regal]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Why Can't Johnny Just Quit?" by Kyle Oh.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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"How does it make you feel when you take this particular drug?" Why Can't Johnny Just Quit? by Kyle Oh, is centered around this simple question. Kyle is a medical doctor who specializes in pain management. Kyle has been confronted with the fact that a few of his patients had died from overdosing on pain medication. Due to this, Kyle realized that he needed to understand addiction a lot better as this would prevent more of his patients from doing the same. It triggered a journey of discovery for Kyle and the writing of this book represents the culmination of that journey.

Kyle performed expensive research on available material in the medical realm. The research made Kyle realize that the focus was almost one hundred percent for the treatment of drug addiction, rather than on the prevention of it. Some social issues were also highlighted by this research. Alcoholism was classified and treated as a disease. Kyle found it disturbing that drug addiction was not regarded as the same. It was considered to be substance abuse by anti-social people. Even for law enforcement, the focus was on trying to cut off the supply of drugs, rather than trying to prevent the use of it. Kyle concluded that the solution was to try to prevent people from using drugs. The key to this was with the users and abusers of drugs.

Kyle started documenting all his conversations with his patients. Through this, he discovered that different patients were affected in one of two ways after receiving the same drug, given in the same dosage. Some reported that they felt sedated and drowsy. Others were feeling happy and energized. For the euphoric patients, the drug had stimulated a pleasure spot in the brain. A craving for the drug is caused by repeated stimulation of this pleasure spot. This represents the beginning phase of addiction. Genetics is the only factor that can predict if you will become addicted to a particular drug.

I appreciated the honest and straightforward manner in which Kyle approached the writing of the book. The narrative is done in simple layman's terms and is easy enough to understand. He openly shared with the reader that he had a flirtation with pot while studying at university. He realized that he needed to give readers tangible means that they could use effectively to prevent drug addiction in their own families. Kyle created a self-help guide for patients, which he shared with the reader. The narrative also guides parents on how to address addiction in conversations with their children. If there is a genetic predisposition to drug abuse, then it becomes critical that families focus on the prevention of addiction. This is because there is no cure for drug addiction. However, there is hope for everyone that does become addicted. This is explained further in the narrative. I particularly liked Kyles's adoption of the economic principle of supply and demand. He states that if you dry up the demand, the supply won't matter.

I did not like the high degree of repetition in the narrative. Kyle shared twenty case studies with the reader. They were all different stories, but they were similar, both in detail and outcome. The questions that were asked in each case study, were largely the same. As a result, the same solutions were put forward by Kyle. Six case studies would have been adequate to give the reader an understanding of his message.

The book was very well edited as I found no errors to report on. I think Kyle did a great job in conveying his message that for drug addiction, prevention is better than cure. As the repetition is spread across the whole narrative, and not just the case studies, I can unfortunately not ignore that. As a result, my rating for this book is three out of four stars.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has a drug addiction problem. Anyone affected by drug addiction would also benefit from this book. As the focus of the book is on prevention, I would urge families with a history of addiction to also read this book. It could help them to keep their future generations safe from addiction.

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Why Can't Johnny Just Quit?
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[Raluca_Mihaila]

This book is certainly very useful for a lot of people struggling with addictions and also for their families. Thank you for your thorough and informative review!

[Prisallen]

Addiction is a problem that can be found nationwide, and it can tear families apart and ruin lives. I have seen that happen in my own family. I hope this book will give help to individuals and their families to cope with this horrible problem. Thanks for your excellent review!

[Fareed Regal]

This book is certainly very useful for a lot of people struggling with addictions and also for their families. Thank you for your thorough and informative review!

Thank you for rhe feedback. I do hope that people affected will get to read the book.

[Fareed Regal]

Addiction is a problem that can be found nationwide, and it can tear families apart and ruin lives. I have seen that happen in my own family. I hope this book will give help to individuals and their families to cope with this horrible problem. Thanks for your excellent review!

Thank you for the feedback. I am positive that many people can benefit from reading rhe book.

[kandscreeley]

I've glanced through the book. He had some good insights. It definitely shed light on addiction. In my opinion, it's a book everyone should at least browse. Thanks.

[katerina_12]

Drug addiction is a very serious problem and I am glad that the book discusses this topic and its impact on loved ones in detail. Thanks for such a wonderful review!

[MsH2k]

I too find it disturbing that alcoholism is classified and treated as a disease but drug addition is seen as substance abuse by anti-social people. The author's work sounds educational and reasonable. Thank you for your excellent review and recommendation. I may have to check out this book.

[NancyDrew12]

The repetition in this book seems annoying to deal with. But the concept of the book is very helpful. Thanks for a great review!

[Fareed Regal]

I've glanced through the book. He had some good insights. It definitely shed light on addiction. In my opinion, it's a book everyone should at least browse. Thanks.

I can't agree with you more. Thanks for the insightful feedback, certainly appreciated.

[Fareed Regal]

Drug addiction is a very serious problem and I am glad that the book discusses this topic and its impact on loved ones in detail. Thanks for such a wonderful review!

Thank you for the feedback and I hope people with families take note of your comments.

[Fareed Regal]

I too find it disturbing that alcoholism is classified and treated as a disease but drug addition is seen as substance abuse by anti-social people. The author's work sounds educational and reasonable. Thank you for your excellent review and recommendation. I may have to check out this book.

Thank you for reading the review and your supportive comments. I do hope you get some time to read the book. All the best for 2022.

[Fareed Regal]

The repetition in this book seems annoying to deal with. But the concept of the book is very helpful. Thanks for a great review!

Agree with you on the repetition. However, it is a worthwhile read in spite of that. Thank you for the feedback, appreciated.

[Raymonda onwuka]

This story is informative, educational, and helpful. I have already learnt that it is the genes that decides the drug one gets addicted to. Thanks for the great review.

[Fareed Regal]

This story is informative, educational, and helpful. I have already learnt that it is the genes that decides the drug one gets addicted to. Thanks for the great review.

I am glad that you see the positivity in the story. Thank you for the feedback, appreciated.