Dopesick by Beth Macy
Lessons on writing
No one gets away with shit.
There’s always some inquisitive motherfucker, strapped with a pen and an insatiable thirst for the truth, willing to dedicate 5 years to a story that needs telling.
The tasks writing achieves include speaking truth to power/shining a light on injustice/giving voice to the voiceless.
That’s not the only job, but when it is the goal and the writer hits the back of the net, damn…
I was crying at the end of this one. Not just because of the heartrending stories but because right at the end, when there’s a glimmer of hope, a feeling things might just turn out alright, the rug gets ripped out from under you. You realise this is the real world and happy endings only happen in stories.
We’re lucky to have a bunch of freaks in our midst willing to go up against towering castles armed only with a conviction deep in their bones.
These investigators, revelators – pathologists – show us what we’re afraid of but have to look at if we’re gonna find out what killed the patient.
Investigative journalists take down presidents. They get whacked by the Mafia, imprisoned, exiled, libelled, lawfared, beaten, spit on, beheaded and worse. The craziest thing? They keep lining up for more.
They’re sick, twisted and depraved and I’m glad we got em.
Definitely read Dopesick if you’re interested in:
The opioid epidemic
How to craft an argument
The nuts and bolts of real journalism (sources, research, tracing the money, joining the dots, trawling through records, knocking on doors, and the classic – getting too close to your sources.)
If you’re into investigative journalism, here’s some others I thought were awesome:
Vultures’ Picnic by Greg Palast: Exxon Valdez, Deepwater Horizon and Big Oil told by a classic gumshoe detective.
Dispatches by Michael Herr: Insanely cool, way too close reporting from the front lines of the Vietnam War.
All the President’s Men by Woodward and Bernstein: This motherfucker took down a president – and made all subsequent journalists dream of doing the same.
Chernobyl by Serhii Plokhy: Treats a nuclear meltdown like a crime scene and runs through it like a thriller.
Hell’s Angels by Hunter S. Thompson: Before Vegas, HST lived for a while with the biker gang in California and it makes for a sweet story.
Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell: Part 1 is a deep dive into poverty in coalmining towns in Northern England in the 30s. Part 2 is a straight up argument for socialism.
Down and Out in Paris and London: Orwell worked as a pot wash in Paris then lived on the streets of London and wrote a beautiful book about it.
War by Sebastian Junger: Crazy mofo went to the Korengal Valley in 2007/8 to find the real Afghanistan War.
Whether it’s Big Oil, Ag, War, Tech, Pharma, Brother or just the Big Lie in your head, there’s nothing like the clear writing of a damn fine hack to bring you to your senses.
Read hard. Read wide. Read free.
