The Urge: Our History of Addiction
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- Create Date：2022-03-02 10:55:35
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Carl Erik Fisher
- ISBN：073523700X
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Summary
An authoritative， illuminating， and deeply humane history of addiction--a phenomenon that remains baffling and deeply misunderstood despite having touched countless lives--by an addiction psychiatrist striving to understand his own family and himself
Even after a decades-long opioid overdose crisis， intense controversy still rages over the fundamental nature of addiction and the best way to treat it。 With uncommon empathy and erudition， Carl Erik Fisher draws on his own experience as a clinician， researcher， and alcoholic in recovery as he traces the history of a phenomenon that， centuries on， we hardly appear closer to understanding--let alone addressing effectively。
As a psychiatrist-in-training fresh from medical school， Fisher was soon face-to-face with his own addiction crisis， one that nearly cost him everything。 Desperate to make sense of the condition that had plagued his family for generations， he turned to the history of addiction， learning that the current quagmire is only the latest iteration of a centuries-old story: humans have struggled to define， treat， and control addictive behavior for most of recorded history， including well before the advent of modern science and medicine。
A rich， sweeping history that probes not only medicine and science but also literature， religion， philosophy， and sociology， The Urge illuminates the extent to which the story of addiction has persistently reflected broader questions of what it means to be human and care for one another。 Fisher introduces us to the people who have endeavored to address this complex condition through the ages: physicians and politicians， activists and artists， researchers and writers， and of course the legions of people who have struggled with their own addictions。 He also examines the treatments and strategies that have produced hope and relief for many people with addiction， himself included。 Only by reckoning with our history of addiction， he argues--our successes and our failures--can we light the way forward for those whose lives remain threatened by its hold。
The Urge is at once an eye-opening history of ideas， a riveting personal story of addiction and recovery， and a clinician's urgent call for a more expansive， nuanced， and compassionate view of one of society's most intractable challenges。
Even after a decades-long opioid overdose crisis， intense controversy still rages over the fundamental nature of addiction and the best way to treat it。 With uncommon empathy and erudition， Carl Erik Fisher draws on his own experience as a clinician， researcher， and alcoholic in recovery as he traces the history of a phenomenon that， centuries on， we hardly appear closer to understanding--let alone addressing effectively。
As a psychiatrist-in-training fresh from medical school， Fisher was soon face-to-face with his own addiction crisis， one that nearly cost him everything。 Desperate to make sense of the condition that had plagued his family for generations， he turned to the history of addiction， learning that the current quagmire is only the latest iteration of a centuries-old story: humans have struggled to define， treat， and control addictive behavior for most of recorded history， including well before the advent of modern science and medicine。
A rich， sweeping history that probes not only medicine and science but also literature， religion， philosophy， and sociology， The Urge illuminates the extent to which the story of addiction has persistently reflected broader questions of what it means to be human and care for one another。 Fisher introduces us to the people who have endeavored to address this complex condition through the ages: physicians and politicians， activists and artists， researchers and writers， and of course the legions of people who have struggled with their own addictions。 He also examines the treatments and strategies that have produced hope and relief for many people with addiction， himself included。 Only by reckoning with our history of addiction， he argues--our successes and our failures--can we light the way forward for those whose lives remain threatened by its hold。
The Urge is at once an eye-opening history of ideas， a riveting personal story of addiction and recovery， and a clinician's urgent call for a more expansive， nuanced， and compassionate view of one of society's most intractable challenges。
Reviews
Sarah Swong
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Learned a lot of history and found the author's story compelling。 Learned a lot of history and found the author's story compelling。 。。。more
Isabelle Duchaine
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Compelling look at historical， psychological， medical and social trends of addiction and drug use。 Note: Fisher is both a psychiatrist， physician， and in recovery from alcoholism。 His account of his own addiction intersects the historical lens of the book。 Fisher is very thorough， but the book struggles with pacing: "x happened and then y happened and then x happened。" He bit off a bit more than i think he could chew - it's mostly a historical account （proceeds chronologically） but it gets muddy Compelling look at historical， psychological， medical and social trends of addiction and drug use。 Note: Fisher is both a psychiatrist， physician， and in recovery from alcoholism。 His account of his own addiction intersects the historical lens of the book。 Fisher is very thorough， but the book struggles with pacing: "x happened and then y happened and then x happened。" He bit off a bit more than i think he could chew - it's mostly a historical account （proceeds chronologically） but it gets muddy towards the end。 And although he is clear about the intersection of criminalization， race and class， this is very much an American history of drug use and drug policy， which makes it more limited in scope。 。。。more
Jeffrey A。
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excellent I love the historical and nuanced approach to the difficult subject of addiction while having the author as one of the subjects。
Jim Carter
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Interesting read。Some different views on addiction。
Sarah Paolantonio
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For years long before I became sober from alcohol and for years long before I even had trouble with alcohol I've been reading about addiction， drug use， and sobriety in the form of nonfiction narratives， essay collections， and memoirs。 There's a lot out there。 But there's nothing like The Urge。 I thought it might start too early in time， as NF narratives often go *way back* to logical beginning in a linear sense but an unnecessary starting point for modern readers。 But it does not。 The text is n For years long before I became sober from alcohol and for years long before I even had trouble with alcohol I've been reading about addiction， drug use， and sobriety in the form of nonfiction narratives， essay collections， and memoirs。 There's a lot out there。 But there's nothing like The Urge。 I thought it might start too early in time， as NF narratives often go *way back* to logical beginning in a linear sense but an unnecessary starting point for modern readers。 But it does not。 The text is not floury。 It is approachable。 And that is the first step。 Fisher is an addiction physician， professor， and in recovery for addiction。 And because his approach to this book stems from being an academic and professionally trained bioethicist and as a human being with his own experiences of use， addiction， and sobriety it makes him the strongest storyteller who has seen （and felt） the urge from all angles。 Without these personal experiences Fisher would not have understood this topic as well， no matter what kind of clinical or academic training he had。 There are great tidbits in these stories。 He explores the origin of the word addict （first used in writing to describe the pope， of all people）， the origin of the word "junkie"， the beginning of the modern alcoholism movement， the opioid epidemic （past and present）， and the public opinion and what narratives cemented the racist， sexist misunderstanding of those who use and how they're painted by society at large （just to name a few topics）。 There are diagnostics here about those who use drugs and those who have opinions about people who use drugs。 Fisher addresses the inequalities of the clinical， legal， and medical systems that have been in place for eons and how they favor and benefit the white and wealthy。 He offers stories from his patients to place detailed experience with historical situations so readers can associate faces to these stories that seem so global while they have always been local。 Personally， I got what I came for。 As a writer and human being I am always asking whether or not I can call myself an addict because it was so easy for me to stop drinking。 The word addict is sharp in my mouth; it does not belong to me。 But Fisher asks and answers this same question about himself， about his patients， and about temperance and intemperance figures long before our modern times: who is allowed to call themselves what？ No matter what our experiences are， how are we all allowed to be labeled the same thing that seems to， historically， have such a harsh connotation， no matter what our involvement in use and sobriety may be？ I won't give you Fisher's answer; and I won't tell you that the manuscript I've been working on for years has the same answer to this question。 （Or， at least that my query letter asks and answer these questions。） It's something I've been writing through and exploring within myself for years。 It's nice to see someone with authority call it what I know it to be， not that I need his permission， but seeing it in the wild helps confirm my thesis。 This book is for anyone struggling with addiction， sobriety， or anyone touched by these experiences。 From what I've found in living and in reading， we all have someone in our life struggling with drugs and or alcohol， or we are struggling ourselves。 I also know the more I talk about my own experiences the more it becomes normal for those around me， thus making it more approachable for anyone else who might want to share a story of their own。 Fisher's diagnostic instinct to not neatly wrap up and point to exactly one thing pushes his book apart from the many that have come before it。 "We all suffer from a divided self，" Fisher writes。 This is true for all people and I think if everyone read this book we might all move toward a better conversation and plan to help those in our lives who need help， if only that help is to simply just listen。 。。。more
Susan Moshynski
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Very informative， however I think he could have expounded more on his recovery， it seemed a little rushed at the end。 I see now that the psychiatric world is trying to understand the nature of addiction， however he’s missing too much of how our faith （ in something） is a key element in becoming whole again。
Leila
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Fisher skillfully intertwines his own experiences with addiction with a comprehensive history of its presence in culturally distinct societies。 A good read， especially in the age of the opioid epidemic and our country's attempts to deal with it。 Fisher skillfully intertwines his own experiences with addiction with a comprehensive history of its presence in culturally distinct societies。 A good read， especially in the age of the opioid epidemic and our country's attempts to deal with it。 。。。more
BookStarRaven
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The Urge by Carl Erik Fisher is a deep dive into theories on addiction。 The roots of addiction are complex， It cannot fully be described as a disease， a psychological response， or a cultural one。 Fisher， a psychiatrist who has struggled with addiction himself combines his own experience， history， neurology， and psychology to describe addiction。 Fisher started drinking in college。 As he works his way through medical school he begins drinking increasingly heavily。 At some point， he finds he can’t The Urge by Carl Erik Fisher is a deep dive into theories on addiction。 The roots of addiction are complex， It cannot fully be described as a disease， a psychological response， or a cultural one。 Fisher， a psychiatrist who has struggled with addiction himself combines his own experience， history， neurology， and psychology to describe addiction。 Fisher started drinking in college。 As he works his way through medical school he begins drinking increasingly heavily。 At some point， he finds he can’t go without a drink。 He tries to see a psychotherapist， but it doesn’t help his drinking。 Fisher shows， through his own experience， how many excuses a person makes to themselves before they come to a point they cannot continue with their addiction。 I appreciate the nuanced perspective Fisher takes on addiction。 I also am thankful he included the racist history of labeling addiction as something that minorities struggle with more than white people…which is patently ridiculous。I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning the complexities of addiction。 。。。more
Catherine Holloway
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I am a person who has really good control over my own urges， so I've found the existence of addiction baffling。 I've watched many documentaries and read many books trying to understand it。 This is the first piece of media I've consumed that makes sense。 I am a person who has really good control over my own urges， so I've found the existence of addiction baffling。 I've watched many documentaries and read many books trying to understand it。 This is the first piece of media I've consumed that makes sense。 。。。more
Melanie
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Fascinating history of addiction， put into perspective with the author's own experience with addiction and as a medical professional。 Fascinating history of addiction， put into perspective with the author's own experience with addiction and as a medical professional。 。。。more
Kbrown5455
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Very interesting treatment of the history of addiction， with the parallel story of the author’s struggle with alcohol use disorder。 He is a psychiatrist， so brings a professional and personal angle to this book
Sophia
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Honestly a real solid 4。 Kind of lost the thread a little bit in the last few chapters， but there is lots of great information in here and I'd say it's reasonably intersectional， and constantly reminds the reader that there are often issues of race， poverty， abuse， etc。 behind an addiction that the author just doesn't have the bandwidth or authority to write about。 This is more of a broadly social， political， scientific， medical， and legal breakdown of the history of addiction to alcohol and dru Honestly a real solid 4。 Kind of lost the thread a little bit in the last few chapters， but there is lots of great information in here and I'd say it's reasonably intersectional， and constantly reminds the reader that there are often issues of race， poverty， abuse， etc。 behind an addiction that the author just doesn't have the bandwidth or authority to write about。 This is more of a broadly social， political， scientific， medical， and legal breakdown of the history of addiction to alcohol and drugs in the United States， with a little ancient history at the outset。 。。。more
Karl Hafer， Jr。
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Profoundly useful book and I particularly appreciate the author's use of his own experience throughout。 Highly recommend， as it helped shape the way I think about addiction。 One of the best attributes is that Fisher isn't peddling a specific treatment regime and， where he had opinions， he discloses and talks about them openly。 Profoundly useful book and I particularly appreciate the author's use of his own experience throughout。 Highly recommend， as it helped shape the way I think about addiction。 One of the best attributes is that Fisher isn't peddling a specific treatment regime and， where he had opinions， he discloses and talks about them openly。 。。。more
Marc
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The work of Erik Fisher is the insightful， compassionate， well-read and humourous companionship we should all look for。 Please， more like this one in our lives。
Kristen
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Especially during a pandemic， addictions run wild in our society。 This book put a very interesting spin on the troubles that many experience by navigating the history of substances and addictions。 Easier to read than I had anticipated， this was very interesting and thought-provoking overall。 I would recommend this book to anyone who struggles with substances， knows/loves someone who does and also anyone who is just curious about why and how our society came to rely so heavily on certain substanc Especially during a pandemic， addictions run wild in our society。 This book put a very interesting spin on the troubles that many experience by navigating the history of substances and addictions。 Easier to read than I had anticipated， this was very interesting and thought-provoking overall。 I would recommend this book to anyone who struggles with substances， knows/loves someone who does and also anyone who is just curious about why and how our society came to rely so heavily on certain substances。 Thank you to the author and publishers for the advance copy！ 。。。more
Morgan Blackledge
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The Urge is Addiction Psychiatrist Carl Eric Fisher’s historical deconstruction of the notion of addiction， the American culture of addiction recovery， and the American addiction treatment industrial complex （🏥 <=💊 =>🏭）。Fisher’s historical telling traced much of the genesis of the American addiction/recovery culture to the works of Benjamin Rush， the founding father of addiction medicine who， as early as 1784 asserted that alcoholism is a disease that should be treated not a moral failing to be The Urge is Addiction Psychiatrist Carl Eric Fisher’s historical deconstruction of the notion of addiction， the American culture of addiction recovery， and the American addiction treatment industrial complex （🏥 <=💊 =>🏭）。Fisher’s historical telling traced much of the genesis of the American addiction/recovery culture to the works of Benjamin Rush， the founding father of addiction medicine who， as early as 1784 asserted that alcoholism is a disease that should be treated not a moral failing to be punished。 His works helped launch the American temperance movement。Boozy Dudes:Before Alcoholics Anonymous （AA） and before the Oxford Group that AA was modeled after， there was the Washingtonians: a self help， or rather “temperance society” （as they referred to it）， founded on Thursday， April 2， 1840 by a group of drunks （GOD）， namely a group of six alcoholic craftsmen （William Mitchell， David Hoss， Charles Anderson， George Steer， Bill M'Curdy， and Tom Campbell） at Chase's Tavern on Liberty Street in Baltimore， Maryland。Their basic tenet was that by relying on one another， sharing their experience strength and hope， and thereby creating an atmosphere of safety， and nonjudgmental convivial fellowship， they could mutually support each other in their sobriety。Members reached out to other "drunkards" （the term alcoholic didn’t exist yet） and sponsor them in sobriety， and so on。 The Washingtonians differed from other agents in the temperance movement in so far as they affixed their focus on helping and healing individual rather than fixing society。 In the truest sense， it was a “bottom up， populist， mutual help movement”。 In the end， the Washingtonians were undone by entanglements in politics and internecine fighting。Kind of like an IRL old school Subreddit。 The Washingtonians demise influenced the architecture of Alcoholics Anonymous， inspiring their emphasis on anonymity and remaining politically agnostic。Opium Eaters:Confessions of an English Opium-Eater is lThomas De Quincey’s 1821， memoir about his laudanum （opioid） addiction and its effect on his life。 Unlike the recovery memoirs of today， Confessions lauded the creative and spiritual benefits of opium and downplayed the risks。 Confessions of an English Opium Eater is a seminal text for the Romantic art/philosophy/cultural movement that emerged as an oppositional response to cold rationalism of the western enlightenment。 And （of course） romanticism was essentially the Philosophical operating system for what became the bohemianism and art/drug culture that found its pinnacle in the hippie movement of the 1960s。Without all that， you would not have had records like Kind Of Blue， or Giant Steps， or The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady， or Sergeant Peppers， or American Beauty， or Pearl， or Electric Ladyland， or Physical Graffiti， or books like， On The Road， or Junkie， or Howell， or Electric Cool-aid Acid Test。So fuck the fuck yeah to all of that！！！！ But also， it left the gate open for the Heroin epidemic of the 1950’s， 60’s， 70’s （not as much in the 1980s but still）， 90’s and now。 Anyway…。Fisher’s most useful insights come from his scholarly examination of complex and difficult issues including， abstinence models， the medical model of addiction， harm reduction， physicians healthcare plans， managed care and the Malibu model， and even the third rail of addiction recovery topics， moderate use after problematic use， all skillfully and relevantly interlaced with a frank and vulnerable memoir of his own recovery from alcoholism and addiction。 That’s right。Fisher grew up in an alcoholic household， became an addiction psychiatrist， became addicted himself， recovered， and wrote this beautiful book。 While this is far from the final word on this complicated and challenging subject。 I can authoritatively endorse this book， as I am a professional， licensed therpaist， I have worked in the addiction recovery field for my entire career， I have read and researched extensively on the complex biological， psychological and social aspects of this issue， and I myself am in recovery。 As such， I can reliably attest that this is a unique， and valuable addition to the addiction literature cannon。 Get it and read it now！Great book。 I couldn’t put it down 😜。Full of Great scholarship， great writing， historical insight， personal insight， expertise， and most importantly， humane goodness。 Thank you Dr。 Fisher for this brave， reasonable book。 AWESOME 5/5 。。。more
Manda Nicole
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The Urge is a truly wonderful and unique way of enjoying the history of addiction whether you are new to the topic or rather familiar with it。 Weaving personal stories from his patients with examples from literature， popular culture， and intimate pieces of his own reality as well。Perfectly laid out this book is a welcome gem to the genre of addiction literature and the brilliance of Carl Erik Fisher shines once again。Thank you so much to netgalley and publishers for providing an e-copy for me to The Urge is a truly wonderful and unique way of enjoying the history of addiction whether you are new to the topic or rather familiar with it。 Weaving personal stories from his patients with examples from literature， popular culture， and intimate pieces of his own reality as well。Perfectly laid out this book is a welcome gem to the genre of addiction literature and the brilliance of Carl Erik Fisher shines once again。Thank you so much to netgalley and publishers for providing an e-copy for me to read and leave my honest opinion。 This is a subject that has always fascinated me and I am happy to say this book did not disappoint！ Don't forget to pick up your copy as soon as possible！ 。。。more
James Beggarly
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Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Press for the ebook。 This book is a unique take on addiction and recovery because it takes on the subject from so many angles。 The author talk about addiction through the ages and all the way to America today。 He weaves in addiction through literature， with De Quincey， Burroughs etc。 He also tells the stories of his addicted patients as he moves through becoming a doctor and later working at a university。 And， most startlingly， he lets us into his own addictions w Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Press for the ebook。 This book is a unique take on addiction and recovery because it takes on the subject from so many angles。 The author talk about addiction through the ages and all the way to America today。 He weaves in addiction through literature， with De Quincey， Burroughs etc。 He also tells the stories of his addicted patients as he moves through becoming a doctor and later working at a university。 And， most startlingly， he lets us into his own addictions with alcohol， Adderall and others and his denial and eventual recovery。 A beautiful and honest account。 。。。more
Scribe Publications
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