Benjamin Logan High School (BLHS) welcomed New York Times bestselling author Beth Macy during a Friday, April 19, academic assist period.
Macy’s book, “Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America,” was a Times Book of the Year and became an award-winning, eight-part Hulu miniseries starring Michael Keaton.
Writing investigative work like Dopesick was a natural progression for Macy, who started her career as a journalist after graduating from Bowling Green State University. Her books have been at least partially inspired by her time as an investigative reporter, mainly at the Roanoke Times in Virginia.
But Macy is a native Ohioan, having grown up in Urbana. In fact, she attended high school with retired BLHS physical education teacher Doug Rutan, who connected her with (BLHS) English teacher Michelle Lane, which led to Friday’s presentation.
“I was the first one in my family to go to college,” she said. “And it saved my life.”
Though quiet as a child, Macy’s love for writing led her into journalism. While working as a reporter, Macy found the subject for her first book, titled “Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local—and Helped Save an American Town.” It was an instant bestseller when it was released in 2014.
That same year, Macy wrote a book proposal for Dopesick. The term “dopesick” is slang for opiate withdrawal symptoms.
The book is based on a story Macy wrote for the newspaper about how heroin had infiltrated wealthy families in the suburbs. She traced the problem to OxyContin and the promise it was a “safe” drug. Instead, it served as a gateway drug as people addicted to the pills would then switch to heroin.
Macy’s research motivated her to delve deeper.
“We’ve lost over a million people since OxyContin was introduced in 1996,” she stated.
As important as the book was, Macy admitted she struggled with anxiety, depression and even fear. Being one of the first journalists to write about the problem to a national audience wasn’t easy. Especially when it came to the pharmaceutical company that brought us OxyContin, Purdue Pharma, which claimed her research wasn’t sound.
But Macy continues to pursue the true, difficult stories. With four bestsellers to her name, she’s currently working on the next one. This book will delve into her life growing up in Urbana and discuss solutions to the drug crisis.
“I’m a journalist, so everything I write is true,” Macy concluded. “I always go with the story that makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck.”
All four of Beth Macy’s books are available online.
Beth Macy, standing, right, New York Times bestselling author of Dopesick, stopped by Benjamin Logan High School Friday morning. for the school’s academic assist period.. (EXAMINER PHOTO | SHARYN KOPF)