
As Needed for Pain
A Memoir of Addiction
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Narrated by:
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Joe Hempel
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By:
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Dan Peres
About this listen
In the vein of Mary Karr’s Lit, Augusten Burroughs’ Dry, and Sarah Hepola’s Blackout, As Needed for Pain is a raw and riveting - and often wryly funny - addiction memoir from one of New York media’s most accomplished editors which explores his never-before-told story of opioid addiction and the drastic impact it had on his life and career.
Dan Peres wasn’t born to be a media insider. As an awkward, magic-obsessed adolescent, nothing was further from his reality than the catwalks of Paris or the hallways of glossy magazine publishers. A gifted writer and shrewd cultural observer, Peres eventually took the leap - even when it meant he had to fake a sense of belonging in a new world of famed fashion designers, celebrities, and some of media’s biggest names. But he had a secret: opiates.
Peres’ career as an editor at W magazine and Details is well known, but little is known about his private life as a high-functioning drug addict. In As Needed for Pain, Peres lays bare for the first time the extent of his drug use - at one point a 60-pill-a-day habit.
By turns humorous and gripping, Peres’ story is a cautionary coming-of-age tale filled with unforgettable characters and breathtaking brushes with disaster. But the heart of the book is his journey from outsider to insecure insider, what it took to get him there, and how he found his way back from a killing addiction.
As Needed for Pain offers a rare glimpse into New York media’s past - a time when print magazines mattered - and a rarefied world of wealth, power, and influence. It is also a brilliant, shocking dissection of a life teetering on the edge of destruction, and what it took to pull back from the brink.
©2020 Dan Peres (P)2020 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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Performance
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Elmer Wayne Henley, Jr. was only fourteen when he first became entangled with serial rapist and murderer Dean Corll in 1971. Fellow Houston, Texas, teenager David Brooks had already been ensnared by the charming older man, bribed with cash to help lure boys to Corll's home. Corll baited Henley with the same deal he'd given Brooks: $200 for each boy they could bring him.
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Well done
- By River Elder on 04-26-24
By: Katherine Ramsland, and others
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When Death Becomes Life
- Notes from a Transplant Surgeon
- By: Joshua D. Mezrich
- Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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At the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Joshua Mezrich creates life from loss, transplanting organs from one body to another. In this intimate, profoundly moving work, he illuminates the extraordinary field of transplantation that enables this kind of miracle to happen every day.
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Memoir and history, beautifully written
- By Bonny on 01-22-19
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Stash
- My Life in Hiding
- By: Laura Cathcart Robbins
- Narrated by: Laura Cathcart Robbins
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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After years of hiding her addiction from everyone—stockpiling pills in her Louboutins and elaborately scheduling her withdrawals between PTA meetings, baby showers, and tennis matches—Laura Cathcart Robbins is running out of places to hide. She has learned the hard way that even her high-profile marriage and Hollywood lifestyle can’t protect her from the pain she’s keeping bottled up inside. Facing divorce, the possibility of a custody battle, and the insistent voice of internalized racism that nags at her as a Black woman in a white world, Laura wonders just how much more she can take.
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Best Mom/wife alcoholism memoir I’ve read
- By Allison M. Billet on 04-06-23
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The Girl in the Mirror
- A Novel
- By: Rose Carlyle
- Narrated by: Holly Robinson
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Here's what Iris knows about her identical twin sister, Summer: Everything that belongs to Summer is perfect, from her magnificent yacht to her gorgeous husband. Summer's life will always be better than Iris'. Nobody - absolutely nobody - can tell the twins apart. Even with $100 million at stake. Against a backdrop of sparkling tropical islands, ocean storms, and outrageous wealth, The Girl in the Mirror explores the terrible consequences of greed, deadly lies, and out-of-control jealousy.
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I have never given one star
- By GCS18 on 10-29-20
By: Rose Carlyle
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Smacked
- A Story of White-Collar Ambition, Addiction, and Tragedy
- By: Eilene Zimmerman
- Narrated by: Eilene Zimmerman
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Something was wrong with Peter. Eilene Zimmerman noticed that her ex-husband looked thin, seemed distracted, and was frequently absent from activities with their children. Yet in many ways, Peter seemed to have it all. So begins Smacked, a brilliant and moving memoir of Eilene’s shocking discovery, one that sets her on a journey to find out how a man she knew for nearly 30 years became a drug addict, hiding it so well that neither she nor anyone else in his life suspected what was happening.
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Fantastic and captivating.
- By Julie Vandenheuvel on 03-12-20
By: Eilene Zimmerman
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Under the Influence
- A Novel
- By: Joyce Maynard
- Narrated by: Joyce Maynard
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Drinking cost Helen her marriage and custody of her seven-year-old son, Ollie. Once an aspiring art photographer, she now makes ends meet by taking portraits of schoolchildren and working for a caterer. Recovering from her addiction, she spends lonely evenings checking out profiles on an online dating site. Weekend visits with her son are awkward. He's drifting away from her fast.
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Appearances, words and actions can be deceiving
- By Jessica on 03-02-16
By: Joyce Maynard
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Unlocked
- Embrace Your Greatness, Find the Flow, Discover Success
- By: George Mumford
- Narrated by: George Mumford
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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A world-renowned psychologist and mindfulness performance expert who has helped superstars such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant transform their careers, offers proven strategies for unleashing our innate strengths, avoiding burnout, and discovering enduring success.
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A man of character
- By Anita Chavez on 11-11-23
By: George Mumford
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The Siren
- By: Katherine St. John
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett, Christine Lakin, Kamali Minter, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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From Katherine St. John, author of The Lion's Den, comes another sublimely escapist thriller: When Hollywood heartthrob Cole Power hires his ex-wife, Stella Rivers, to act in his son's film, he sparks a firestorm on an isolated island that will unearth long-buried secrets - and unravel years of lies.
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Truth be told … Regardless
- By Nan on 11-17-21
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The Bravest Voices
- A Memoir of Two Sisters' Heroism During the Nazi Era
- By: Ida Cook
- Narrated by: Heather Wilds
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Ida and Louise Cook are two ordinary Englishwomen, seemingly destined never to stray from their quiet London suburb and comfortable jobs—Ida as a budding romance novelist and Louise as a civil service typist. But in 1923, a chance hearing of an aria from Madame Butterfly sparked a passion for opera in the sisters that led to the formation of friendships with some of Europe's leading singers and their network, many of them Jewish. As the Nazis rose to power, Ida and Louise began working with the opera world's insiders to save members of the community from persecution and death.
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The power of having a plan
- By Sweetsauce on 04-04-25
By: Ida Cook
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How to Speak Whale
- A Voyage into the Future of Animal Communication
- By: Tom Mustill
- Narrated by: Tom Mustill
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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What if animals and humans could speak to one another? Tom Mustill—the nature documentarian who went viral when a thirty-ton humpback whale breached onto his kayak—asks this question in his thrilling investigation into whale science and animal communication.
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For all lovers of living beings
- By E. Nelson on 02-16-23
By: Tom Mustill
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Modern Madness
- An Owner's Manual
- By: Terri Cheney
- Narrated by: Christine Lakin
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Cheney flips mental illness inside out, exposing the visceral story of the struggles, stigma, relationship dilemmas, treatments, and recovery techniques she and others have encountered. Sometimes humorous, sometimes harrowing, Modern Madness is the ultimate owner's manual on mental illness, breaking this complex subject down into readily understandable concepts like instructions for use, troubleshooting, maintenance, and warranties.
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Sincerity, transparency, intelligence
- By Britt Gjeruldsen on 04-15-25
By: Terri Cheney
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The Icepick Surgeon
- Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science
- By: Sam Kean
- Narrated by: Ben Sullivan
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Science is a force for good in the world—at least usually. But sometimes, when obsession gets the better of scientists, they twist a noble pursuit into something sinister. Under this spell, knowledge isn’t everything, it’s the only thing—no matter the cost. Bestselling author Sam Kean tells the true story of what happens when unfettered ambition pushes otherwise rational men and women to cross the line in the name of science, trampling ethical boundaries and often committing crimes in the process.
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FANTASTIC! & What’s up with all these naysayers (negative reviewers)?!
- By Zophie Leslea on 08-19-21
By: Sam Kean
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Con/Artist
- The Life and Crimes of the World's Greatest Art Forger
- By: Tony Tetro, Giampiero Ambrosi
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone, Tony Tetro, Giampiero Ambrosi
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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The art world is a much dirtier, nastier business than you might expect. Tony Tetro, one of the most renowned art forgers in history, will make you question every masterpiece you’ve ever seen in a museum, gallery, or private collection. Tetro’s “Rembrandts,” “Caravaggios,” “Miros,” and hundreds of other works now hang on walls around the globe.
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Incredibly interesting!
- By Carole Wooten on 12-07-22
By: Tony Tetro, and others
Get Ready to Pull an All Nighter
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Fantastic!
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So Sad
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Loved it!
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for all you addicts out there who love to live the drama of getting clean
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This memoir has hours of stories during the author’s addiction, and as important as those are to look at, the author only covers his recovery in the last couple of chapters. This was disappointing. I felt as if the author himself didn’t see the importance of this incredibly hard and brave step that he took. I would’ve really liked to know more about how that journey was for him. Yes he did a lot of terrible things and he made a lot of awful choices and he let situations get very out of hand. But when he was ready, how did he change that, how did he fix that, how did he get better? These, I feel are some of the more important aspects an addict’s journey and the parts that tend to give hope. When you write about addiction, you never know who is reading your book. You never know who is looking to relate and who is looking for hope… don’t be afraid to share the hope.
Full of stories…not much recovering
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Average
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Another romp through drugs
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As Needed For Sleep
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"As Needed for Pain" disappoints on various fronts. The author's self-centered narrative unfolds throughout the story with a lack of awareness, making it both cringe-worthy and perplexing.
Dan Peres was handed a lucrative position as an editor at a prestigious magazine, lacking qualifications and showing no interest in performing well. Holding onto this well-compensated role, filled with incredible luxury and perks, despite openly admitting to never doing much work or even showing up, is particularly offensive to those who work hard to earn such rewards. However, he seems oblivious to this concept, or perhaps he takes pleasure in flaunting his privilege. Effortlessly coasting through life, avoiding responsibilities, he disrespects hardworking individuals and exemplifies unchecked privilege. Despite this, he likely sees himself as a victim.
Peres never engages in self-reflection regarding his issues or the reasons behind his descent into drug addiction. People repeatedly ask him, "What's wrong with you?" Regrettably, the question remains unanswered, suggesting an incapacity for any form of self-reflection on his part. One would anticipate someone in the writing business to acknowledge that a well-crafted book surpasses mere anecdotal stories, involving some form of realization or learning derived from experiences.
In addition, the book's portrayal of women is disturbing. His crude depiction and unnecessary sexualization of women reveal a disturbing mindset. He seems to find it amusing or cool, but it's not.
This book comes off as a self-centered memoir more focused on showcasing the author's supposed successes than on meaningful self-reflection. The lack of depth and self-reflection, coupled with the troubling portrayal of women, make this book a definite no for me.
The Epitome of Male Privilege
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