
Prescription for Pain
How a Once-Promising Doctor Became the "Pill Mill Killer"
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Narrated by:
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Mike Lenz
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By:
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Philip Eil
About this listen
This haunting and propulsive debut follows a journalist's years-long investigation into his father's old classmate: former high school valedictorian Paul Volkman, who seemed destined for greatness after earning his MD and PhD from the prestigious University of Chicago, but is now serving four consecutive life sentences at a federal prison in Arizona.
Volkman was the central figure in a massive "pill mill" scheme in southern Ohio. His pain clinics accepted only cash, employed armed guards, and dispensed a torrent of opioid painkillers and other controlled substances. For nearly three years, Volkman remained in business despite raids by law enforcement and complaints from patients' family members. Prosecutors would ultimately link him to the overdose deaths of thirteen patients, though investigators explored his ties to at least twenty other deaths.
This groundbreaking book is based on twelve years of correspondence and interviews with Volkman. Eil also traveled to nineteen states, interviewed more than 150 people, and filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the DEA that led to the release of nearly 20,000 pages of trial evidence. The American opioid epidemic is, like this book, a true crime story. Through this one doctor's story, an era of unfathomable tragedy is brought down to a tangible, and devastating, human scale.
©2024 Philip Eil (P)2024 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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- By: Jason Ryan
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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The most famous man in South Carolina lives jailed in the state capital. He stands accused of a staggering amount of wrongdoing—ninety-nine crimes and counting. Once a high-flying, smooth-talking, pedigreed Southern lawyer, Alex Murdaugh is now disbarred and disgraced. For more than a decade, prosecutors claim, Alex was secretly a fraud, a thief, a drug dealer and an all-around phony. On the night of June 7, 2021, they claim, he also became a killer.
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Not what I expected
- By Jessica on 08-18-24
By: Jason Ryan
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Killing Season
- A Paramedic's Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Opioid Epidemic
- By: Peter Canning
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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When Peter Canning started work as a paramedic on the streets of Hartford, Connecticut, 25 years ago, he believed drug users were victims only of their own character flaws. Although he took care of them, he did not care for them. But as the overdoses escalated, Canning began asking his patients how they had gotten started on their perilous journeys. And while no two tales were the same, their heartrending similarities changed Canning's view and moved him to educate himself about the science of addiction.
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Very Informative
- By HJones on 11-24-24
By: Peter Canning
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The Snakehead
- An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream
- By: Patrick Radden Keefe
- Narrated by: Feodor Chin
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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A mesmerizing narrative about the rise and fall of an unlikely international crime boss. Based on hundreds of interviews, Patrick Radden Keefe's sweeping narrative tells the story not only of Sister Ping, but of the gangland gunslingers who worked for her, the immigration and law enforcement officials who pursued her, and the generation of penniless immigrants who risked death and braved a 17,000 mile odyssey so that they could realize their own version of the American dream.
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But Is It a Crime?
- By Roy on 08-23-09
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The Serial Killer's Apprentice
- The True Story of How Houston's Deadliest Murderer Turned a Kid into a Killing Machine
- By: Katherine Ramsland, Tracy Ullman
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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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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A Hunger to Kill
- A Serial Killer, a Determined Detective, and the Quest for a Confession That Changed a Small Town Forever
- By: Kim Mager, Lisa Pulitzer - contributor
- Narrated by: Jennifer Blom
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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On September 13, 2016, in the small town of Ashland, Ohio, emergency dispatchers received a 911 call from a terrified woman who claimed to be kidnapped. The man holding her hostage was Shawn Grate, a serial killer whom the press later dubbed “The Ladykiller.” A key to his conviction and death sentence were Grate’s extensive recorded confessions—all extracted by one woman: Detective Kim Mager.
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Turned into a sermon.
- By Victor Naranjo on 01-29-25
By: Kim Mager, and others
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Empire of Pain
- The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
- By: Patrick Radden Keefe
- Narrated by: Patrick Radden Keefe
- Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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The prize-winning and best-selling author of Say Nothing presents a grand, devastating portrait of three generations of the Sackler family, famed for their philanthropy, whose fortune was built by Valium and whose reputation was destroyed by OxyContin. Empire of Pain is a masterpiece of narrative reporting and writing, exhaustively documented and ferociously compelling.
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Full Account of the Sackler Conspiracy
- By Edward Bisch on 04-13-21
What listeners say about Prescription for Pain
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Twist
- 11-19-24
Incredibly interesting story of a medical career gone so wrong
This is less a picture of the opioid epidemic overall and more an intense look at the role one man played in it. Eil presents a fascinating read detailing the life of Dr. Volkman, and presenting how a person could end up playing such a huge role in the ongoing medication crisis. Don’t be daunted by the length - I zipped through this because it was so interesting!
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-22-25
A well-done, thorough account
A worthy addition to the saga of the opioid epidemic in Ohio. This telling leaves more pieces to the puzzle filled in and, hopefully, a meaningful contribution to unraveling the devastation Volkman and others of his ilk, including the Sackler clan, unleashed on the world.
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- Barbara Hall Scott
- 01-08-25
Mind blowing and comprehensive
Eil did an outstanding job of laying out the case of a real monster. I’ve listened to many books about the opioid epidemic and this was by far the best one.
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- Edward Bisch
- 04-13-24
Unique insight inside the mind of a deadly doctor
Bad guys never view themselves as bad guys , even the deadly one’s and the unique author access to one of the baddest makes for a fascinating read to one of the deadliest chapters in American history ❤️🩹
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- Lee
- 07-25-24
In depth and touching.
The author turned over every fact and seemed to speak with all involved. An impressive work.
What stands out most is how he honors those that died in the end. Medication marketed to relieve suffering brought so much!
I look forward to the authors next book.
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-12-24
This Book is Fabulous
I highly recommend this book, which shows you the pill mill doctors' involvement in the opioid epidemic.
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- Kindle Customer
- 04-27-25
The information gathered
I was pleasantly surprised, this book was a real page turner. This story kept me interested from beginning to end. Extremely informative while keeping you entertained.
Narration was perfect.
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