Full disclosure up front, my day job is in the
healthcare field so I had a natural inclination to gravitate towards this book
and I have seen firsthand the devastating effects of drug addiction on patients
and families.
The advanced publicity for Free Refills – Doctor Confronts His Addiction, by Peter Grinspoon,
M.D. is chock full of comments about the honest, brave, moving account of Dr.
Grinspoon’s facing off with his addiction and the good humor that he applies to
it in the recounting of this story. That and all of the talk of how Grinspoon’s
story should serve as a reminder that “doctors are people too” and subject to
all of the foibles and faults of “ordinary” people.
Sorry, but I took none of that away from my reading of Free Refills. The notes I scratched out
as a worked through the book are more like; arrogant, smug, liar, snide,
snarky, high and mighty, whinny, and finger pointing liberal asshole. This guy
could be the one of the least sympathetic characters I have ever been
confronted with.
I can only conclude that people are somehow confusing
his condescension with humor. This guy is nothing more than a typical drug
addict; capable of lying to and deception of, not only family, friends and
colleagues, but sadly even himself. He carries all of the stereotypical God
complex qualities of way too many physicians; which is especially sad when you
consider the amount of anti-religious bigotry and proclamations of his atheism
that he peppers the book with.
While Grinspoon decries the lack of fairness and the troubles
with the system and laws and the negative impact they have had on his life, I
still get the feeling that this guy has never really scraped rock bottom and
realized the he is to blame for his problems. The medical profession is all too
often complicit in letting dangerous doctors to slide by; here’s hoping this
guy’s self-proclaimed sobriety remains intact and he doesn’t end up doing
serious damage to a patient.
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