Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence

First and foremost, this isn't a self help book. It presents information in a simplistic and accessible way, so it's definitely pop sci.

The book's first section is its strongest, with a good overview of what dopamine does and its role in addiction. However, the section about pain went on longer than it needed to, and the section about shame seemed completely out of place. This section is probably responsible for the reviews stating that Lembke is overly favorable towards AA and the 12 steps. I don't think she's recommending AA as much as stating that it worked for many of her patients. Still, this part of the book is the shakiest and could have been omitted entirely.

On the whole, the book is very readable and I learned some new info. I also enjoyed the patient stories (and the author's note about obtaining consent for their use). But it's not amazing.

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okayshea's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective slow-paced

1.5

it always makes me feel icky and voyeuristic reading therapists tell their patients' stories, though i know obviously the patients gave their consent and i can see the value of sharing these real and vulnerable things people go through to create better understanding and give authentic examples. BUT this author came across judgmental of pretty much everyone she discussed in this book, and seemed to often look down on others struggling with addiction, even as she tried to relate personally by sharing her troubled relationship to romance novels. there were just too many cases where, to me, she felt smug and like she knew all the answers and didn't seem interested in actually learning what her patients saw of what they were going through -- and that's from her own retelling of these interactions. but maybe that's just me and that type of attitude might be necessary sometimes in helping someone with a serious addiction.

like other reviewers said, dopamine nation isn't really about modern technology or social media as much as the book advertises itself to be, and is more just about overcoming addiction and how dopamine works in general. there wasn't much scientific information in here that you couldn't gather from just watching a few self-help type youtube videos about dopamine or "dopamine resets". lembke also uses this book to make a few broad claims with flimsy support, so that turned me off too from finding much trust or value from this text. it just showed up on libby and was short, so i picked it.

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