Through examination of five addicts seeking treatment in the San Francisco substance abuse treatment arena in the late 1990’s, Dr. Lonny Shavelson provides a stark and thought-provoking insight into substance use treatment in the United States. His book, Hooked: Five addicts challenge our misguided drug rehab system, documents the journey of the five addicts: Mike, Darrell, Darlene, Glenda, and Crystal. Through examination of these stories as documented in Hooked, we can journey through the book and begin to examine the underlying structures which are creating blockages for addicts seeking treatment in the United States.
In 1997 when the book starts, Mike Pagsolingan was a 34-year-old Italian man with a history of childhood sexual assault and PTSD who had been addicted to heroin and cocaine for 20-years (Shavelson, 2001).…