What Is It Like to Be an Addict?

A fascinating and thought-provoking personal and philosophical exploration of addiction and recovery and the complex questions they raise for all of us. * Maia Szalavitz, Contributing Opinion Writer, New York Times, Scientific American, VICE, Wired, New York Times bestselling author of Unbroken Brain. *Through his deeply informed, creative, and wise work, Owen Flanagan has long made profound contributions to the philosophy of addiction, in no small part thanks to his admirable disclosure of his own struggles. Over the years, he has been a source of both inspiration and clarity for me and, undoubtedly, many others. In this elegant and clear book, he presents a compelling case for an integrative theory of substance addiction, one that provides valuable insights for anyone seeking to understand this complex phenomenon. It deserves to be a landmark in the study of addiction. * Carl Erik Fisher, M.D., Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Columbia University, author of The Urge: Our History of Addiction *A brilliant and unparalleled synthesis of the science, philosophy, and first-person phenomenology of addiction. Owen Flanagan is a distinguished philosopher who has spent a lifetime studying morality and the mind-brain sciences-and he is also an ex-addict. This book is beyond excellent. It is wise. Everyone who wants to understand addiction must read it. * Hanna Pickard, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University *What Is It Like to Be an Addict?, the product of personal experience and sober analysis, is a unique and essential hybrid. * Sally Satel, The Wall Street Journal *

Owen Flanagan is an internationally acclaimed philosopher of mind, consciousness, ethics, and comparative philosophy and author of 12 books translated into many languages. He has lectured on every continent except Antarctica, which he has nonetheless visited. Flanagan taught for 16 years at Wellesley College and for 30 years at Duke University.