When Zak and his family finally took off from the airport mere days before the US left the country, the years-long effort to get Zak to America culminated in two simple words on Instagram: "Wheels up." Through Tom and Zak's eyes and experiences, they challenge readers to explore the legacy of the war for American and Afghan citizens alike, as we all collectively seek to understand whether twenty years of war was worth the price. Tom Schueman fought-both behind the scenes and through a social media campaign-to get his friend and former Afghan interpreter, Zak, out of Afghanistan before he and his family were discovered by the Taliban.
The speed of the Afghanistan's fall was so stunning that thousands of Afghan citizens who had helped American forces over the course of two decades-and had been promised visas in return-were suddenly stranded, in extreme, imminent danger. In August of 2021, just days shy of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, America ended its longest war. These heroes come from all walks of life what they have in common is an up-close and personal understanding of addiction that refuses to stigmatize-and therefore abandon-people who use drugs, as big pharma execs and many politicians are all too ready to do. Here we meet the ordinary people fighting for the least of us with the fewest resources, from harm reductionists risking arrest to bring lifesaving care to the homeless and addicted to the activists and bereaved families pushing to hold Purdue and the Sackler family accountable. Beth Macy takes us into the country's hardest hit places to witness the devastating personal costs that one-third of America's families are now being forced to shoulder. Addiction rates have soared to record-breaking levels during the COVID pandemic, illustrating the critical need for leadership, urgency, and change. Nearly a decade into the second wave of America's overdose crisis, pharmaceutical companies have yet to answer for the harms they created.
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