 Brilliant's Audio presents the unabridged recording of Clean, Overcoming Addiction and Ending America's Greatest Tragedy by David Scheff. Performed by Jeff Cummings. To those afflicted with addiction. To their loved ones. To those we've lost to this disease. And to those working to prevent addiction and treat the addicted. And to Karen Barber. Author's Note Over the years I researched Clean, many people afflicted with addiction and many of their family members bravely shared their stories. Some spoke under the condition that I use only their first names or pseudonyms and change details that would identify them or their loved ones. Named or not, I'm deeply grateful to them all for their willingness to speak to me and their desire to help others in their straits. Similarly, I report on visits to inpatient and outpatient treatment programs, sober living residences, and other facilities that, in some cases, allowed me onto the premises only under the condition that neither they nor their patients be identified. Preface. The view that drug use is a moral choice is pervasive, pernicious, and wrong. So are the corresponding beliefs about the addicted. That they're weak, selfish, and disillute. If they weren't, when their excessive drug-taking and drinking began to harm them, they'd stop. The reality is far different. Using drugs or not isn't about willpower or character. Most problematic drug use is related to stress, trauma, genetic predisposition, mild or serious mental illness, use at an early age, or some combination of those. Even in their relentless destruction and self-destruction, the addicted aren't bad people. They're gravely ill, afflicted with a chronic, progressive, and often terminal disease. People also believe that addicts can't be treated. At best, they can muster their willpower and manage their compulsion for a short time. But while it's true that addicts who seek treatment are seldom cured, their disease is treatable when we reject the pseudoscience, moralizing, and scare tactics that characterize the current system. The disease of addiction can be prevented. And when we treat it the way we treat other diseases, those in its thrall can be freed to live long, full, healthy lives. The mission of CLEAN is to describe the scope of America's drug problem and explain how and why we've failed in our efforts to combat it. I show why we must waste no time.