The Weight of Air

A Story of the Lies About Addiction and the Truth About Recovery

By: David Poses

Narrated by: Charlie Thurston

Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

While his wife and two-year-old daughter watched TV in the living room, David Poses was in the kitchen, measuring the distance from his index finger to his armpit. He needed to be sure he could pull the trigger with a shotgun barrel in his mouth. Twenty-six inches. Thirty-two years old. More than a decade in a double life fueled by depression and heroin.

In his groundbreaking memoir, The Weight of Air, David chronicles his struggle to overcome mental illness and addiction. By age 19, he'd been through medical detox, inpatient rehab, 12-step programs, and a halfway house. He saw his drug use as a symptom of depression, but the experts insisted that addiction was the problem. Over the next 13 years, he went from one relapse to the next, drowning in guilt, shame, and secrets, until he finally found an evidence-based treatment that not only saved his life, but helped him thrive.

With grit, humor, and brutal honesty, David's story exposes the danger in traditional recovery models: They actually increase stigma and the risk of overdose, relapse, and death. As depression and addiction rates skyrocket and overdose fatalities surge, The Weight of Air is a scathing indictment of our failed response to the opioid crisis-and proof that success is possible.

©2021 David Poses (P)2021 Tantor

An Important Book

I struggled to finish this book, but am glad I did as the message is a vital one for addicts and their families.

A brutally honest recovery memoir

It’s high time (pun intended) that the standard narrative of abstinence only recovery is challenged. Opiate addicts benefit from medication assisted recovery. Stop shaming those on buprenorphene - it works and it saves lives.

Great book!

Fantastic account of substance use disorder and recovery! You will help many! Great job sir! And, thank you! :)

Excellent!

Hard to put down. As someone living in the recovery world, Ifound it spot on!

Wish I’d read this book sooner

Unfortunately my son overdosed. Wish I’d read this book sooner. He was on methadone, and stigmatized

Finally, the truth

Finally, a truthful story about drugs and the people that do them. Especially when you are still participating in the world/living life. You don't always end up in the gutter. And the ending had me cheering. Drugs can ruin your life , yeah . But so can gambling , drinking, shopping too much etc. Drug users don't corner the market on ruining their lives because they do drugs. And I absolutely agree that alcohol is much worse. Also, parenting matters. The way you treat your kids, talk to your kids matter. Childhood trauma isn't always being beaten or neglected in a physical sense. Divorce, inconsistent parenting, narcissism, enabling, codependency, favoritism, etc, all affect kids as they are growing up. In these cases, they will turn to anything to help them feel better, be it food, sex, drugs, shopping, or anything. If they have resources and self-awareness, they may go into therapy and work through their "stuff,...but more often than not, it goes the other way.

Wow he is so real snd raw, loved it!

I loved this book, it is easy to follow and touches all of the bases on addiction.

Truthful and relatable

David recounts his life struggling with addiction and mental health in a way that I think many will relate to. He covers how traditional rehabilitation and faith based programs lack any medical ground and "bandaid" the addiction rather than the root.

David felt like a friend.

I just learned of his passing and I am heartbroken. I am so proud of him and his work.

I may be shouting into the ether, but thank you, David, for reminding so many of us that we are not alone.

An honest and humorous ‘coming of addiction’ story

Incredibly well written true story of a life long addict struggling with depression. The story, told with vulnerable honesty, is both hilarious at times and frighteningly sad. A great read to learn how addicts really respond to rehab and the improbable challenges of trying to stay clean.

David’s story is invaluable

This book was wonderful, insofar as it was relatable, gut wrenching, emotional, and true to life. David masterfully describes addiction and the feelings of withdrawal, cravings, and the insatiable need to hide it, along with those feelings of guilt, shame, etc that every drug user knows all too well. He does right by the use of medication assisted treatments for SUD, which are still quite stigmatized as an invalid form of treatment. His storytelling about such a dark, hard topic is well-written, and the juxtaposition of that with him becoming quite successful while simultaneously suffering so much is amazing. I couldn’t put it down. I listened to it from start to finish in a single day. Anyone that has been touched by addiction in some way, from family members worried about a loved one, to activists in harm reduction, should read this book. I will say, if you are new to your own recovery, there is pretty descriptive imagery of drug use, so be aware of that ahead of time if that may be a trigger for you. Lastly, outside of this book, David has been a fierce advocate for the harm reduction community, and his voice will live on in this book, the work he has done with so much passion, and in his beautiful family. I hope he’s somewhere listening to some great music and hanging with Kurt Vonnegut. He is truly missed.