Mother of Methadone

A Doctor's Quest, a Forgotten History, and a Modern-Day Crisis

De: Melody Glenn

Narrado por: Melanie Carey

“An important chronicle of how stigma, inertia, and ignorance hamper our mental health system—a vital read for understanding both the history and the future of addiction care at a pivotal moment for our nation’s health.”—Carl Erik Fisher, MD, author of The Urge: Our Story of Addiction

Brings together the stories of two doctors battling the opioid epidemic half a century apart to reveal the origins of today's public health crisis

Dr. Melody Glenn was a burned-out emergency physician who had grown to resent the large population of opioid dependent patients passing through her ER. While working at a methadone clinic, she realized how effective harm reduction treatments could be and set out to discover why they weren’t used more broadly. That’s when she found Dr. Marie Nyswander.

In the 1960’s, Nyswander defied the DEA and medical establishment to co-develop methadone maintenance as a treatment for heroin addiction. According to some addiction specialists, its discovery could be considered as monumental as the discovery of penicillin. Yet, it still carries a stigma today.

Deftly weaving together interviews, media coverage, and historical documents, Glenn recovers Nyswander’s important legacy and reveals how the forces of racism, fearmongering politicians, and misinformation colluded to set us back decades in our understandings of opioids.

With Nyswander as her guide, Glenn also shares her journey through addiction medicine as she confronts her own personal and philosophical quandaries around bias, ambition, and saviorism in the medical field.

As the US continues to struggle with opioid and fentanyl use in communities, Mother of Methadone is a powerful reminder of the ways biases have prevented doctors from saving countless lives.

©2025 Melody Glenn (P)2025 Beacon Press Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Physician Glenn melds memoir, history, and ‘speculative nonfiction’ in this artful debut on addiction treatment . . . An equal parts informative and empathetic study of a pressing issue.”—Publishers Weekly

“An absorbing blend of memoir, history, and fiction that explores the story of addiction treatment for a kinder path ahead."—Kirkus Reviews

“It is precisely what Dr. Glenn sought and found in the story of Dr. Marie Nyswander that she generously offers to the reader: affirmation, companionship, and reclamation. As she honors the contributions that carved the path for her, it was a thrill to follow Glenn’s relentless pursuit of truth and belonging, not only for herself and Dr. Nyswander but also for people who are in pain, people in recovery, and people who use drugs.”—Jessica Hoppe, author of First in the Family: A Story of Survival, Recovery, and the American Dream