The Biology of Desire

Why Addiction Is Not a Disease

By: Marc Lewis PhD PhD

Narrated by: Brent Halfyard

A renowned neuroscientist provides an “unorthodox but enlightening” (Wall Street Journal) narrative of how addiction happens in the brain, and what we can do to overcome it

Through the vivid, true stories of five people who journeyed into and out of addiction, a renowned neuroscientist—and former addict himself—explains why the disease model of addiction is wrong and how it obstructs the path to recovery. Combining intimate human examples with clearly rendered scientific explanations, The Biology of Desire is enlightening and optimistic reading for anyone who has wrestled with addiction either personally or professionally.

Critic reviews

"Dr. Lewis... a former addict who recovered to become a distinguished neuroscientist and author ... writes engagingly about the addictive experience, the recovery experience and the science behind them. Whether you are looking for a foundation in the neuroscience of addiction, guidelines for recovery or just hope that recovery is possible, it's all here. The scientific information is presented in the context of day-to-day behavior and the lives of individuals you will come to care about. You'll learn more about neuroscience (and human development and psychology) than you may have thought possible. Informed by this book, you'll see how neuroscience explains addiction as a part of life, rather than a mysterious entity only experts can understand."

—Tom Horvath, author of Sex, Drugs, Gambling & Chocolate: A Workbook for Overcoming Addictions

"Marc Lewis's new book neatly links current thinking about addiction with neuroscience theory and artfully selected biographies. Ex-addicts, we learn, are not 'cured'; rather they have become more connected to others, wiser, and more in touch with their own humanity. This is a hopeful message that has, as Lewis demonstrates, the advantage of also being true."—Gene Heyman, author of Addiction: Disorder of Choice

"The Biology of Desire says a lot about the brain mechanisms underpinning addiction but, to its credit, does not stop there. With minor exceptions, we do not help addicts (and they do not help themselves) by ministering directly to their brains. As Mr. Lewis stresses throughout this unorthodox but enlightening book, people learn to be addicts, and, with effort, they can learn not to be addicts, too."—Wall Street Journal

"Wonderfully readable... One finishes The Biology of Desire with... an appreciation for the argument that we may be thinking about addiction all wrong." —Washington Post

“This is the real story of ‘this is your brain on drugs,' but one that provides a refreshing, convincing alternative to the widespread traditional disease-model view of addiction. Through compelling stories of real people who struggled with various addictions, Lewis lucidly makes the case for a new science-based understanding of what causes and sustains addiction. Most important, it offers far more positivity about ways out of addiction than those offered by traditional treatment, providing hope for those struggling as well as for their loved ones.”—Anne M. Fletcher, New York Times bestselling author of Sober for Good: New Solutions for Drinking Problems

“Highly readable and plausible illustration of current ideas about addiction from behavioural neuroscience and clinical perspectives by the use of vivid case histories."—Trevor Robbins, professor of cognitive neuroscience and experimental psychology, Cambridge University