The Stairs on Billy Buck Hill

By: Steven Orebaugh

Narrated by: Robert Little

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

A talented and devoted anesthesiologist with a coveted academic position. A lovely, accomplished financial analyst with a glamorous social life, a high-rise apartment, and a dirty little secret. A chance encounter, a night of passion, and a confessed preference for opioids. 

In this sordid tale of infatuation, temptation, and intoxication, Dr. Kurt McCain rises to a pinnacle of popularity and self-regard that he could not previously have imagined, only to realize that his pursuit of drug-induced euphoria has cost him nearly everything that he holds dear. His position, his profession, and his relationships with those he loves are destroyed, and the young physician finds himself at the lowest point of his life, disconsolate and alone. He must somehow summon all of his energies to overcome a dependence on opioids while making a desperate attempt at the restoration of his practice, and for redemption in the eyes of those who care for him.

The nation is riven by a devastating epidemic that continues even as the Covid epidemic fades, opioids are killing Americans in unprecedented numbers. While physicians are often implicated among the many causes of this scourge, little attention is paid to the potential for doctors and nurses to become addicts themselves. Anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists, who administer opioids with great regularity, are among the most susceptible providers. 

The Stairs On Billy Buck Hill relates one physician’s travails as he progresses from the carefully controlled, recreational use of opioid pills, to the brazen theft of fentanyl from his patients in the operating room, a treacherous descent that leads to the destruction of his career, his social standing, and very nearly himself.

©2022 Milford House Press (P)2023 Beacon Audiobooks

A must read for Anesthesia providers.

Until my recent retirement, I was a Nurse Anesthetist in a large city teaching hospital for thirty-six years. Over the years, I have seen some colleagues succumb to a dangerous addiction to opioids. In each case, it ruined their lives. The following is a quote by the author: “The Stairs On Billy Buck Hill” illustrates just how compelling the allure of these drugs is, and how, once ingested, they create within the user a voracious appetite for greater indulgence, followed inevitably by ruinous consequences. " I thank the writer for writing this book and sharing this story. I believe it is a tool to educate providers that no matter how strong they think they are, opioids are stronger.