A groundbreaking memoir of a double life fueled by heroin addiction and mental illness

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 heroin addiction and mental illness.

 
The Weight of Air chronicles David’s struggle to overcome the depression that led him to opioids as a teenager. By nineteen, he’d been through medical detox, inpatient rehab, twelve-step programs, and a halfway house, unable to reconcile his experience with conventional wisdom. He saw his addiction as secondary, as a symptom of depression, but the experts insisted that addiction was the primary problem. Over the next thirteen years, he went from one relapse to the next, drowning in guilt, shame, and secrets—until he finally found the treatment that saved his life.

With grit and brutal honesty, David shines a bright light on the flaws in our traditional addiction and recovery models, exposing the opioid crisis for what it really is: a convergence of two deadly epidemics. 

The Weight of Air will be published on July 6, 2021.

Pre-orders available in hardcover and paperback, and Kindle, Nook and Apple eBook. 

Signed copies can be pre-ordered at Split Rock Books in Cold Spring, NY. 

"David Poses’ unflinching memoir takes you to the dark corners of addiction – and shows there’s a way out. The Weight of Air serves as a timely reminder that recovery is possible."

Eric Eyre, 

Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Death in Mud Lick: 

A Coal Country Fight Against the Drug Companies That Delivered the Opioid Epidemic

"A searingly honest addiction memoir with a much needed perspective. In order to end the overdose crisis, we need evidence-based care that heeds these voices rather than ignoring or repressing them."

Maia Szalavitz, 

New York Times best-selling author of Unbroken Brain

"A fluidly written, disarmingly blunt account of heroin addiction and recovery."  

Keith Humphreys 

White House Drug Policy Adviser to Presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama

"The Weight of Air is a moving, tender, thoughtful account of addiction and also a compelling critique of a lot that's wrong with the dominant model of addiction treatment." 

Johann Hari, 

New York Times best-selling author of Chasing the Scream

"A potent addition to the literature on drug addiction and recovery."

Kirkus Starred Review

"The blueprint for hope and survival that is ultimately Poses's story could not arrive at a more important time as the nation grapples with its overdose epidemic."  

Gerald Posner, 

New York Times bestselling author of Pharma: Greed, Lies, and the Poisoning of America

"Entertaining, honest, darkly comedic, and smart as hell...Poses is about to turn your whole worldview on addiction upside down in the best way." 

Amy Dresner,

Author of My Fair Junkie: A Memoir of Getting Dirty and Staying Clean 

Click to hear Amy interview David on her podcast, Rehab Confidential: 

"The Weight of Air is at once an intensely personal memoir and a much-needed blueprint for saving lives during this time of profound crisis."

Brandon del Pozo, PhD 

Retired NYPD Deputy Inspector and retired Chief of Police, Burlington, VT 

Click to see Brandon and David on NBC News

 "Poses's offbeat humor leavens the chilling details of an often heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful story."

Carol Giacomo,

 Journalist and former member of the New York Times Editorial Board

  "The Weight of Air is about breaking down stigma and ending the silence that causes people to hide substance use, with often tragic consequences. This book will help readers better understand why people use substances and the urgency to reframe our responses and thinking." 

Petra Schulz, Co-Founder, Moms Stop The Harm

"Poses's all-out honesty is not only compelling, but serves to uncover failures of our system and to illuminate evidence-based practices." 

Will Godfrey, 

Founding Editor-In-Chief, Filter Magazine

"A must-read for those hoping to educate themselves about the issues in the opioid crisis."

Tracey Helton-Mitchell,

Activist and Author of The Big Fix

"David Poses is the gold standard of survival. He writes from the heart about how to get help once and for all to beat addiction. The Weight of Air is a must read!"

Deborah Kobylt,

CNN Journalist and host, Deborah Kobylt Live

"This honest memoir is a gift to the reader--and it will save lives. David Poses holds up depression, self-doubt, and fear for our scrutiny and offers real, tangible hope. This book will be on my mind now--always."

Charlotte Bismuth,

Author of Bad Medicine: Catching New York's Deadliest Pill Pusher

 "The Weight of Air makes us comes to grips with the fact that opioids are not just used for physical pain--they also ease psychic pain. It takes a special kind of bravery to share the darkest period of your life. . . . The Weight of Air is a testimony to Poses's strength."

Jennifer Hornak, RN

 Click to see Jennifer and David talk about buprenorphine CBS' The Doctors

 "In his persistently, courageously contrarian memoir, Poses advocates for painkilling and medication-assisted treatment, an effective, life-saving alternative to the unregulated, shame-laden rehab merry-go-round that sets up patients to fail—and often to die. Anyone who reads this book will be eager to see what he does next."

Carlyn Zwarenstein, Author of On Opium (2021)

"The Weight of Air reveals why so many have been harmed less by drugs or alcohol than by arcane addiction treatment programs, misguided public policies, and pervasive stigma. By sharing his own story with uninhibited candor, Poses bravely creates a path for others to do the same."

Stephanie Papes Strong, Founder and CEO of Boulder Care