About The Weight of Air

A groundbreaking memoir that will change the way you think about addiction and recovery

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 nineteen, he’d been through medical detox, inpatient rehab, twelve-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 thirteen 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 shows that traditional recovery models 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.

PRAISE

“Painful, haunting memoir . . . A potent addition to the literature on drug addiction and recovery”—Kirkus Review (starred)

“David Poses has crafted a work that will literally blow you away . . . a superb and eye-opening read for those who have not yet explored the realities of addiction, and also a comfort to those who already bear these struggles themselves.”—Readers’ Favorite (5 stars)

“David Poses’s 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

“A searingly honest addiction memoir with a much-needed perspective: addiction is frequently the result of attempts to self-medicate mental illnesses like depression, yet our system treats people with punitive methods that actually make matters worse. 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 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 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

​“A riveting and deeply personal account of addiction and the flawed treatment system that repeatedly failed him.”—Gerald Posner, award-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author of Pharma

“Entertaining, honest, darkly comedic, and smart as hell, David Poses’s The Weight of Air is a painfully accurate portrayal of heroin addiction and the sorts of treatments forced upon us. . . . [He] is about to turn your whole worldview on addiction upside down in the best way.”—Amy Dresner, author of My Fair Junkie

Awards

IPPY Bronze Award, Autobiography (Personal Struggle/Health Issues)
National Indie Excellence Award Winner, Addiction and Recovery
The Memoir Book Prize, Addiction and Recovery
Best Book Award Winner, Addiction and Recovery
International Book Award Winner, Addiction and Recovery
Independent Press Award Winner, Addiction and Recovery
NYC Big Book Award, Distinguished Favorite in Addiction & Recovery
Readers’ Favorite Bronze Award in Social Issues
Book Authority: Named One of the Best Drug Addiction Books of All Time
Book Authority: Named One of the Best New Drug Addiction Books to Read in 2021

About the Author

David Poses is a writer, speaker, and activist. After hiding his struggle with depression and opioids for twenty years, he started opening up and challenging conventional addiction wisdom. He has been published by . . . READ MORE