This book is about pleasure. It's also about pain. Most important it's about how to find the
delicate balance between the two and why now more than ever finding balance is essential.
We're living in a time of unprecedented access to high-reward high-dopamine stimuli: drugs
food news gambling shopping gaming texting sexting Facebooking Instagramming YouTubing
tweeting . . . The increased numbers variety and potency is staggering. The smartphone is the
modern-day hypodermic needle delivering digital dopamine 24 7 for a wired generation. As such
we've all become vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption. In Dopamine Nation Dr. Anna
Lembke psychiatrist and author explores the exciting new scientific discoveries that explain
why the relentless pursuit of pleasure leads to pain . . . and what to do about it. Condensing
complex neuroscience into easy-to-understand metaphors Lembke illustrates how finding
contentment and connectedness means keeping dopamine in check. The lived experiences of her
patients are the gripping fabric of her narrative. Their riveting stories of suffering and
redemption give us all hope for managing our consumption and transforming our lives. In essence
Dopamine Nation shows that the secret to finding balance is combining the science of desire
with the wisdom of recovery.
