Overview

Working in Vancouver's notorious downtown eastside to pay for her theological education at Regent College, Meera Bai Grover was faced with questions about whether or not providing people who use drugs with sterile supplies and a place to inject contravened her faith. She knew she wanted to care for people with addiction but did not know how to do so in a way that fit with her own moral code. She wrestled with these questions over the years and through her transition from nursing to becoming a fully licensed physician who specializes in addiction medicine. This book details her insights along the way, describing the patient stories that influenced her practice. This book is for anyone who has struggled with how to care for people experiencing addiction. Dr. Grover describes her own evangelical Christian lens and how it applies when considering the societal role in the current opioid crisis. She touches on topics such as harm reduction, recovery, decriminalization, and involuntary treatment, with patient examples interwoven with medical education about addiction. In the midst of a devastating opioid crisis, this book provides invaluable lessons to help the church develop a meaningful response toward addiction.

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9798385210039

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Reviews

""Gritty, engaging, and powerful, Dr. Grover's Why I Help People Take Drugs confronts injustice and indifference with compassion and care. This provocative and compelling book challenges Christians to see addiction medicine as a true practice of following Jesus, offering hope and dignity to the marginalized."" --Benjamin Perrin, author Overdose: Heartbreak and Hope in Canada's Opioid Crisis ""Why I Help People Take Drugs is thoughtful and introspective, using Dr. Grover's own experiences to illustrate key concepts of addiction medicine that are commonly misunderstood or misrepresented. While it's written to her fellow Christians, the ideas are understandable by people of any, or no, particular faith. It is my hope that this book stimulates conversation, helping to shift public discourse, and perhaps even policy, on substance use to be more compassionate and evidence informed."" --Erin Knight, MD, president-elect, Canadian Society of Addiction Medicine

Author Information

Meera Bai Grover is a medical doctor with the highest level of training in addiction medicine available to physicians in Canada. She currently works in Calgary at hospitals and at community sites including shelters, street outreach, and inner-city clinics, as well as in medical education. On the theological side, she is a graduate of Regent College in Vancouver. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, gardening, and hanging out with her cats and chickens.

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