Seeing Addiction : A Personal Memoir

Abstract

This book is a personal memoir about the career and professional experiences of one of the modern world’s most influential addiction scientists. Its chapters explore the inner world of a master clinician who learned immensely from his patients, defended their rights as a forensic psychiatrist, and translated their needs into evidence-based treatments and policy at the global level. The first part of the book is about “seeing addiction” through the eyes of a visionary who was the formulator of the alcohol dependence syndrome concept, the inspirational leader of the UK National Addiction Centre, the longtime editor of the world’s leading addiction journal, the author of numerous books on addiction treatment and policy, and the always iconoclastic voice on the lecture circuit. The second part of the book is a compendium of Edwards’ published and unpublished travelogues, from his formative visits to America in 1955 and 1961, to his inspirational walk with Mother Teresa through the streets of Calcutta in 1970. From this unique lens of experiential learning and advisory work with the World Health Organization, the reader is able to see how scientific creativity is both a personal and a collective process. As the final statement in the career of a seminal addiction scientist, this memoir shows how Griffith Edwards challenged the status quo, pushed the envelope of critical thinking, demonstrated compassion for addicted patients, questioned conventional wisdom, promoted research integrity, translated research into policy, and most of all, created institutions that continue to change things for the better.