Timothy McMahan King is the author of Addiction Nation: What the Opioid Crisis Reveals About Us. After a near-fatal illness led to his doctor's prescribing him opioids for the pain, King ended up where millions of others have: addicted. But his story didn't end in tragedy like so many others. He had a doctor who understood the nature of addiction and a healthy support system that allowed him to step down off of opioids over time and learn to manage his pain without them. His was not a story of dramatic recovery or super-human willpower but a demonstration of the importance of empathy, care, and evidence-based support from others. 

King didn't tell his story for years. But, when he saw the death toll from overdoses rise, he decided to speak out. In his writing, he explores all the many factors that can contribute to addiction and support others in their road to recovery and living a healthy and full life. He asks moral, ethical, and political questions about what rising rates of addiction and overdose deaths say about our world today.

You can find Tim on Facebook, visit his website or listen to one of his talks. He also recently released an audio version of his book edited by the very same editor of this podcast -Stan Vdovikski.

He is also a board member for the Center of Addiction and Faith and hosts a monthly webinar covering a variety of addiction-related topics for faith communities.