Addiction

Rebecca Gallagher’s narration is the secret weapon of this audiobook. She doesn’t just read the words—she inhabits them. The tone is measured but never clinical, warm without sliding into saccharine. When Glasner dives into the neuroscience of withdrawal, Gallagher’s pacing slows just enough to let the gravity sink in, but she never lingers so long that the material feels heavy-handed. My one critique? Some of the case studies at the start feel a bit drawn-out, as if the book is trying to prove its relevance before the real substance kicks in. That said, once Glasner shifts into the meat of the science—explaining how addiction rewires the brain’s reward system—those early stretches pay off. The production is crisp, with no distracting background noise, and Gallagher’s delivery of Glasner’s sharper insights (like the section on how trauma fuels compulsive behaviors) made me pause the audiobook and scribble notes. The only real misstep is a handful of chapters where the transitions feel abrupt, as if the editor was racing to meet a deadline. But these are minor quibbles in an otherwise thoughtful, engrossing listen. If you’ve ever felt like addiction recovery literature talks *at* you instead of *to* you, this audiobook might be the exception.