Death by Prescription

Finished January 5
Death by Prescription by Terence H. Young

I chose to read this book because I remembered the newspaper stories when Vanessa died, and because I too had an adverse reaction to the same drug, Prepulsid. Luckily for me, my adverse reaction didn't cost me my life, as it did Vanessa. But it did scare me sufficiently to cease taking the drug immediately, despite the advice of my then-doctor to continue it.
Young tells the story here of his fight to bring out the truth about Vanessa's death and what led to it. But he also shows us the power and influence of pharmaceutical companies not just in Canada, but world-wide, and the lack of government initiative to make the necessary changes. In the end, it all comes down to money over life and health, and that is a sad commentary on human nature.
Well-researched, and open, this book shows the dangers of our current reliance on drugs over changing behaviours.