As a 35-years-practicing physician, Dr. Pat Hopkins shares the personal events that sparked her re-examination of the health care industry—posing an increasingly important question: Why, in a country of such wealth, are people so sick?

The Unmaking of a Drug Dealer follows Dr. Pat Hopkins on her journey from Harvard researcher, to physician, and finally, to healer. This journey is underlined by the author’s personal experiences, like losing a child with Spina Bifida, being crippled by her own arthritis, and navigating caring for her parents with Alzheimer’s. Through the lens of her own close confrontations with health and sickness, Dr. Hopkins was able to more clearly examine the medical system in which she was an active participant.

She uncovered a hard truth—that the current medical system is operating from an outdated curriculum, and that treating a patient is a very different thing than healing a patient. From lab tests that haven’t changed in a century to a myopic focus on “sick-care” over comprehensive wellness, the existing healthcare industry is limited in its ability to truly heal its patients.

As a physician with an emphasis on healing, Dr. Hopkins recognizes the importance of the current medical system and the relevance of treating symptoms in patients. Her book is not an admonition, but rather, a call to action to expand the scope of how people can be treated—encompassing methods to promote health and vitality, and consequently, preventing and reversing some of the most common sicknesses plaguing our population today.