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Blood orange night : my journey to the edge of madness / Melissa Bond.

by Bond, Melissa, author.

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New York : Gallery Books, 2022.

Bond, Melissa -- Health.

Insomniacs -- Biography.

Benzodiazepine abuse.

Insomnia -- Psychological aspects.

9781982188276 (hardcover) :

1982188278 (hardcover)

xii, 269 pages ; 24 cm

First Gallery Books hardcover edition.

Part one: Insomnia. ABC wants to know -- His heart -- Sting and the radiant boy -- Easter egg blue -- The night rises and grows pale -- Scribbles on a page -- Part two: The book of sleep. Manic -- Blur -- Redemption and the manga chick -- Pool of the pelvis -- Specimen house -- Slip 'n' slide -- Stage of the bargain -- Into the soft air -- Part three: Dr. Amazing. "It's an incredible drag" -- The last year -- Cave-in -- The sky is falling -- "Kiss the kids, I'm sorry" --- Blazing green with no red in sight -- Siberia -- Part four: Great balls of fire. Down by five -- Hutched and cocky -- Five-foot dragon -- Giant black wall of destruction -- Normal -- The insomnia tapes -- Benzos don't have cleavage -- The book of waking -- Metaphor of the holes -- Afterword.

"From journalist and poet Melissa Bond, a gripping account of the author's addiction to benzodiazepines (a family of drugs that includes Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, Ativan) and the hidden dangers they pose. As Melissa mothers her infant daughter and a special-needs one-year-old son, she suffers from unbearable insomnia, sleeping an hour or less each night. She loses her job as a journalist (a casualty of the 2008 recession), and her relationship with her husband grows distant. Her doctor casually prescribes benzodiazepines with little fanfare, increasing her dosage on a regular basis. Following her doctor's orders, Melissa takes the pills night after night; her body begins to shut down and she collapses while holding her infant daughter. Only then does Melissa learn that her doctor-like many doctors-has over-prescribed the medication, and quitting cold-turkey could lead to psychosis or fatal seizure. Benzodiazepine addiction is not well studied, and few experts know how to help Melissa begin the months-long process of tapering off the pills without suffering debilitating, potentially deadly consequences. Lyrical and immersive, Blood Orange Night shine a light on the dark underside of benzodiazepines. According to the FDA, approximately 92 million benzodiazepine prescriptions were filled in the US in 2019. In 2018, half of all benzodiazepine prescriptions filled were for two months or longer, despite recommended use of no more than 14 days and evidence that physical dependence can occur within a week. Much like the opioid crisis that has rocked the nation, prescription benzodiazepine addiction is an epidemic reaching a crisis point"--Provided by publisher.

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