Half a million people die annually in the United States from substance abuse or addiction, which represents 1 in 5 deaths overall. One-half trillion dollars are lost annually in the battle against abuse and addiction. Faced with those numbers, medical science recognizes that science itself may not be enough and turns to the humanities. “Science gives us the tools, but art gives the inspiration and the drive to make a difference in reducing addiction and helping people achieve recovery,” says the introduction to Addiction and Art from Johns Hopkins University Press. “What is more important—the tools or the drive? They are inseparable.” Marrying two disciplines that often stand in opposition, Addiction and Art unites science and art in the name of bringing the scourge of addiction to an end. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "The Healing Arts."
[Many thanks to Johns Hopkins University Press for providing me with a review copy of Addiction and Art, edited by Patricia B. Santora, Margaret L. Dowell, and Jack E. Henningfield.]
