Richie: A Father, His Son, and the Ultimate American Tragedy by Thomas Thompson is a 1973 publication.

Recently this book popped up in a few promotional book emails. I had not thought of this case in decades- but I remembered reading this book when I was a teenager- and remember the made for TV movie, as well. I discovered the book was a part of the KU program, so I checked it out.

I was surprised at how conflicted I felt about a book written over forty years ago. As a teen I also remember feeling conflicted but not in the same way I am today. The book, for many, was a cautionary tale. Some viewed George as the ultimate villain, others viewed Richie as an example of the effect drugs had on people. But nearly everyone could agree that it was the ultimate tragedy.

I was particularly struck by the passages that described the barbiturate crisis because it mirrors today’s opioid crisis. Perhaps the real villain in this tale is once again the pharmaceutical companies and their greed.

“Those profiting…. Are an otherwise respected, successful group- The American pharmaceutical corporations who simply must know what they are doing and know the ugly consequences of their over-production.

From my contacts, I am advised that is all too easy for pharmaceutical manufacturers to over-produce vastly the legitimate market for barbiturates, and to ‘dump’ their excess production into the hands of irresponsible drug buyers outside the U.S. Questionable pharmaceutical operators in Mexico evidently have played this role vis-à-vis the Southwest, purchasing great supplies of barbiturates “legally” from American manufacturers and then routing them back in the Southwest black market through Juarez and El Paso, and Tijuana and Los Angeles.”

“I also am not moved by the laxity shown by the U.S. Justice Department in giving the black-market barbiturate problem sufficient recognition and priority, in informing the public, and in providing leadership in seeking solutions. In my opinion, this implies the potency of that industry’s political contributors and lobbyists.”

Sounds familiar, right?

The situation in this household though was a perfect storm of events coming together at once. The author did a good job of explaining the growing tension in this family, but also in many other families as well, and in society.

In this case, drastic measures were called for, but not only did the parents make mistakes, so did others in Richie’s orbit who were not so emotionally involved. Today this situation might have been approached in such a way that the parents would have had much more information at their disposal, many more resources, too. Richie needed lots of help and maybe even had a few underlying problems that the drugs only exacerbated. But at the end of the day, this family was stretched to its maximum ability to cope. Deep down I do wonder about George’s motives. He was being threatened, his son was abusive, belligerent, and violent. But part of me does think that George was exhausted – that his own mental health had taken a beating and while Richie was certainly mentally and emotionally unstable- George was too by that time.

Either way, the book, despite its age and some vernacular and attitudes that were a product of the era of time in which this drama transpires, is still quite effective, still conflicting, and thought-provoking… and still so very sad.

4 stars ( )