Every 8 minutes, someone in the U.S. dies of an opioid overdose. The drugs we have long trusted to help kill pain are now killing us. But what if we were equipped with the information to use opioids wisely, store them safely, avoid their risks and reverse their problems? What if we could help loved ones misusing opioids and support them as they seek treatment?

These are questions Mayo Clinic sought to answer when it mobilized one of the largest enterprise task forces in its history, the award-winning Mayo Clinic Opioid Stewardship Program, which has achieved national attention for its comprehensive, patient-centered infrastructure and effective outcomes. Addiction medicine specialist Holly Geyer has synthesized those learnings in the first book to go beyond the history and causes of the problem to offer a real solution. Ending the Crisis reinvests Mayo Clinic's collective expertise into the lives of every person struggling to understand opioids and their role in managing pain or dealing with the complications caused by these powerful drugs.

Developed by Mayo Clinic leaders in the fields of pain management, opioids, and addiction, and championed by people willing to share their personal experiences, this empowering book encourages patients and their loved ones to make informed, life-saving decisions about the use of opioids. The book includes:
- a foreword by former Surgeon General Jerome Adams, whose landmark report declared opioids one of the nation's most urgent health issues
- advice for how to work with health care providers to use opioids safely, manage side effects and prevent complications
- resources for those struggling with addiction, and their families, from how treatment centers work to how to find a program that can help
- an example of a real-life intervention, including a play-by-play narrative of the discussion and a post-intervention evaluation
- step-by-step instructions for how to administer life-saving doses of naloxone
- impactful personal stories of people who have experienced opioid addiction in some way - from a daughter who lost a mom to a mom who lost a son to people who almost lost their entire lives -- showing that no one is immune from the effects opioids have on society and the importance of ending this crisis now