Smacked: A Story of White Collar Ambition, Addiction and Tragedy

In this moving and intimate memoir, Zimmerman, a former New York Times business columnist, shares the story of the unexpected overdose death of her ex-husband, Peter, an affluent senior partner at a prestigious law firm. She writes of being confounded how a man she knew for nearly 30 years became a drug addict and hid it so well that no one in his life suspected it. Offering a look at the white-collar drug epidemic, Zimmerman chronicles her plight to understand Peter’s secret life: his addiction began with unprescribed pain pills and ended with opioids, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Through extensive research, Zimmerman reveals that “the demands on a lawyer’s life places them at a greater risk for depression, heart disease, alcoholism and illegal drug use” and that Peter’s death was part of a much bigger social problem. In her most affecting chapter, “Better Living Through Chemistry,” Zimmerman discusses the challenges that millennials and Gen Zers face as they begin their own white-collar futures in a world where the pressure to succeed is enormous and drugs are readily available. Zimmerman’s wrenching story and her extensive research into the hidden crisis of white-collar drug addiction will resonate with many readers. (Feb.)