On December 2, 2004, Gwen Olsen's niece Megan committed suicide by setting herself on fire-and ended her tortured life as a victim of the adverse effects of prescription drugs. Olsen's poignant autobiographical journey through the darkness of mental illness and the catastrophic consequences that lurk in medicine cabinets around the country offers an honest glimpse into alarming statistics and a health care system ranked last among nineteen industrialized nations worldwide. As a former sales representative in the pharmaceutical industry for several years, Olsen learned firsthand how an unprecedented number of lethal drugs are unleashed in the United States market, but her most heartrending education into the dangers of antidepressants would come as a victim and ultimately, as a survivor.Rigorously researched and documented, Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher is a moving human drama that shares one woman's unforgettable journey of faith, forgiveness, and healing.
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About the Author
Gwendolyn Leslie Olsen spent more than a decade as a sales rep in the pharmaceutical industry working for health care giants such as Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Abbott Laboratories. She is a writer, speaker, and mental health activist who lives outside Austin, Texas.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Finally a very honest and genuine account of the reality of the drug industry. Gwen Olsen takes you through a personal journey of a pharma sales rep with glimpses into the harsh reality of how the pharmaceutical industry operates. In this account, Gwen courageously talks about the suicide of her niece and the effects that prescribed medication may have had on bringing about this tragedy.
Her work is scrupulously researched and very balanced as she tries to find answers to the events that led to the death of her young niece. At the same time she begins to question her work as a "drug salesman" and begins to question the ethos of the health care system. Could the same drugs that she had been selling be harmful to the brain chemistry of people, perhaps permanently? Olsen gives a balanced view of the factors that led to the violent suicide of this young soul. It is not an attack on the pharmaceutical industry, but an honest account by someone who is brave enough to have broken away from what was a lucrative career in order to find truth.
Having left pharmaceutical research myself, for reasons similar to what Olsen describes, I can relate very closely to what she says. Now, working in clinical practice, I see the devastating effects that prescribed medicines can cause. This is a book that I will be recommending to many patients that come through my door.
Her work is scrupulously researched and very balanced as she tries to find answers to the events that led to the death of her young niece. At the same time she begins to question her work as a "drug salesman" and begins to question the ethos of the health care system. Could the same drugs that she had been selling be harmful to the brain chemistry of people, perhaps permanently? Olsen gives a balanced view of the factors that led to the violent suicide of this young soul. It is not an attack on the pharmaceutical industry, but an honest account by someone who is brave enough to have broken away from what was a lucrative career in order to find truth.
Having left pharmaceutical research myself, for reasons similar to what Olsen describes, I can relate very closely to what she says. Now, working in clinical practice, I see the devastating effects that prescribed medicines can cause. This is a book that I will be recommending to many patients that come through my door.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've been a pharmacist since 1971 and I vividly recall a conversation I once had with a drug salesman (called detail man at the time). He explained that his goal was to sell a certain number of dollars worth of one particular drug. He stated that he didn't care whether he sold one pill or a million, as long as the price worked out to his goal. That conversation has stuck with me for over two decades because it was at that moment that I first realized my perception of the drug companies was far different from what people in that industry believed.
Perhaps I was naive, but during pharmacy school and years of work at a large county hospital, I found that I actually believed my profession was honorable and that I was part of a giant team focused on helping people be healthy and get well when illness struck. This was surely the ideal in school, and I assumed things actually operated that way.
Gwen Olsen's book is exactly as the title says, a CONFESSION. She has done a clear, masterful job describing how she unwittingly lived through the horrors of a harmful, dysfunctional family and found herself enmeshed in an industry where she was expected to make sales at any cost. Concern for an ill person was not part of her work paradigm.
The author not only lived through the personal and business issues but exited from both, apparently still intact. After my first reading of "Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher", I described it to friends as terrifying and almost sickening. That description remains valid. More important than the story is the reports of experience, learning, and growth that shaped this author into a perfect spokesperson for all of us who find ourselves in direct opposition to the antics of the drug companies. If I hadn't had direct experience with the issues Olsen describes in her book, I might think she was engaged in fiction, not reporting fact. Sadly, she's right on track. Her tale is still terrifying, but you should read it - maybe more than once. You may begin to understand that it has never been the intent of any drug maker to improve health. Instead, their goal has always been to maximize profits at the expense of health.
Perhaps I was naive, but during pharmacy school and years of work at a large county hospital, I found that I actually believed my profession was honorable and that I was part of a giant team focused on helping people be healthy and get well when illness struck. This was surely the ideal in school, and I assumed things actually operated that way.
Gwen Olsen's book is exactly as the title says, a CONFESSION. She has done a clear, masterful job describing how she unwittingly lived through the horrors of a harmful, dysfunctional family and found herself enmeshed in an industry where she was expected to make sales at any cost. Concern for an ill person was not part of her work paradigm.
The author not only lived through the personal and business issues but exited from both, apparently still intact. After my first reading of "Confessions of an Rx Drug Pusher", I described it to friends as terrifying and almost sickening. That description remains valid. More important than the story is the reports of experience, learning, and growth that shaped this author into a perfect spokesperson for all of us who find ourselves in direct opposition to the antics of the drug companies. If I hadn't had direct experience with the issues Olsen describes in her book, I might think she was engaged in fiction, not reporting fact. Sadly, she's right on track. Her tale is still terrifying, but you should read it - maybe more than once. You may begin to understand that it has never been the intent of any drug maker to improve health. Instead, their goal has always been to maximize profits at the expense of health.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This honest account by Gwen Olsen brought hope and answers! The puzzling questions of what happens to people on these drugs, the effects and the hazards. I have recommended (and bought it) for several people and the opinion is this is a must read for anyone on or contemplating taking SSRIs, how big PHarma has hood winked the public, and the very real dangers of the anti-depressant world (why we are seeing violence and suicides escalating). I am so sorry for your loss and I thank you Gwen Olsen for your courage!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Interesting
It was a rather interesting book as what goes on with the doctor and the patient. I enjoyed it very much.
Published 1 month ago by Joycee
Eye Opener!
People everwhere need to sit up and pay attention to what this Whistle-blower has to say...as Citizens of this once great land, our health is being hijacked in the name of the all... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Christopher Wunsch
Confessions of All Sort Worth Hearing
I read this book as part of research for my own novel, and found it very well written. It was backed by interesting scientific facts, yet was very personal and from a unique... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mark Matthews
Big Pharma want's YOUR MONEY!!!
This book is told like a story. The book is about a pharma sales rep Gwen. Gwen is struggling with family problems and her own addictions to
anti depressants. Read more
anti depressants. Read more
Published 5 months ago by D. Cederquist
Honest and True to my personal experience...
I am impressed with the details of this book... I had always been suspect of being over medicated and once nearly died when five different doctors prescribed a toxic combination of... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Karen Overhill
Profiting off the sick and dying
This is written by someone who worked as a drug representative for 15 years and had the courage and integrity to speak out about what she witnessed, which was an industry consumed... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Nancy Rector
Courageous and Honest Expose
Thank you Gwen Olsen for writing this powerful expose and first hand account on what can happen in an industry when it is fueled by greed and empowered by a system that is supposed... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Dawn M. Roeder
A Great Exposure - Just Truth
"Confessions of a RX Drug Pusher" is a captivating and well documented exposure of trends in our current "drug" culture. Our experiences can only verify the facts of this book. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Ray S. Phipps
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