Ryan Hampton
A prominent advocate, speaker, author, and media commentator, Ryan Hampton travels coast-to-coast to add solutions to our national addiction crisis. In recovery from a decade-long opioid addiction, Hampton has rocketed to the center of America’s rising addiction recovery advocacy movement. An alumnus of the Clinton White House, he’s worked with multiple non-profits and national recovery advocacy campaigns. He is now a prominent, leading face and voice of recovery advocacy and is changing the national conversation about addiction.
With content that reaches millions each month, Ryan breaks down cultural barriers that have kept people suffering in silence and is inspiring a new generation of people recovering out loud through his Voices Project.
He was part of the core team that released the first-ever U.S. Surgeon General’s report on addiction in 2016 and was singled out by Forbes as a top social entrepreneur in the recovery movement. Ryan connects a vast network of people who are passionate about ending the overdose crisis in America. He has been featured by—and is a contributor to—media outlets such as USA Today, MSNBC, Fox and Friends, the New York Times, NPR, HLN, Vice, Forbes, Slate, HuffPost, The Hill, the Wall Street Journal, and others.
Ryan has received praise from Democrats and Republicans alike for addressing addiction as a trans-political issue—crossing the political spectrum to build an inclusive coalition focused on solutions. He worked closely with the White House, Senate Democrats, Republicans, and U.S. House leadership, helping craft portions of the historic H.R. 6, SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, signed into law in October 2018.
In 2016, he created the web series Addiction Across America, documenting his 30-day, 28 state, 8,000-mile cross-country trip visiting areas hit hardest by the addiction crisis. His first book, “American Fix — Inside the Opioid Addiction Crisis and How to End It,” was released by St. Martin’s Press in August 2018.
In 2019, Ryan was named by Facebook as an inaugural leadership fellow and created the national advocacy initiative, Mobilize Recovery. Since its inception, Mobilize Recovery has recruited and trained over 2,000 new advocates from all 50 states focused on community-based solutions to end the addiction crisis.
He lives in Nevada with his fiancé, Sean, and their dog, Dollar.
Book Cover | Details |
---|---|
Hardback
|
A passionate call to abandon ineffective drug-war policies, reframe addiction as a public health issue, and end the Fentanyl crisis.
The American overdose crisis has reached record-breaking heights; preventable overdoses are now responsible for more annual deaths than traffic accidents, suicide, or gun violence. Fentanyl—a potent, inexp...Read More
|
Hardback
|
A shocking inside account of reckless capitalism and injustice in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy case.
In September 2019, Purdue Pharma—the maker of OxyContin and a company controlled by the infamous billionaire Sackler family—filed for bankruptcy to protect itself from 2,600 lawsuits for its role in fueling the U.S. overdose crisis. Au...Read More
|
We Are The Answer To Ending America’s Addiction Crisis
Ryan Hampton discusses how America got itself into one of the worst health crisis of a generation – and how we can come together to pull ourselves out of it.
How The Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Failed The Victims Of The American Overdose Crisis
The real story of the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy wasn’t that the billion-dollar corporation was a villain, a serial federal offender. No matter what the news said, Purdue didn’t do this alone. They were aided and abetted by the very systems and institutions that were supposed to protect us. Ryan Hampton served as the co-chair of the official creditors committee representing victims in the Purdue Pharma LP bankruptcy case, and he has a story to tell about how a group of determined, ordinary people tried to see justice done against the odds—and in the face of brutal opposition from powerful institutions.
Don’t Call Me An Addict
Ryan Hampton believes that the way we talk about addiction can determine whether someone gets the help they need, or die. Shame and discrimination are still deeply rooted in our culture when it comes to addiction and you don’t have to look much further than the language we use to see it.
Ryan Hampton’s on Purdue Pharma for TIME.
Ryan Hampton’s article earned its place on the front page of The New Yorker. Read it now!
Check out Ryan Hampton’s op-ed about Purdue Pharma for The New York Times.
Read the Booklist review of American Fix
Learn more on Ryan Hampton’s ryanhampton
Follow Ryan Hampton on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
Learn more about Voices Project
Read Ryan Hampton’s feature on Forbes website
Check out this USA Today article about surging drug overdoses.
Ryan Hampton on being California Sober and superstar Demi Lovato.
Ryan Hampton’s op-ed on big pharma and El Chapo in LA Mag.
Learn more about opioid addition legislation in this USA Today op-ed.
The LA Times featured an op-ed from Ryan Hampton on opioid addiction.
A response to Trump’s State of the Union and his remarks about opioids in America.
Praise for Unsettled
“A page-turning and poignant memoir that draws back the curtains in the fight to bring the fraudulent peddlers of OxyContin to justice.”
— Beth Macy, bestselling author of Dopesick“A dramatic and unprecedented view of what really happened inside the multibillion-dollar bankruptcy of OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma. With rare insider access to the proceedings, Hampton mercilessly exposes how the arcane world of bankruptcy law failed time and again to address the injuries and concerns of individual victims. Unsettled will stay with you long after the last page.”
— Gerald Posner, New York Times bestselling author of Pharma and God’s Bankers“In this epic fight for justice on behalf of victims of the opioid crisis, Ryan Hampton exposes the corrupt and rigged bankruptcy system that allowed Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family to literally get away with murder. Hampton, who had a front-row seat at the proceedings, has guts and grit. He writes with a fire in the belly. Unsettled is a propulsive tale that calls out corporate greed, money-hungry lawyers, and complicit government bureaucrats amid a public health tragedy that continues to rage to this day. Hampton is not only a leader in the recovery community. He’s also an American hero.”
— Eric Eyre, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of Death in Mud Lick“Unsettled is a fast-paced takedown of a flawed judicial system, told with unwavering honesty. Hampton provides exclusive and jaw-dropping insights into the lawyerly underworld of the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy, where executives and billionaires responsible for our nation’s opioid epidemic have found refuge from accountability. Readers will grieve, rage, and be moved to action by this unique and powerful book.”
— Charlotte Bismuth, former prosecutor and author of Bad Medicine“An extraordinary book, both a legal thriller and an intimate memoir about the opioid crisis sweeping our nation and those at the very heart of it—Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family. Ryan’s fury burns through these pages, and yours will too once you read it.”
— Elizabeth Vargas, bestselling author of Between BreathsPraise for Ryan Hampton
“I’m proud that Ryan found help and is now helping others.”
— President Bill Clinton“Gives government leaders on both sides of the aisle smart common sense solutions to consider.”
— Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, advisor to Advocates for Opioid Recovery