John Temple's reading list just got a little longer.
The West Virginia University journalism professor recently learned that his book "American Pain" has been nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award, from the Mystery Writers of American, in the "Best Fact Crime Book" category.
"My goal is to read all the books in the category," Temple said, before he and his wife attend the black-tie awards banquet in April, which will include famous mystery writers like Stephen King. For the prestigious award, the Mystery Writers of America nominated five titles. In his first nomination, Temple shares the honor with other nonfiction crime books ranging from a profile of Whitey Bulger's trial in "Where the Bodies Were Buried" to a man's 40-year search for his boarding school bully in "Whipping Boy."
The nomination is just one of the many accolades that "American Pain" has received since its release in September. The New York Post named it one of their "Favorite Books of 2015." It was designated one of the "Best True Crime Books of 2015" by Suspense Magazine. Warner Bros optioned the book's film rights and has already written a script, Temple said.
In Charleston, "American Pain" has also done well. Shortly after its September release, Taylor Books in downtown Charleston sold out of the book and had to wait months to get more.
Thankfully, the Capitol Street bookstore will have plenty of copies in stock for Temple's Friday visit. Starting at 6 p.m. Friday, Temple will be at Taylor Books to talk about "American Pain." He'll read parts of the book, talk about his three-year journey to write and report it and answer questions. He'll also be available after his talk to sign books. The event is free and refreshments will be provided.
Temple's visit is the first in a new speaker series at Taylor Books called Taylor Talks. In an ongoing series, Taylor Talks will host writers and thinkers at the top of their field. Their goal is to bring a speaker to Charleston every month, said Dan Carlisle, manager of Taylor Books.
"American Pain," Temple's third book, examines how a mega pain clinic in Florida, American Pain, helped to ignite the nation's opioid crisis. Owned and operated by a 27-year-old convicted steroid felon, Chris George, American Pain distributed massive quantities of prescription painkillers, like oxycodone, out of its pain clinic and into the hands of addicts.
And thanks to Florida's relaxed laws, pill mills, like American Pain, continued sprouting up, making it easier and easier for people, many from Appalachia, to purchase and distribute opioid narcotics.
Temple's "American Pain" swings back and forth from how American Pain's owner Chris George raked in $40 million in two years, how addicts and their families living in Appalachia were devastated by the drugs they purchased from American Pain and how federal agents and grieving mothers helped to bring American Pain to justice.
Temple first learned about American Pain in an article he read in 2012. The concept amazed him.
"OK, so there are these guys who have no medical experience - the main guy served time in prison - but he was still able to do this, to hire all these doctors and prescribe all these pills. How does that even happen?" Temple said.
He researched it and found that no one was writing about American Pain. In fact, despite the fact that overdose deaths involving prescription opioids quadrupled between 1999-2007 rising from 3,000 deaths to 12,000, there was no extensive reporting being done on the country's opioid epidemic when Temple started researching his book in 2012.
He traveled to Florida and Louisiana several times to research American Pain's beginnings. He started a daily exchange with the pain clinic's masterminds, Chris George and Derek Nolan, who are now in prison, to try and make sense of their story. He worked with the FBI to learn about they built a case to bring pill mills, like American Pain, down. Because 80 percent of American Pain's customer base were from Appalachia, Temple made many visits to parts of Kentucky to meet with families who had been affected.
One family really stood out to him. He found a family whose son had been an American Pain customer and who died from an overdose. Living and working in West Virginia, Temple's seen his fair share of remote homes. But this family's farm was on an entirely different level.
"This is the most remote place I'd ever been," Temple said. "I found this woman who'd never left Kentucky. She really never left her family farm."
But after her son's death, the mother left her home. She drove to American Pain in Florida. She confronted the doctors and druggies sitting in the waiting room. She wanted answers, wanted to find out what happened to her son.
Hands down, Temple said, that mother is the bravest person he's interviewed.
Following Temple's visit, Taylor Books' Taylor Talks will host Emily Hilliard, resident folklorist at the West Virginia Humanities Council, on March 3. On April 2. Taylor Talks will host Alec Ross, author of "Industries of the Future," on April 2. And on May 12, author Lou Martin will speak at Taylor Talks.
Reach Anna Patrick at anna.patrick@wvgazettemail.com or 304-348-4881